Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Chandler Jones is looking to have a bounce back season in 2023 after a down year in 2022 by his standards.
Jones, 33, is entering his 12th season in the NFL. He has been one of the premier edge rushers in the NFL since he debuted in 2012 with the New England Patriots.
Being a bit older now, Jones has a chance to pass on knowledge he has learned during his time in the league to the younger edge rushers on the Raiders, while still being a threat off the edge across the line from his counterpart Maxx Crosby.
Jones joined the Raiders’ Training Camp Special show with Amber Theoharis and Eric Allen during the first day of camp, and talked about entering year two in the Silver and Black.
“I think it’s always advantageous to have experience,” he said to Theoharis and Allen. “Especially if you go to a new organization and you have new coaches and a new location, you always feel, I don’t want to use the word ‘comfortable,’ but you’ll get more acclimated with your second year, so that’s definitely an advantage for me going into my second year here, and hopefully it pays off.”
Jones had a rough welcome in his first year with the Raiders, posting just 38 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and four and a half sacks, also dealing with injuries at the end of the season.
Now, Jones has slimmed down and mentioned in his interview that he plans to add more muscle, hoping to regain his form in 2023. The Raiders have retooled their roster and added help along the defensive line to take the pressure off of him and Crosby.
Throughout his career, Jones has consistently gotten to the quarterback. He has posted more than 10 sacks seven times in his career, and led the league in sacks in 2017 with 17.
Raiders are looking to improve from a disappointing 2022 season, and they will need Jones to return to wreaking havoc on quarterbacks in order for them to get to where they want to be in 2023.
The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.
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