The Cardinals and Patriots pulled off one of the bigger trades of the offseason when New England sent linebacker Chandler Jones to Arizona for guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round draft pick, something that may have been on the minds of the league’s schedulers when they set up the opening weekend of the 2016 season.
The Patriots will be in Glendale Sunday night, giving Jones an immediate opportunity to show the Patriots what they gave up when they shipped him to the desert. Some of Jones’ teammates believe that the game has a special meaning for the former Patriot, but Jones says it’s “strictly business” on his end.
“I’m just taking this like a regular Week One, like any Week One I would go through,” Jones said, via ESPN.com. “A lot of people would say this is a big game for me, but I’m approaching it like any other game.”
Jones was used in a variety of ways by the Patriots and Sunday will bring the first chance to see how the Cardinals deploy the kind of three-down pass rushing threat that they’ve lacked in recent seasons. The Patriots will surely be paying attention as well in hopes of keeping Jones from spoiling Jimmy Garoppolo’s first regular season start.