Report: Raiders place DE Chandler Jones on non-football illness list amid string of bizarre social media posts

The Las Vegas Raiders have placed Chandler Jones on the non-football illness list, the latest turn in a saga that's seen the Pro Bowl defensive end miss the start of the season while making a string of bizarre social media posts.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the news Wednesday, which the Raiders had not announced. Per the report, Jones was placed on the list to deal with a personal issue, and he'll be welcomed back to the team if his situation improves.

Jones, who joined the Raiders last season following a 2021 Pro Bowl effort with the Arizona Cardinals, was inactive for the first two Raiders games of the season. He's likewise been absent from practice for what head coach Josh McDaniels called Sept. 8 "a personal situation and a private matter."

"We have dealt with it and I am not going to talk about it," McDaniels continued while speaking with the media two days before Las Vegas' season opener against the Denver Broncos.

Jones' social media posts

Jones absence from the team coincided with a flurry of expletive-laden social media posts that he made starting Sept. 5, with one declaring that he doesn't want to play for the Raiders any more.

"Don't wanna play for the Raiders if that's my HC, or GM," Chandler wrote on an Instagram story that is no longer live. He also wrote that the Raiders wouldn't let him in the building and that he had “to go to a local to gym to work out."

In the following days, Jones continued to post on social media including a message that the Raiders had sent a crisis response team to his house. He included an image of a badge purported to be that of the crisis team's manager.

He also shared a screen grab of a text conversation that he purportedly had with McDaniels while expressing dissatisfaction with not playing in addition to a video of himself sitting in the dark saying that the Raiders tried to "spook me."

On Friday, Jones made unfounded and since-deleted accusations against Raiders owner Mark Davis on social media. He later posted that his account was hacked.

Now, five days later, the Raiders have placed Jones on the non-football illness list. Nothing else is publicly known regarding Jones' health or state of mind.

Jones, 33, is an 11-year NFL veteran. A four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, he was one of the NFL's fiercest defenders and pass rushers at his peak. He started 15 games for the Raiders last season in the first year of a three-year, $51 million contract. He recorded 4.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, three fumble recoveries and three passes defended.