Chandler Jones Trade Good For Patriots?

Chandler Jones is no longer a New England Patriot. He is now an Arizona Cardinal. Today, New England sent the 26 year old Defensive End out to Arizona for Guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second round pick in return. Jones had an above average career with the Patriots although he sometimes battled injuries throughout his tenure. He missed 9 of 64 games as a Patriot, missing at least one game in 3 out of 4 seasons. He also had one of the more interesting happenings of the 2015 NFL Season. This being when Jones was found in a delusional state of mind with no shirt on, high off of synthetic marijuana. This was reported on January 13th, 2016, the week of the Patriots divisional round playoff game. Chandler Jones is a very talented player, but this has the potential to be quite a good deal for the Patriots.

Jones proved to be a productive player totalling 36 sacks over his 4 year run, having 12.5 this past season. He showed flashes of being an explosive talent but there are a few reasons why Patriots fans shouldn’t mind this move. First of all, it gives the offensive line another body. The offensive line was a huge problem last season and Cooper was the 7th overall pick in the 2013 draft and has been riddled by injuries throughout his young career but has potential. It's also gives the team another asset in that second round pick. Since New England doesn't have a first round pick this season because of the DeflateGate punishment, another second round pick is a good pick up. They now have back to back picks (60th, 61st) in the second round of next month’s draft.

Outside of the immediate on-field impact, this also has implications on the salary cap. The deal clears out $5.41 million in cap room this season and makes it much more possible for the Patriots to sign some key free agents after the 2016-2017 season. Jones was set to be a free agent after this coming season alongside players such as Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Malcolm Butler. Now, the Patriots need to re-sign this young defensive talent to keep this budding defense and it would be unrealistic for them to re-sign all 4 of those players. Hightower, Collins, and Butler all proved to have more value to the team than Jones with the depth the Patriots have on the defensive line, so Jones was the one to go. It’s better to get something for a player you were hypothetically going to lose for nothing right? This goes without saying that if the Patriots let one of those 3 players go this upcoming offseason, this could turn out to be a very disappointing trade if Cooper is a disappointment and the second round pick doesn't pan out.

Bill Belichick has made yet another big move that makes some people scratch their heads. Will this one work out in New England's favor, or possibly put the Cardinals pass rush over the top and win them a Super Bowl? Only time will tell.