Chandler Jones will be facing his former team Sunday when the Raiders host the Cardinals in Las Vegas, and while he claimed Thursday, “It’s another week, honestly,” when someone adds the word honestly to a statement, it’s usually a cry that means, “Please believe me.”
To be sure, Jones had this game circled when the schedule came out in May, after he left the team in free agency without much effort by the Cardinals to keep him.
Jones did admit, “It was a little weird going through the scouting report and just looking at some of the guys and hearing their names. Those are some of the guys I used to run around with.”
They certainly are, to the tune of 84 games in six seasons and becoming the franchise’s all-time sacks leader last year with 71.5.
Facing off against left tackle D.J. Humphries in numerous practices. Admiring quarterback Kyler Murray, the guy he and fellow edge rusher Maxx Crosby will be trying to make uncomfortable Sunday.
Murray also used “weird” to describe what it will be like seeing Jones on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage in another uniform and said, “One of the best teammates I’ve had the pleasure to play with. But at the end of the day, he’s got one job, I’ve got one job. I’m going to do my best to avoid him. I don’t plan on seeing too much of him.”
Describing Jones, Murray said, “He’s a student of the game. He loves it. He’s like a Zen master when it comes to the art of pass rushing, all the different ways to get to the quarterback. He loves to educate other up-and-coming pass rushers. I got to see a little bit of it at the Pro Bowl. They have a pass rushing camp in the offseason that he attends. He just loves it. It’s hard not to respect that. It hurts to see him go, but I’ll always have love for Chan.”
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said, “He’s obviously a freak when you talk physicality. A special, special talent in that regard. But he’s always thinking about the next move and the next play and how he’s going to be the guy and his hand placement. He’ll send clips and clips and clips when he’s watching guys. ‘I can get them on this. I can do this.’ I mean, he names his pass rushes. I mean, he’s eaten up by getting home to the passer.
“And I think that’s what gets lost because he’s such a talented player. He’s very cerebral. He puts a lot into the mindset and how he attacks it mentally each and every day.”
Asked about one of the names Jones used for a pass-rush, Kingsbury said, “One was Snapchat, I think. That was pretty good. Yeah, Snapchat, because it’s like you see it and then it disappears, apparently.”
Told what Kingsbury noted about him naming sacks, Jones said it’s true: “I like to put a quick label on my moves. It’s funny that Kliff remembered that.”
Meanwhile, neither Jones or Crosby recorded a sack in the Raiders’ 24-19 loss to the Chargers in Week 1, and this game is as important to Las Vegas as it is for the Cardinals, as both teams attempt to keep from falling to 0-2.
It’s understandable why the Cardinals elected not to get in a bidding war for Jones, who was paid handsomely under the contract that expired this past March and signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Raiders that included $32 million guaranteed. The deal has two void years, so his $12 million signing bonus could be prorated over five years.
While Jones counts a reasonable $7.8 million against the cap this year, that figure balloons to $19.4 million in 2023.
The issue whenever standout players leave an organization is how they will be replaced. Surely, Jones couldn’t be replaced by one player unless it was with another huge contract that would have made it difficult for the Cardinals to re-sign players with expiring contracts and grant extensions to Murray, Humphries, safety Jalen Thompson, linebacker Markus Golden and with new deals possibly looming for wide receiver Marquise Brown, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and defensive end Zach Allen.
Still, it’s hard to avoid assessing where the Cardinals are with their pass rush after the departure of Jones, who had 10.5 sacks in 2021, a shade behind team leader Markus Golden, who had 11.0.
That leaves the Cardinals counting on Golden, Devon Kennard, Dennis Gardeck, second-year man Victor Dimukeje and rookies Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders. Thomas played only four defensive snaps in Week 1, while Sanders was inactive.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was sacked five times in Week 1, with 3.0 by Khalil Mack and 1.5 by Joey Bosa. Notably, Mack had a sack and Bosa shared one with Morgan Fox on third and fourth down, respectively on the Raiders’ final possession as they were hoping to drive for a game-winning touchdown.
As much as the Las Vegas offensive line might have issues, none of Arizona’s rushers is in the same class as the Chargers.
