Back in 2016, the New England Patriots traded pass rusher Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals because they could not afford to pay him what he was worth.

Jones still remembers that trade to this day, and it remains a motivational tool for him:

“I feel like at any time I can be traded,” Jones said, according to Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' official team website. “It might sound bizarre to say, but I’m someone who has been in that situation. I’ve been traded before and that little sense of rejection is a crappy feeling, honestly. That’s what drives me. That’s what motivates me. I never want to get traded again.”

With the way he has played since the trade, he might not.

Jones is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and racked up 49 tackles, 13 sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and that wasn't even his best year with the club.

The 29-year-old's best season came in 2017, when he finished with 58 tackles, 17 sacks and a couple of forced fumbles en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection.

Jones, who has logged double-digit sack totals in four straight seasons and five of his last six, signed a massive five-year, $82.5 million contract extension with the Cardinals in 2017.

The crazy thing is, he doesn't even care about how many sacks he posts:

“It’s not about getting double-digit sacks,” Jones said. “The big thing is just being consistent. Speaking from a coach’s perspective, you want a player that’s consistent. You want a player that you know what you’re going to get day in and day out, on and off the field. A lot of that gives credit to some of my numbers, and hopefully I can stay consistent.”

Well, he has been consistent while also piling up numbers.