Chandler Jones posts, then deletes that he doesn’t want to play for Raiders coach and GM

National Football League

Updated Sep. 6, 2023 5:40 p.m. ET

One day after star Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones indicated in since-deleted social media posts that he no longer wanted to play for coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, Jones was away from the team Wednesday due to what McDaniels termed a “personal situation” and a “private matter.”

McDaniels characterized the situation as “day to day.” He did not clarify whether Jones will play in the Raiders’ season opener at Denver on Sunday.

“We’ve got to deal with different things during the course of the year, whether it’s injuries or other adversity,” McDaniels said. “I think the guys are focused on trying to control the things that they can control and get ready to play the best game we can play.”

Tyree Wilson, selected seventh overall in this year’s draft, is listed on the depth chart as the backup should Jones not play against the Broncos. Wilson missed most of training camp because of a foot injury from his last season at Texas Tech.

“He’s worked through this whole spring and summer on schedule with what we’ve been asking him to do,” McDaniels said. “This week will be another week we’ll push forward. I think he’s done a tremendous job of trying to follow the plan. He’ll be ready to go. Nobody’s going to play 70 plays on Sunday.”

In the social media posts, Jones accused the Raiders of reaching out to a woman he had previously been involved with and said he preferred that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham take over as the coach.

“It’s a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to work out during the season for no apparent reason this is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what’s right,” Jones posted on Instagram.

It was unclear what timeframe Jones was referring to. He missed a stretch of recent practices because of an unspecified injury but then returned last week.

Chandler Jones rips Raiders, Josh McDaniels & GM in bizarre social media tirade

Regardless, he posted that he didn’t “wanna play for the Raiders” if McDaniels and Ziegler were still in control.

Those posts took a much different tone from what Jones wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, saying he “can’t wait to play this year! Feelin great in practice!”

This isn’t the first time this year a Raiders star player expressed displeasure at Raiders management.

Wide receiver Davante Adams told “The Ringer” in April that he and management “don’t see eye to eye on what we think is best for us right now.”

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Adams, however, said in a news conference in May that he is completely on board with the Raiders.

“At the end of the day, I’m a Raider and excited to be here,” Adams said at the time. “I love my head coach, I love the general manager here and everybody from top to bottom.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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