Jones Discusses Joining the Raiders
HENDERSON, Nev.--In an offseason that has seen Las Vegas Raiders GM Dave Ziegler shine, one of his biggest moves no one saw coming.
We started reporting about Davante Adams (the best offensive free agent) wanting to be a Raider last May. To readers of this site, it was no shock. But no one, and I mean no one saw Ziegler signing the best defensive player in free agency in Chandler Jones.
Ziegler's superb maneuvering of the gauntlet of secrecy allowed the Silver and Black to pair the best young DE in the NFL in Maxx Crosby, with the best in the game in Jones.
You can read the entire transcript of Jones from his press conference, or watch the video above:
Linebacker Chandler Jones
Q: How did this deal kind of come together?
Jones: “Yeah, that was my agent, honestly. I spoke to my agent, we sat down, and we had a list, and obviously the Raiders were on the list, but there were a lot of things that credited to my decision of coming to Las Vegas. Maxx Crosby. I mean everyone's speaking about Max Crosby. I'm speaking about Max Crosby. I'm a huge fan of him and just to have the opportunity to rush an opposite side of him is huge for me. I'm very familiar with the front office. I trust them like no other. I've known them since I came into the NFL. Dave Ziegler, Josh McDaniels, Pat Graham. Pat Graham was my position coach in New England when I first started playing my rookie year. So, he’s the d-coordinator. This is a great opportunity for me. I'm happy to be Raider. And like I said, I can't wait to get on the field.”
Q: What kind of an impact did Patrick Graham have on you back when he was your position coach in New England and for it to kind of come full circle now?
Jones: “Yeah, well, one thing I admire about Pat Graham is his love for the football. And not just for football, but for the players as well. When I got in as a rookie, he didn't just teach me about this is how you get to the quarterback, this is how you set an edge. He taught me the things off the field, things about how to be a man. Little things like tying your tie. Things like that, they go a long way. And me and Pat, we still had a relationship when I left New England and it's almost a dream come true that we have this opportunity to be in the same room again, or to be on the same team again. Like I said, I saw him in the hallway coming here and I just gave him a big hug and squeezed him really tight because like I said, who would have thought this would have happened.”
Q: What’s sort of the benefit of being multiple upfront from week to week and kind of throwing different looks to one with different looks?
Jones: “I think when you have a front office like this, they're very versatile and they get versatile players that can do a lot of different things. When you talk about a scheme, having the ability to change a scheme is very confusing for the opposing team. If you come out in a 3-4 for two weeks straight and then next week, that third team is going to think that you're in a 3-4 and you switch to a 4-3, that that could be a nightmare.
That's when you see blowouts. And not trying to guarantee that, but I'm just saying that's when you see huge games like that. So, in order to have the ability to be versatile and to switch and alter your defense, it makes it very dangerous for teams. It’s a very dangerous feature to have.”
Q: Throughout your career, you've been consistently productive. Obviously, you have your go-to moves and things of that nature, but how have you continued to evolve your game as your career has gone on?
Jones: “Yeah, I think consistency is one of the biggest things I take pride in. That's one of the biggest characteristics that I try to highlight when someone says, ‘Hey, what makes you good? What makes Chandler Jones a good pass rusher?’ Consistency. I spoke on it in a previous interview about when someone makes an investment in something, and they know that it’s consistent. In any aspect of life, you sit there, when you say, ‘Hey, I know that this person is going to be there Monday through Friday. They're going to be this way.’ That's easy to invest in that. And that's one thing that I take pride in is just being consistent. So, like I say, year in and year out, I’ve been getting to the quarterback. And like I said, to have the opportunity to rush with Max Crosby! Listen, he'll tell you, I'm a fan of him. I'll talk to him after games. I'd text him back when I was on the Cardinals.
I'll be texting Maxx, ‘Hey, that was a good move. What did you do there? How did you set up that spin?’ Like I said, he Face Timed me when he found out the news. I don’t know if guys saw it on the news, but he Faced Time me and he was he was about to cry. He was so happy. He was about to cry when I saw him down in the cafeteria earlier. So, like I said, I'm happy to be here.”
Q: How much have they talked to you about your leadership as well? Not only a great player on the field, but you're a leader in the locker room?
Jones: “Yeah, I think that's expected of me, of where I am in my career. I'm 32. This is going into year 11, I believe, and I think leadership is expected of me coming here. Also, I want to say I'm not going to be one of those guys that are going to come in and try to demand respect, you have to earn that from the players. And I've learned that from coming to a new team. I would say I'm a kind of leader, I'm not a guy who is going to get out and say hurrah and yell and try to get everyone's attention that way. I'm a huge lead-by-example guy. ‘Hey, Chandler's running off the field. Let me run off the field.” Maybe that helps with success. Just little things like that. And I think that's very contagious and not demanding for people to do it, but just do it and then show the results. ‘Chandler. He stayed after a little bit just to do an extra few steps to work on his craft.’ ‘Damn, well somehow, he got two sacks this week.’ But when you perfect your craft, it shows, the results always show. And maybe I can be an example to that because I'm a hard worker. I'm a really hard worker. When it goes back to your question, as far as leadership, I expect to take that role coming to this team and any team that I’m on. It comes with the package for sure.”
