Chandler Jones is, once again, on track to make a whole lot of money. The former 21st overall pick (2012) has enjoyed a stellar NFL career between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, but it's highly likely he finds a new home in 2022, and he'll have no shortage of suitors lining up to make him an offer when legal tampering gets underway on March 14. A Super Bowl champion and two-time All-Pro who was also named to the 2010s All-Decade Team, Jones isn't playing like a traditional 32-year-old, and was instead a force yet again for the Cardinals last season -- finishing with 10.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in 15 regular-season starts.
It's also key to note he did most of his damage without J.J. Watt on the field, a player added in free agency to help complement the return of Jones from a torn bicep suffered in 2020. It was instead Jones carrying much of the load in the pass-rush arena, and he looked as spry as ever, looking to prove a point after having again not been made a viable offer by the Cardinals to remain past 2021.
That means he's now an unrestricted free agent, and here are five of many possible landing spots for the Cardinals' all-time sack leader who will not be an inexpensive grab for anyone who wants to add him to their defense, bringing 107.5 career sacks (seven double-digit sack seasons in 10 tries) to the roster.
Market value (per Spotrac): $14.5 million annually
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jones got a small taste of what it's like to play in tandem with a Watt brother -- having spent some of 2021 with future Hall of Fame pass rusher J.J. Watt in Arizona. But while the eldest is rapidly approaching the end of his career, based upon consistent issues with durability, younger brother is just now tapping into his prime form; and the Steelers would love nothing more than to boast a defensive unit that has Jones and T.J. Watt rushing off of opposite edges. They also have plenty of cap space to go after Jones, who is still more dominant than Melvin Ingram -- whom they tried their hand at unsuccessfully last season -- also knowing the team needs an elite pass rush to contend with the AFC North likes of Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow (and when healthy, arguably Baker Mayfield as well).
Baltimore Ravens
Of course, free agency has its own bout of competition within divisions, and the Ravens are not unfamiliar with battling the Steelers for the interest of top talent. Last year, it was wideout Juju Smith-Schuster choosing to remain with the Steelers after having been courted heavily by the Ravens, and you just know Baltimore would love to keep Jones out of Pittsburgh -- instead using him as a weapon against them in a season wherein head coach Mike Tomlin is still trying to figure out whom his starting QB will be. Sure, the Ravens could look to re-sign Calais Campbell, but that shouldn't preclude them from going after a game-wrecker like Jones, seeing as they desperately need to get back to imposing their will upon opposing quarterbacks; and in a season that should see their secondary regain its mojo as star defensive backs return from injury.
Denver Broncos
There's a very real belief within the Broncos' organization that Bradley Chubb will get back to the best version of himself in 2022 after battling injury, but with Von Miller having been traded in 2021 and then going on to land his second Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams, Chubb will need another superhero to help take attention away from him. You love what a player like Shelby Harris brings to the table from a rotational capacity, but neither he nor Dre'Mont Jones (who is also a free agent in 2023, barring an extension before then) have the pedigree that Jones carries. This would be a match made in heaven for a Broncos defense that showed it was on the verge of being one of the best in the league last season, but only if it can add one or two more explosive pieces.
Seattle Seahawks
It's been quite awhile since the NFL has feared any sort of pass rush coming out of the Pacific Northwest. The Seahawks have been searching desperately for someone who can change the entire outcome of games at defensive end (e.g., Carlos Dunlap), and on a regular basis, and Jones fits that bill to the letter. Of course, the Seahawks know this intimately, having faced him twice a year, every year, since he's moved over from the New England Patriots in 2016. This will be their first real crack at trying to poach him from their NFC West foe and turn him against them, the latter presumably being an easy task when considering how things have devolved between Jones and the Cardinals over the past two seasons. That could very well lead to Jones wanting to join a Cardinals enemy to show them they should've secured him when they had the chance, and head coach Pete Carroll would certainly welcome it.
Atlanta Falcons
Whilst most of the football world goes back and forth over if Matt Ryan is still a capable franchise QB, the Falcons have already seen owner Arthur Blank commit to him for 2022, and that means a good chunk of their attention can turn to rebuilding a wildly underperforming defensive unit. It's one that saw Dante Fowler able to lead the team in sacks with only 4.5 en route to being released in February, and a three-way tie for second place in that category yielded only two sacks a piece for Foyesade Oluokun, Deion Jones and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner. Needless to say, that production is laughable and won't get the Falcons anywhere near the playoffs in 2022, but signing Jones would be a gargantuan leap in the right direction. They'll have a much bigger challenge than the others on this list thanks to their salary cap issue, however, one that not-so-coincidentally is tied to the looming $48.66 million cap hit to come from Ryan.
