Patient Cardinals land coveted pass rusher Chandler Jones

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals set out to upgrade their pass rush this offseason.

That goal at first led them to a pursuit of Jason Pierre-Paul, who ultimately decided to return to the New York Giants.

It allegedly brought them to Bruce Irvin, and they reportedly had interest in Tamba Hali, William Hayes and maybe even Mario Williams, too.

For whatever reason — be it location, fit, money or something else — not one of those players chose to sign with the Cardinals.

Whatever disappointment the organization may have felt in being spurned by those players was mitigated Tuesday when it was announced the Cardinals had traded for Chandler Jones.

Jones, 26, made the Pro Bowl last season after collecting 12.5 sacks.

“If I would have known a while ago that I had an opportunity to get him, there’s no question we would have approached it earlier,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said Wednesday. “But the fact of the matter is it’s one thing to trust in your system, but I think it shows you the virtues of patience.

“You’ve got to be patient through the process, trust your system, and I think in the last couple of days we’ve made some big moves.”

Jones was not the only player the Cardinals added this week, as they followed the trade for him with the signing of guard Evan Mathis, formerly of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.

But no matter who else comes to Arizona over the coming days, weeks and months, chances are they will not bring with them the kind of expectations Jones is. Having collected 36 sacks in 55 career games, the Cardinals will be looking to him to provide the kind of pass rush they believe will get them to the Super Bowl.

Jones is fine with that.

“I was very excited — I was overly excited, actually,” he said of his reaction when he heard the news of the trade. “I was at home with my mother and I got a phone call saying I was being traded.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity and I’m excited to be here.”

Generally speaking you would not expect a player to, during his introductory press conference, complain about his new situation, and Jones did nothing of the sort.

Sporting a smile for much of the roughly 14 minutes he was at the podium, Jones talked about how nice it is to move from a team that has had plenty of success to another that, while not quite at that level, is on the precipice. He said he is familiar with what’s been happening in Arizona and has heard a lot about the team’s fans and how loud it can get at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Keim said he had known of and liked Jones for a long time, but that the trade came together over a three-day period.

Listening to him break it down, the decision to part with guard Jonathan Cooper as well as a second-round pick seems like a no-brainer.

“So many times in this business, as I’ve said before, it’s extremely difficult to find pass rushers, particularly 26-year-old Pro Bowl pass rushers with tremendous length and athleticism,” he said. “A guy that through the process we felt like not only was a great schematical fit, but a great fit in our locker room as well.”

When it comes to talent, few will doubt what Jones brings to the table. At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds he can play defensive end as well as linebacker, and the Cardinals are likely to line him up all over the field in an effort to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.

In terms of question marks, however, Jones brings a couple.

One, the odd January incident in which he walked into a police station after using synthetic marijuana, is something Jones said he has moved on from.

“I’m trying to prove and I am proving that I’m not that person and, like I’ve said, it was a mistake and everyone has mistakes,” he said.

The other is his contract, which calls for him to make $7.8 million this season before he becomes a free agent in 2017. You only need a quick glance at the kind of money this year’s free agent pass rushers earned on the open market to get an idea of how much Jones, who has been more productive than anyone signed over the last week, stands to be offered.

That, more than anything else, seems to be the reason why the Patriots were willing to part with him, as they decided they either could not afford to keep him long-term or simply did not want to.

Asked about the fact that he will basically be playing this season for his next contract, Jones said he goes into every season with the same approach.

“You never want to think about the past or thing about the future; you want to think about the present and what’s going on now,” he said. “To this day, I’m a New England Car– I’m a New England Cardinal, that’s funny — I’m an Arizona Cardinal and I’m looking forward to this season.”

The slip of the tongue and ensuing laughter kind of symbolized the vibe at the Cardinals’ Tempe training facility as Jones was being introduced. There were smiles all around, and given that the team filled arguably its biggest need with one of the best players it could, that makes sense.

Asked about Jones’ contract and how the player isn’t too concerned with it right now, Keim made light of the situation.

“Well if he’s not worried about it we could do it right now, right,” he said, turning to a laughing Jones. “I have faith in our system, I have faith that he’ll enjoy his time here, he’ll have a tremendous amount of success. As I’ve said many times, pass rushers don’t grow on trees and you have to put the resources into those guys.

“It’s one thing — there’s going to be a lot of pass rushers that go in this draft high, and some of them aren’t going to pan out. So to be able to acquire a guy for what we gave up that I know what he is — you saw it on tape, you saw that he can produce at a high level — I think he’s going to really produce in this defense.”

Since 2005, just once have the Cardinals had a player reach double digits in sacks, with John Abraham collecting 11.5 in 2013. In fact, you’ll have to go back to 2004, when Bertrand Berry tallied 14.5, for the next player to do it.

Incidentally, both Abraham and Berry were in their first seasons with the Cardinals when they produced those totals, and like them, Jones is expected to add an important and elusive element to Arizona’s defense.

In terms of pressure, though, the only kind Jones believes in is the kind he plans on applying to quarterbacks.

“I don’t believe in the word ‘pressure’ at all,” he said. “You call it pressure, but it’s a job. Every player has a job to do, and he (Keim) brought me to rush the passer and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m excited to get after these quarterbacks and it should be fun to watch.”

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