ESPN’s Reiss: Chandler Jones really likes football, is a team-first guy

In trading for Chandler Jones, the Arizona Cardinals acquired one of the best young pass rushers in the NFL.

The 26-year-old was fifth in the NFL with 12.5 sacks last season, and in 55 games with the New England Patriots has collected 36.

He is also one of three players in the NFL with at least 200 tackles, 36 sacks and 10 forced fumbles since 2012, with the other two being J.J. Watt and Ryan Kerrigan.

A Pro Bowler in 2015, Jones seems to only be getting better.

Which begs the question, why would the Patriots, who are very much a Super Bowl contender, trade him?

The most obvious reason would seem to be his contract, which calls for Jones to earn $7.79 million this season before becoming a free agent next year.

“It is a factor, but it’s only part of the factor, and here’s why,” ESPN NFL Nation Patriots reporter Mike Reiss told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. “They have a core of defensive players whose contracts are coming up at the end of the 2016 season.”

That group, Reiss said, includes Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Jabaal Sheard and Malcom Butler, and all are, like Jones, in line for big contract extensions in the near future.

“It’s not just the money that’s going to those defensive ends, it’s just that you might have to pay that plus all these other contracts,” he said.

Reiss noted how from the Patriots’ perspective, they are looking at this trade as a way to get ahead of either having to pay Jones a hefty salary or losing him as a free agent and receive something of value in return.

So, they dealt Jones for guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, No. 61 overall.

If there is another reason for why the Patriots might have been willing to part with Jones, one could point to an odd incident in January in which he showed up at a Foxborough police station and appeared to surrender, though for what no one had any idea.

Jones was unable to give an explanation for what was going on, though police said it did not appear as though he had committed any crimes. The Boston Globe reported he had suffered some adverse effects from synthetic marijuana.

Afterward, Jones apologized to the team and his teammates for making a mistake.

Reiss said it would be naive to think it didn’t play any kind of role in the trade, but noted Jones is “a very solid guy” who the Cardinals will not have any problems with.

“This is someone who really likes football and is committed and is a team-first guy,” he said. “I thought it was telling that that game after that happened, he didn’t bench Chandler Jones — (Patriots coach Bill Belichick) started him and played him, so I tend to think that’s probably lower on the list of things that led to this decision.”

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