Chandler Jones has a big problem with Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler in Las Vegas
BOSTON -- A storm is apparently brewing in Las Vegas, and three former Patriots are all involved.
Veteran pass rusher Chandler Jones fired up his Instagram page on Tuesday and aired his frustrations about his two bosses: head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
"[Bleep] it.I don't wanna play for the Raiders if that's my HC, or GM," Jones wrote. "I want Patrick Graham."
Graham, also a former Patriots coach, is the Raiders' defensive coordinator.
Jones said -- without disclosing a reason why -- that he does not have access to the Raiders' facility, and that he had to find a local gym to get in a workout.
"They won't let me in the building," he wrote, saying he felt provoked. "It's a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason this is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what's right."
That statement came in a screenshot of a text message, presumably with McDaniels, in which Jones also complains about being unable to speak to Ziegler on the phone. The Instagram posts have since been deleted.
Earlier this week, Jones had said he had been feeling great in practice while expressing excitement for the upcoming season.
Jones was a prized free-agent signing for the new leadership group of Ziegler and McDaniels last year, as he signed a three-year, $51 million contract with Las Vegas. He played in 15 games last year, but he recorded just 4.5 sacks, down from 10.5 the year before with Arizona and his fewest in any season in which he played at least six games -- though he did famously score the game-winning touchdown against the Patriots on a bizarre fumble recovery. He's due a guaranteed salary of $9.665 million this year, per OTC, so resolving this current matter figures to be an important issue for Vegas.
