NFL free agency: Predicting where top 25 projected players land in 2022

2022 NFL free agency: Chandler Jones to Detroit Lions

It’s going to be a long, long rebuild for newly-minted head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, and part of that rebuild has to include getting a once-proud defense back towards the kind of prowess it was supposed to have under fired head coach Matt Patricia.

This process will take a few years and could see a mix of veterans and NFL Draft picks. But if a savvy veteran pass-rusher is in the cards in 2022, going after the Arizona Cardinals’ Chandler Jones wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Jones’ 2020 campaign was forgettable as a biceps injury limited him to just five games and a single sack — a far cry from the perennial double-digit sack totals he put up essentially every year since he broke into the league in 2012.

At 31-years-old, Jones still has time to bounce back this season, which could prompt Arizona towards trying to retain him. Especially with the Cardinals adding defensive end J.J. Watt on a two-year deal, which could also serve to take pressure off Jones from having to do much of the dirty pass-rushing work.

Or Arizona could save up money for its own up-and-coming quarterback, Kyler Murray, which would mean Jones walks and joins a team on the rebuild.

The latter takes place here, as the Lions try adding some much-needed veteran presence to a rebuilding defense that had only 24 sacks in 2020.