New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might not be the first person many sports fans think of when talking about nicest guys in sports, but one of his former players, defensive end Chandler Jones, made sure to thank the four-time Super Bowl-winning head coach for a pretty hilarious reason after being traded this offseason.
Jones, who was shipped to the Arizona Cardinals in March—a team which reached the NFC Championship Game—had this to say to his former boss, per USA Today:
“I didn’t get a chance to speak to him (the day of the trade) – he was on a flight or something,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “But I called him the next day and said, ‘Hey, you could’ve traded me to any other team, so thank you for not trading me to a crappy team.’”
Jones said he actually used a more vulgar word than “crappy” – he was cleaning things up for print – but the message was the same.
“He laughed,” Jones said of Belichick, who in return received guard Jonathan Cooperand a second-round draft pick, later turned into a third-rounder (used on guard Joe Thuney) and a fourth (receiver Malcolm Mitchell).
That’s pretty solid stuff, right there.
A Pro Bowler last season after notching a career high 12.5 sacks in New England, Jones knew the Pats weren’t going to drop dimes on him, so he figured he may be moved this offseason for his former team to get something in return.
“They’re not known for really paying guys over there,” Jones said of the Patriots, who have more tough decisions ahead as several good players come up for second contracts. “There were rumors going around that I might be traded, but you never really read too much into rumors. When it happened, it was just a tad shocking. But I packed my bags and moved on.”
And, while it was shocking, it sure sounds as if he’s pretty pumped he’s not suiting up for the Cleveland Browns or some other shitty team this season—and just figured he’d let Belichick know that.