NFL News
Chander Jones Shares Encouraging Update
Former New England Patriots star Chandler Jones had a rough year in 2023. He had trouble with the law and his football career. From an outsider’s perspective, it appeared Jones was struggling with his mental health as well. So it was good news to see him post a positive update to X on Wednesday.
Chandler Jones’ message from his account stated:
“Over the past few months, I’ve been dealing with some personal matters, but I’m happy to share that I’m feeling much better now. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family, friends, and fans for your unwavering love and support. Additionally, I want to offer a sincere apology to anyone I may have unintentionally offended. Your understanding and support mean the world to me.”
— Chandler Jones (@chanjones55) February 14, 2024
Here’s hoping Chandler Jones is getting whatever help he needs to keep him in a positive place. The past year has been quite concerning just watching from afar.
Arrest in 2023
Las Vegas Police arrested Chandler Jones on Sep. 29, 2023. TMZ reported Jones had broken a protective order, causing police to respond and eventually arrest him. The Las Vegas Raiders released Jones the following day.
The arrest followed a string of bizarre behavior online.
Social Media Posts
On Sep. 5, 2023, Jones went on a tirade on his Instagram account. He claimed the Raiders locked him out of their practice facility, forcing Jones to work out at a local gym. His posts seemed to blame Raiders general manager David Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels. Jones also posted alleged texts sent to McDaniels imploring him to do something about the situation. He stated the team never contacted him, reaching out to his ex-girlfriend instead.
“F— it, I don’t wanna play for the Raiders if that’s my HC, or GM,” Jones concluded.
Jones had no involvement with the Raiders from that day on. On Sep. 20, 2023, he was placed on the team’s Non-Football Injury list after another batch of bizarre posts. This time his main target was Raiders owner Mark Davis.
Chandler Jones posted several unsubstantiated allegations on social media. He alluded to a major conspiracy that he knew about, claiming his not playing was related to that. These posts accused Davis of being involved in a coverup of a child molestation situation, despite no evidence to support the allegations.
After the disturbing string of posts sat for quite some time, Jones eventually claimed to have been hacked in a post since deleted (along with the original accusations).
Chandler Jones claiming he was hacked… pic.twitter.com/KwskYaXNFX
— Raiders Report Mitchell Renz (@MitchellRenz365) September 18, 2023
The day before his arrest, Jones took to social media once again, sounding incoherent. posts were incoherent. Among those mentioned were Mark Davis, Josh McDaniels UFC’s Dana White, his brother Jon Jones, Floyd Mayweather Jr., ex-NFL players Larry Fitzgerald and Taylor Lewan, and many more. He posted a screenshot of a supposed text message from a Raiders team employee asking him to call their Director of Player Wellness.
Later that day, Jones went on Instagram Live. He asked if people knew the real story behind Josh McDaniels and his ex-teammate Aaron Hernandez. Jones implied Hernandez, whom he referred to as Chico, did not die by suicide in jail as was reported. No alternate theory was given. Jones then got emotional and broke into tears talking about the death of Hernandez.
Aaron Hernandez played with Chandler Jones in New England. Hernandez was awaiting trial on murder charges when he reportedly died by suicide from hanging in 2017.
New England Patriots Career
The Patriots selected Chandler Jones in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Syracuse. He stayed in Foxboro for his first four NFL seasons. He helped the Patriots make the playoffs all four years, winning two AFC Championships and a Super Bowl along the way. Jones registered 36 sacks in 55 career games for New England. He received Pro Bowl recognization following the 2015 season.
There was one odd incident involving Jones during his Patriots years. On Jan. 10, 2016, a shirtless and seemingly confused Chandler Jones arrived at the Foxborough, Mass. Police Department. He knelt and put his hands behind his head, according to the police report, but officers did not believe Jones had broken any laws. They opted to call paramedics and have him taken to Norwood Hospital for further evaluation. The Boston Globe reported that the incident was the result of an adverse reaction to smoking synthetic marijuana.
The New England Patriots were on their bye week in the NFL Playoffs when the Jones incident with the Foxborough PD took place. He returned to action the following weekend and missed no games. After the season, however, he departed via free agency to sign with the Arizona Cardinals.
Post-New England Years
Chandler Jones did not experience as much team success in Arizona as he had in New England, but still excelled individually. Jones played six seasons with the Cardinals. He made three more Pro Bowl teams and was named first-team All-Pro twice. He finished top three in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting twice. In 84 games with Arizona, he produced 71.5 sacks.
Before the 2022 season, Chandler Jones signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. In his lone season for the Raiders, Jones had 4.5 sacks in 15 games. His highlight of the year came against the New England Patriots. On the final play of the game, Jones picked off a lateral attempt by Jakobi Meyers, ran over quarterback Mac Jones, and took it the distance. Jones scored a 48-yard game-winning fumble recovery touchdown.
The arrest of Chandler Jones and his behavior last year was certainly concerning. The New England Patriots have had former players from that same era run afoul of the law previously, like Aaron Hernandez and Kellen Winslow II. Most recently, Sergio Brown made headlines for the wrong reasons. The Las Vegas Raiders released an official statement saying that they hoped Chandler Jones got the help he needed. Fortunately, today’s news gives a glimmer of hope that has occurred.
