Chandler Jones won’t play in Las Vegas Raiders season opener after social media rant. What’s this mean for his future?

What the future holds for the veteran is anybody’s guess, but what is assured is that it will take some serious ‘making up’ before he’s allowed back in the team. That is of course assuming that the Raiders want him back.

Chandler Jones not expected to play in Raiders season opener

With the Las Vegas Raiders set to play the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Week 1 of the 2023-24 NFL regular season, fans will have to accept the idea that the team will be without one of its central players. If you read our previous report, you will know that veteran edge rusher, Chandler Jones, made several posts on social media in which he criticized the franchise, head coach Josh McDaniels, and even general manager Dave Ziegler. To that end, it should come as no surprise that McDaniels has since indicated that Jones is not expected to play on Sunday when the team opens its campaign against the Broncos.

What exactly did Chandler Jones say?

As mentioned before, Jones took to social media - on Tuesday - to critique his team and those in control of it. Indeed, the 33-year-old who later deleted his posts, went as far as to suggest that he no longer wanted to play for the team. He didn’t stop there either. On Wednesday night, Jones took to social media once again and proceeded to post a photo of what appeared to be the badge of a member of the Las Vegas Crisis Response Team, as he explained that the unit had been sent to his house by the Raiders themselves. Additionally, the former Patriots first-round pick (2012) posted photos of a purported conversation between himself and McDaniels.

The exchange in question appears to be from mid-August when he was absent from training camp due to an injury. Further to that there were also posts in which he asked why he was not with the team, having been away from it for the previous two days. “ANYBODY INTERVIEW THEM AND ASK WHY I’M NOT ON WITH THE TEAM?” Jones posted. “BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW”

So, what have the Raiders said?

Though he was not scheduled to meet with the media on Thursday, McDaniels did say on Wednesday that the Raiders are “taking it one day at a time” where Jones’ status is concerned. “It’s a personal situation and a private matter,” McDaniels said. “We have dealt with it and I am not going to talk about it.” Of course, it’s worth noting that Jones’ posts on Tuesday included a reference to the idea that he was barred from the team. “They won’t let me in the building [though],” he said before stating that the team was trying to “provoke” him. Further to that, Jones also posted a picture of an apparent text message that he sent to 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.”

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess where this all ends but what we can say is that 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. Keep an eye on this one as it’s sure to get worse before it gets better.