Of course that’s what he’s going to say. His agent is going to explain to him how money works. No playoff contenders are going to pay him for the final third of the season to hold a clipboard. Veteran backups are good because they build a rapport with the team and have the insight to step in and run a trimmed down playbook. They coach up young 3rd stringers, and work with developing receivers and linemen.

Jones brings none of that to the table. Maybe for the Giants, but he doesn’t know any of the players, the coaches, the dynamics, or the playbooks anywhere else.

The only teams that will pay him are the ones who are desperate. Maybe some team thinks their starter is a significant injury risk, and they don’t like their backup, but the Raiders need an answer right now. Playoffs be damned, that’s the best chance he’s going to get to prove that the dumpster fire he’s leaving wasn’t his fault. Go there, play well, lose out because it’s the Raiders, and enter free agency next year as a known quantity.

Or maybe he doesn’t believe in himself. Or maybe the Raiders don’t believe in him. Or maybe LV wants to tank. What do I know?