It was no surprise to me that the player who led the NFL in forced fumbles and was second in sacks this season topped the list of players who Belichick is perceived to have let go too soon. Since day one, Chandler Jones has been an incredible athlete and playmaker. Just this week he was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade team.
AS A PATRIOT- In his first NFL game, Jones had a forced fumble sack which resulted in a Patriots' touchdown. Over the course of his 4 year tenure with New England, Jones amassed:
- 64 regular season starts
- 10 forced fumbles
- 2 fumble returns (1 for a touchdown)
- 36 sacks
- 64 quarterback hits
- 1 Pro Bowl selection
AS A CARDINAL-
- Has started all 16 regular season games all 4 years
- 17 forced fumbles
- 60 sacks
- 98 quarterback hits
- 2 Pro Bowl selections
THE TRADE- With one year left on his contract, the Patriots traded Chandler to the Arizona Cardinals. In return the Patriots received guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2nd round pick. The Patriots ended up trading that pick with New Orleans for their 3rd and 4th round picks. With those two picks the Patriots selected Joe Thuney and Malcolm MItchell respectively. Even with Cooper not working out and Mitchell having an injury shortened NFL career, the return on the trade was good.
CIRCUMSTANCES- When adding Jones to the list of players Bill moved on from too early, just about everyone said that they understood why Belichick made the move. They didn't need to explain any further asthe incident is something everyone knew would eventually result in Jones getting shipped out of Foxboro.
VERDICT- Although Jones is an NFL star who was the runner up defensive player of the year this season, you can't put him in the category of players Belichick let go of too soon. Jones brought some unneeded attention to the Patriots' organization. The fact that Chandler's older brother, Jon, also had a few incidents with substances and the law would make it pretty hard for Belichick to have given him the benefit of the doubt. While Chandler has stayed incident and injury free, the Patriots would have likely only had one more season of his services as he was definitely going to get paid. Swaying the verdict even more in Belichick's favor is the fact that the Patriots received such a quality return and have had one of the best defenses in the NFL without him.
VERDICT- Although Jones is an NFL star who was the runner up defensive player of the year this season, you can't put him in the category of players Belichick let go of too soon. Jones brought some unneeded attention to the Patriots' organization. The fact that Chandler's older brother, Jon, also had a few incidents with substances and the law would make it pretty hard for Belichick to have given him the benefit of the doubt. While Chandler has stayed incident and injury free, the Patriots would have likely only had one more season of his services as he was definitely going to get paid. Swaying the verdict even more in Belichick's favor is the fact that the Patriots received such a quality return and have had one of the best defenses in the NFL without him.
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