NFL blockbuster sends Chandler Jones to Arizona Cardinals, Jonathan Cooper to New England Patriots
By John Buhler
The Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots have pulled off a blockbuster trade involving guard Jonathan Cooper and defensive end Chandler Jones.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots have orchestrated a massive blockbuster deal on Tuesday afternoon: The Cardinals will send guard Jonathan Cooper and a second round pick to the Patriots for defensive end Chandler Jones.
Cards-Pats blockbuster from @diannaESPN and me: Cards trade G Jonathan Cooper + 2nd-rd pick to NE for DE Chandler Jones, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2016
The Patriots are reportedly sending away a huge building block of their vaunted defense in dynamic pass rusher Jones to help give New England any semblance of protection up front for quarterback Tom Brady.
New England rarely makes this type of huge trade, but the price to get one of the best guards in football in Cooper and a second-round pick was the great defensive end Jones. Cooper went No. 7 overall to Arizona in the 2013 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina.
While Cooper has only played two seasons in the NFL, the second round pick going with him to New England probably has to do with Cooper hitting free agency next spring. At only 26 years old, there is still a strong chance that he will end up re-signing with New England long term.
Jones went No. 21 overall to the Patriots in the 2012 NFL Draftand is coming off his first Pro Bowl season in 2015. Arizona has relied on its dynamic secondary the last few years and may want a transformative pass rusher of Jones’ caliber to lead their pass rush for the next few years.
It’s rare to see a trade in the NFL these days, especially between two of the top 10 teams in the league. However, both the Patriots and the Cardinals had holes to fill on their rosters heading into 2016, and perhaps this blockbuster deal helps rectify the issues both New England and Arizona had in 2015 that prevented them from playing in Super Bowl 50. Both clubs lost in their respective conference championship games in January.