Q: Having been in the league now for over a decade, what was the outside perception of this organization when it was in Oakland and now it’s in Vegas?
Jones: “Of course, that's a really good question and I just answered it, so I have a good answer for you. I was asked that question in another interview. I've always been a fan of this organization and I've always been a fan of the Davis family. So, for me to finally wear Silver and Black, it's a tremendous feeling. So, my perception on the outside was, when am I going to get my shot? That’s all. Like I said, I know you guys we're in Oakland before, and now we're here in Vegas. This team's here to win, regardless of where we're at. Like I said, I respected the location, but the main goal is to win. And I think they brought a player like me here to help move in that direction.”
Q: This was kind of the first time you were able to touch-free agency and really choose where you got to play. How much excitement went into being able to make that decision of controlling your destiny of where you got to go?
Jones: “Yeah, I will say when the season first ended that's when the nerves dropped a little bit because I had no clue. And then when I realized and I got the opportunity to sit back and self-scout and look at what I had done this previous season, I knew that I had a little chance. I said, ‘I can do this. You know, I'm good, but I really prayed on my decision. I really did. I wanted to know obviously the front office, the players, the culture, the location, and this place crossed everything. It dotted all i’s, it crossed every t. And just like I said, again, the culture, just being around here, being around the guys, when I walked in the building and I met everyone, it just felt like at home. Sometimes you walk into a building, and you walk into one of these big modern houses and you're like, yeah, I guess you can call this home. But it’s just not home, you know? And then you walk into a small house, and it has pictures hung up. It feels like home. And I got that vibe walking into this facility for sure.”
Q: How did you and Maxx initially connect?
Jones: “Just being fans of football. Yeah, I think Maxx had a big game and I think he reached out to me on Instagram, direct messaged me, and we've been chopping it up since then. We've swapped numbers and we just send tips. We swap film, we’ll send clips. ‘Hey, what are doing now? How'd you do that?’ And it's just fun because when you walk into someone that loves football as much as you do, you can sit there and talk for days, hours. And Maxx is one of those guys. We almost got into talking football in the training room, actually, but I told him we got a lot of time for that. We got a lot of time.”
Q:I know it’s been a whirlwind couple of days, but have you let your mind wander playing in front of Raider Nation inside Allegiant stadium?
Jones: “Man, I'm so excited. I'm so excited to show this conference, Raider Nation, to show them my talents. And if they didn’t know, I'm excited for them to see me in Silver and Black sacking quarterbacks, honestly. Not to make any guarantees, but I think I’m going to be doing a lot of it.”
Q: What's kind of your impression of Las Vegas as a city? I mean people say, ‘Oh, you can get in trouble.’ You can get in trouble in any city. It seems like Las Vegas kind of takes a bad rap for what it is, and people can find trouble here or anywhere. But what's your impression of the city?
Jones: “Yeah, I'm a huge believer on it is what you focus on. If you focus on that, you can make it that. But the main goal, the main reason why I'm here, Chandler Jones is here, is to win football games, to help his team win. Like I said previously, despite the location, you could talk Vegas, Oakland, winning football games, that's the main goal and if anyone doesn't feel that way, it's my job being a new addition and a new signee to spread that, to spread that news. And I'm sure it's not news, these guys know. But that's what's reiterated in practice, that's what's going on in the locker room. ‘Hey, how much film did you guys watch.’ That's not an issue. I don't think that's an issue at all. We're here to win.”
Q: Seeing the name of some of the quarterbacks in this division, particularly Russell Wilson, somebody that you've been able to get his number on. Does that excite you to come here to the AFC West?
Jones: “Yes. (laughter) You see that pause because I was trying to think of something to say. Yeah, it was exciting. I think I've said Russell Wilson more than I've sacked anyone. But Russell is a great friend of mine. I'll say that to him, actually. I'll Face Time and call him now, but he's a great friend of mine. Like I said, he's a competitor and he's a hell of a player. Even having the opportunity to play against him twice a year will be fun. But he thought he could get away from me leaving, but I'm right here with him again. So, that's going to be fun to get after him a little bit.”
Q: I talked to some other players who played for Josh McDaniels previously and they said he has a unique ability to be very demanding but also very player-friendly. Can you explain what that dynamic is?
Jones: “Yeah, of course. As you were saying it, I was comprehending. It’s just respect, that's all that is. If you, not demand it, but you earn the respect, and Josh definitely has earned the respect, that's all it is. If a coach can literally talk to a player, open up, laugh, and then say, ‘Hey, turn it off.’ And for the player to react that way, that’s all respect. And Josh has that respect. He's proven it. He has it around the league. I'm so happy for him to be the head coach. But yeah, Josh has that respect. Like I said, he definitely can be on and turn it off as far as being player friendly and then being strict. Josh is the guy.”
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