3 Arizona Cardinals who won’t be back next season after Rams loss

2. OLB Chandler Jones

After being limited to five games in 2020 by a torn bicep, Jones reportedly requested a trade last summer heading into the final year of his contract. He reported to camp right away though, if only to avoid huge fines, and had a rebound season with 10.5 sacks (five in Week 1) and 26 quarterback hits in 16 games.

Jones still doesn’t have a new contract, which was definitely the root of his discontent last offseason. The Cardinals reportedly made what can only be considered a low-ball offer right before camp.

Jones will turn 32 just before free agency starts (Feb. 27), which will be a factor in the length of the deal he gets on the open market (assuming he doesn’t get a new deal from the Cardinals in the meantime, but let’s call that very unlikely). Even with that a $14-$16 million per year average over a two or three-year deal is a reasonable expectation, and that may simply be too rich for Arizona to consider.

The Cardinals surely wanted to see Jones prove he could stay healthy and still be productive this season before committing to multiple more years, and he did so even when considering half his sacks came in one game. But there appears to be a fractured relationship between the two sides, which also hasn’t been fixed to the player’s satisfaction, so Jones has likely played his last snap for the Cardinals.