Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro Chandler Jones Unhappy With Team, Will Miss Season Opener

The Las Vegas Raiders are apparently at odds with one of their premier players. Head coach Josh McDaniels revealed Friday that defensive end Chandler Jones will not play in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos after the four-time Pro Bowler expressed his disdain for the team via Instagram earlier this week.

Josh McDaniels says he does not expect Chandler Jones to play Week 1. No surprise there.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) September 8, 2023

In a since-deleted post, Jones accused the Raiders of locking him out of the team gym and claimed he would never play for McDaniels or general manager Dave Ziegler again. The duo signed Jones to a three-year, $51 million contract just last offseason.

Jones is unquestionably a star in this league; his 112.0 career sacks are the third-most among active players. However, his career hasn't been without drama. The New England Patriots traded him to the Arizona Cardinals in 2016 partly due to an incident in which he showed up at a police station shirtless while suffering from a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana.

Jones' reunion with McDaniels, who was the Patriots' offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2021, suggested there weren't lingering bad feelings over their previous history, but evidently, things have soured.

At this point, a split may be best for both parties. Jones was a mediocre fit in his debut season with the Raiders, tallying 4.5 sacks and a 63.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. He might be able to fetch the Raiders a mid-round pick from a team looking for a veteran pass rusher at a bargain rate: he's set to earn under $2 million in salary and per-game roster bonuses over the 2023 season.