Raiders’ Chandler Jones will not practice Wednesday after tearing up the team in social media posts

Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels refused to explain Wednesday what led to defensive end Chandler Jones’ Instagram outburst on Tuesday. McDaniels also declined to elaborate when asked how the team would handle the situation internally.

What McDaniels revealed, however, is that Jones will not practice on Wednesday after missing team meetings on Tuesday. When asked if Jones will play against the Broncos on Sunday in Denver, McDaniels said the Raiders take it “day in and day out” with his availability.

“It’s kind of a personal situation,” McDaniels said when asked if there was a solution with Jones. “We’ve never touched on those kinds of things, so I’ll stay away from that. It’s a private matter. If there’s something to report, we will. But so far no.”

Among Jones’s social media posts, which have been deleted, he complained that he was not allowed into the Riders’ facility to work out over the weekend.

“It’s a shame I’m a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and have to go to the local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason, which is weird to me Josh and you know you have to do what’s required.” “Right (sic),” Jones wrote in an apparent group of text messages aimed at McDaniels.

Jones also posted to his Instagram story referring to McDaniels, general manager Dave Ziegler, and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, saying he did not want to play for the Raiders if McDaniels or Ziegler were in their current positions. But he said, “I want a Patrick Graham Ivy league.”

Tuesday’s posts were in stark contrast to what Jones said tweet MondaySaying, “I can’t wait to play this year! Fellin (sic) is great in practice!”

Asked how the coaching staff handle situations where players are upset, McDaniels said: “There are a lot of things that happen every week in the football organisation. You just try to do your best to get your team ready to play. We all have different roles to play and there Decisions are made. We try to do the best for the team. That’s it.”

Jones, 33, is entering the second year of a three-year, $51 million contract he signed with the Raiders in March 2022. Last season, he recorded 38 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks and three passes defensed.

the athleteInstant Analysis:

What’s next for both sides?

It’s important to avoid jumping to conclusions in such ambiguous situations, but Jones is unlikely to fit into the Raiders squad this weekend based on the nature of his posts, his continued absence from the team, and McDaniels’ comments. Before all of this came to light, he was expected to start off Max Crosby at defensive end. Now, the question has become legitimate whether he will stay with the team at all moving forward.

It’s not clear how this will play out, but in the meantime, what the Raiders will do to replace Jones should be considered. They drafted defensive end Tyree Wilson with the No. 7 pick as the future, not the present. Wilson has missed all of the OTAs and most of training camp as he continues rehab from foot surgery he had last November and has been slowly being brought into action since returning to action late last month. McDaniels confirmed that Wilson will play on Sunday, but it is not known what his workload will be. – cane

Who goes up if Jones missed Sunday’s game?

A more likely scenario is Wilson splitting time with fellow defensive tackle Malcolm Consey, who had a solid training camp and shone through preseason games.

Jones wasn’t a productive player for the Raiders last season but there’s still less certainty about what he can deliver compared to Wilson, a rookie, and Concey, who only played 116 defensive snaps in his career. And if Jones’ absence from the team extends, it increases the pressure massively on Wilson to be the type of player who can make an immediate impact. – cane

(Photo: Kirby Lee/USA Today)