New England Patriots Should Trade Star DE Chandler Jones

Instead of risking losing him for nothing, the New England Patriots should look to trade star defensive end Chandler Jones

Chandler Jones is a soon-to-be 26-year-old defensive end who is coming off of the best season of his career. Jones finished with 12.5 sacks in 2015, becoming a true force to be reckoned with on the outside.

He not only took his pass rushing ability to the next level in 2015, as Jones’s ability against the run was also much improved. Defending the run was once a real issue for Jones, but it became a major strength to his game in 2015.

Jones is a young and talented player who is coming off of a career year at a premium position. Theoretically, he is a player who the New England Patriots would be building their defense around. However, it may not be that simple.

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Last off season, the Patriots picked up the fifth-year contract options on both Jones and star linebacker Dont’a Hightower. This puts both players under contract through the 2016 season, but they will both be unrestricted free agents after that. On top of Jones and Hightower hitting free agency in 2017, the Patriots will be looking to get back linebacker Jamie Collins and cornerback Malcolm Butler.

Arguably the four most important players on the Patriots’ defense will all hit free agency at the same time next off season. Their chances of bringing them all back are slim to none. Instead of losing out on one of these players for nothing next off season, the Patriots would be wise to look ahead and deal one of them for draft compensation this off season, and Jones is the one who makes the most sense.

For starters, the Patriots already have some nice depth at the defensive end position. Sure, Jones is the most talented of the bunch, but Jabaal Sheard was fantastic in his first year in New England, and Rob Ninkovich is a rock-solid player as well. 2015 rookies Geneo Grissom and Trey Flowers showed a ton of upside as well. Losing Jones obviously hurts, but defensive end is a deep position for the Patriots.

Also, as a young pass rusher coming off of a career season, Jones’ value is sky-high right now. Obviously, being under contract for only one season will limit his overall value, but Jones is a talented player who could certainly be looked at as the missing piece for many competitive teams.

The Patriots will have so many decisions to make next off season, and as great as Jones is, he seems to be the odd man out in the defensive core. I have a hard time believing that Bill Belichick will pay premium free agency prices for a pass rusher, and that is the kind of contract that Jones will command on the open market.

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Instead of likely losing him for nothing, the Patriots would be wise to get some value out of Jones while they still can. Replacing their 2016 first round pick for in exchange for Jones is unlikely, but I could see certain teams giving up a second round selection for him. That would be a trade that the Patriots should be all over.

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