The Las Vegas Raiders open the season against the Denver Broncos this weekend, but the franchise is likely to be without one of its leaders for Week 1. Veteran pass rusher Chandler Jones, who went on multiple social media tirades against the organization, is not expected to play Sunday, per head coach Josh McDaniels.
On Tuesday, Jones posted some strong words on his now-deleted Instagram story that appeared to be directed at McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
Jones posted more messages on social media late Wednesday night that the Raiders had sent a crisis team to his home. Included in the posts was Jones openly asking why he was not currently with the Raiders after being away from the facility the previous two days.
"ANYBODY INTERVIEW THEM AND ASK WHY I'M NOT ON WITH THE TEAM?" Jones posted, via ESPN. "BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW"
McDaniels said Wednesday that the Raiders are "taking it one day at a time" regarding Jones' status with the team.
"It's a personal situation and a private matter," McDaniels said, via The Athletic. "We have dealt with it and I am not going to talk about it."
Jones' posts Tuesday included him saying, "They won't let me in the building [though]," and that the team was trying to "provoke" him. He also appeared to say he wanted to play for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham instead of McDaniels or Ziegler.
"F--- it, I don't wanna play for the Raiders if that's my HC or GM. ... I want Patrick Graham ..."
Jones also posted a picture of a text message he sent to who appears to be McDaniels, saying, "It's a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason this is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what's right."
As we previously mentioned, the 33-year-old pass rusher ended up deleting these social media posts. Jones appeared excited for the start of the season Monday, posting on X, "Year 12! LFG!" and "Can't wait to play this year! Feelin great in practice!"
Jones is a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler who has indeed racked up 112 sacks in 154 NFL games played. He ranks No. 26 on the all-time sack list, since the statistic was officially tracked in 1982.
