Top Raiders Pass Rusher to Miss Steelers Game

Raiders edge rusher and top pass rusher Chandler Jones will miss the team’s game against the Steelers after they placed him on the non-football injury list on Thursday, the team announced. As a result, Jones will have to miss the next four games, including this Sunday’s matchup.

Jones has posted odd things on Instagram and Twitter throughout the ordeal over the last few weeks. He did not play in the team’s first two games, and now they are standing behind him but open up the roster spot with him still out. There is growing concern about the situation, with little answers to come from the entire case.

As a result, rookie Tyree Wilson will continue to start across from Maxx Crosby. Malcolm Koonce backs both of them up and plays a rotational pass rusher. So far, the Raiders have played some porous defense over the first few weeks, allowing 62 percent of all drives by opposing teams to reach the redzone. Losing Jones for even longer will be no help, but his situation remains mystifying and concerning to the outside viewer. As a longtime veteran, the situation came out of nowhere, with Jones now throwing accusations toward the organization.

Last year, when the Raiders and Steelers met, Jones proved to be a problem early on before exiting the game with an elbow injury. He did not return to that matchup.

He has already put together some memorable moments as a member of the Raiders. A first-round choice in the 2012 NFL Draft, Chandler Jones is still regarded as one of the most talented defensive linemen in the sport, as evidenced by the pivotal play he made against New England last year. With no time left on the clock, the game tied, and the Patriots trying to pull a rabbit out of their hat, Jones got in front of a Jakobi Meyers lateral and stiff-armed Mac Jones to the ground.