On the flip side, the Cardinals offensive line, especially tackles Humphries and Kelvin Beachum, have to be on their game for the offense to generate any consistency.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury gives credit to Jones for helping his transition from college to being a NFL head coach.
“He’s somebody I have a great appreciation for because coming in from the college ranks, he always embraced me and being a team leader, that meant a lot to me. And just high energy, always smiling, always treating every person in the building incredibly well and then played so great for this franchise. So we have a ton of respect for him. And he texted me the other night. And I just texted back, ‘Don’t hold it against me when we chip you and edge you with the tight end and the back every single play.’
“So, we’re going to try to handle him. But they got two Hall of Fame rushers and we understand that. So we gotta have a good plan.”
The Hall part for Crosby might be way premature, but the message is clear.
Kingsbury said, “We’re excited about our plan and for Beach and Hump. It’ll be a huge challenge, but I’m excited to see how we play.”
For his part, Humphries knows, despite his experience practicing against Jones, to expect something different Sunday.
“Every year he comes up with something new and something he is trying,” Humphries told the team website this week. “Every offseason, I’m trying and testing something new. He’ll definitely have something new I don’t know about and vice versa. It’ll be an interesting scenario for us.”
Kingsbury wouldn’t answer definitively this week when asked if Humphries had won some practice battles against Jones. He joked, “I don’t want to piss Chandler off.”
Overall, Humphries, who was inactive for every game as a first-round pick in 2015, the year before Jones was acquired in a trade from the Patriots, knows the impact Jones had on his career.
“I would be wrong to not credit Chandler with a lot of my growth and success over the last six years,” Humphries said. “I know how much he helped me grow as a player and build confidence in even knowing I can go against pretty much any rusher in this league because I was going against him every day.”
Humphries said Jones told him, “You’ll never go against someone in a game like me.”
Now, he’ll be going against him in a game for real.
Inside Slant
While the news was somber earlier in the week when safety Jalen Thompson missed practice Wednesday and Thursday because of a toe injury, there was some optimism when he was back on the field Friday and limited. Thompson is questionable for Sunday’s game. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said, “We’ll get him out there Sunday, run him around and see if he can do it.”
There is also optimism for cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr., who was acquired in a trade from the Raiders Aug. 30 and hasn’t done much in practice, also because of a toe injury. That injury occurred last season when he played only five games and he had surgery in May. Mullen hasn’t played in a game since Dec. 12 against Kansas City.
Mullen said he believes he will play Sunday and feels “very comfortable” even though he’s had “to learn fast.”
Asked if Mullen could play quality snaps, Kingsbury said, “I do. We’ll limit the menu and make sure we’re doing things he understands so he can play fast and not think too much. With the limited number of corners, it would be nice to have an extra body.”
Left guard Justin Pugh said Thursday he expects to play and Kingsbury said Friday, “I hope so. Hopefully in the next 48 hours, he feels good. And we get him out there Sunday and work him out and he’s ready to go.” Pugh would start at left guard with Max Garcia likely the backup. Sean Harlow, who was the left guard against Kansas City, would be the backup center and guard. Rookie Lecitus Smith, who was active last Sunday, would likely be inactive.
Garcia was signed off the Giants’ practice squad last Saturday and was active against the Chiefs. “Having been here last year and being very familiar with what we do and our scheme, he’s picked the game plans up quick,” Kingsbury said. “So he would step in and be the backup, I think.”
*After all the conversation about practice, Kingsbury was asked about this week’s work.
“Much more focused and intentional,” he said. “I think our guys understood how far we had to go in a short time to be able to be competitive this week. I felt they were focused and had a good week.”
Official injury report
OUT/DNP: WRs Andy Isabella (back), Rondale Moore (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE/LIMITED: S Jalen Thompson (toe/upgraded from DNP); DE J.J. Watt (calf); CB Trayvon Mullen Jr. (toe); G Justin Pugh (neck).
Wide receiver Marquise Brown had a rest day Friday and was limited.
Raiders
OUT/DNP: C Andre James (concussion); S Tre’von Moehrig (hip); LB Denzel Perryman (ankle).
DOUBTFUL/DNP: RB Brandon Bolden (hamstring)
Cornerback Sam Webb (ankle) was upgraded to full from limited and has no status category.
Don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions on Twitter @hbalzer721 or email me: howard@gophnx.com
