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The 2017 season has seen the NFL ravaged by injuries to the point where it will impact the outcome of your Super Bowl Champions, hello New England Patriots.
In fact, the year has been so bad, you can’t even get the entirety of the stars and impact players into one tweet with the new 280 character limit:
Deshaun Watson, JJ Watt, Eric Berry, Andrew Luck, Richard Sherman, Julian Edelman, Ryan Shazier, Joe Haden, Dalvin Cook, Odell Beckham Jr, Brandon Marshall, Joe Thomas, Jason Peters, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, and now Carson Wentz. Damn it 2017
— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 11, 2017
Yes, there was a follow up:
David Johnson, Carson Palmer, Sam Bradford, Donta Hightower, Marshall Yanda, Whitney Mercilus, Jonathan Allen, Ryan Tannehill, It's endless. and not even including Aaron Rodgers who could be back this Sunday https://t.co/94zaaQAmEY
— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 11, 2017
The Cardinals have been hit hard. David Johnson, Carson Palmer, D.J. Humprhies and even Tyvon Branch, Mike Iupati and now Jared Veldheer.
The one name not on that list and the player in 2017 that would mean more than any other is Chandler Jones.
No player in 2017 has been more important than Chandler Jones. No, not just for the Cardinals, but in the NFL.
Chandler Jones leads the @NFL in both sacks (14.0) & tackles for losses (24).
— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) December 11, 2017
In fact he is the only player who ranks in the top 5 in each category. pic.twitter.com/DOrdJzX2Be
Jones has 38 negative plays accounted for in the NFL, most of any player in the league. He leads the league in both tackles for loss and sacks.
He also is the guy who consistently makes a big play when you need it. We’ve seen the sack fumbles, sometimes his teammates aren’t close enough to help him recover, but he’s giving his team a chance.
He is the key to the defensive unit turning around as well.
Many, myself included, wondered if he could carry a defensive unit. He has answered that in such an emphatic way that now you feel like his offseason extension may have been too low. (Don’t read this Jones’ agent)
Jones is a star.
He may be the best defensive player in the NFL in 2017.
What a year for Chandler Jones.