Chandler Jones's 2020 season is finished after just five games.
Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury announced Wednesday morning that Jones is undergoing biceps surgery and is done for the year.
Jones suffered the injury in Sunday's victory over the New York Jets. The pass rusher was seen in pain, trying to shake out the injury on the sideline during the contest. He played just 27 snaps before getting hurt.
Season-ending surgery was the likely outcome after tearing the biceps, but the confirming MRI makes the news no easier to swallow in the desert.
Kingsbury added that he believes the recovery period is 3-4 months for Jones. That puts the sack-master back in time for 2021, the final year of his contract in Arizona.
Losing their highest-paid player is a blow to the Cardinals' playoff hopes. As we saw last week once Jones went out due to injury, Arizona's pass rush is significantly reduced without the perennial DPOY candidate. Jones is coming off a 2019 campaign in which he compiled 19 sacks and a league-high eight forced fumbles.
Through four-plus games in 2020, Jones had one sack and 11 tackles.
Sitting at 3-2, third in the NFC West, the Cards have their work cut out for them to make the postseason without their top defender.