Podcast: Jones Situation, Koonce, Wilson, and More

DENVER, Colo.--The Las Vegas Raiders (0-0) kick off the 2023 National Football League Regular Season here in Denver tomorrow, facing their AFC West rival, the Broncos.

It was not a smooth week for the Silver and Black, who saw potential future Hall of Fame player Chandler Jones dealing with a personal matter that kept him from playing this weekend.

In this episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, we discuss Chandler Jones, it's time for Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson's coming of age, and much more.

You can watch the entire podcast below:

Here is the transcript of how Josh McDaniels dealt with the Chandler Jones situation earlier this week:

Q: Obviously there was a situation with Chandler Jones yesterday. Has there been any resolution to that? Is he still with the team?

Coach McDaniels: "I mean, I'm not going to talk about the -- that's kind of a personal situation. We've never really gone into those kinds of things, so I'm going to steer away from that. It's a private matter, and if there's something to report on it, then we'll do that. But as of right now, no.

Q: Have you decided if he's going to play Sunday?

Coach McDaniels: "There's nothing to talk about. No, I don't -- right now, we're going day-to-day. So, he's not going to be here today, so we'll kind of take it one day at a time."

Q: Are you concerned about the effect on the locker room? He was one of the leaders on the team last year.

Coach McDaniels: "I mean look, the team's getting ready to play a game. We'll deal with different things throughout the course of the season, whether it's injuries or other adversity. So, I think the guys are focused on trying to control the things that they can control and get ready to play the best game we can play on Sunday."

Q: Any coaching staff is going to have instances where players might be upset for whatever reason. How have you guys learned to handle those instances and maybe try to work to avoid them, just players in general?

Coach McDaniels: "I mean look, there are a lot of things that go on every week in a football organization. You just try to do the best you can to get your team ready to play and we all have different roles to play. There are decisions to be made, and you try to do the best thing for the team, that's it. I mean, I don't know anything else that would be better than that -- try to make the right decisions in every way, shape or form you can to help your team be successful. So, that's what we've tried to do since we've been here and that's what we're going to continue to do."

Q: Did it warrant some sort of talk with the team?

Coach McDaniels: "I'm not going to get into this. You know what I mean? So, it's a personal situation, it's a private matter. Want to talk about the game on Sunday, I'll be excited to talk about the game."

Q: It affects the game, though -- he's one of your captains, your leaders.

Coach McDaniels: "He's not a captain. So, it is what it is. Like I said, we're dealing with it internally. We've dealt with it, but we're not going to get into this."

The Silver and Black open the regular season at the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 4:25 p.m. EDT/1:25 p.m. PDT.

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