ALAMEDA – Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was asked about Dion Jordan earlier this week and used two terms to describe him.

Future Las Vegas Raider. Role model.

Go ahead. Raise a Chucky-esque eyebrow, then quickly put it back down.

Yes, Gruden’s referring to the same defensive lineman the Miami Dolphins drafted No. 3 overall back in 2013, the same one suspended four times by the NFL. It’s the same guy who drank too much, too often and for too long, who also missed an entire season with a knee injury suffered away from his employer.

We all know Gruden’s prone to hyperbole. Not this time.

Future Raider. Role model.

Take both to the bank.

The Dion Jordan you’ve read about is not the guy now playing in silver and black. He has found himself in sobriety and the newfound perspective that comes with it. And, in that great place of making consistently smart and productive decisions, true talent’s starting to come out.

“Every day I come to work,” Jordan said on this week’s Raiders Talk podcast, “It’s a daily reminder of the hard work I’ve done and what’s ahead in the future for where I want to be as a football player, where I want to be as a man.”

That mindset is why the above statements are true. Younger players cling to his advice, coming from real-life experience. The Raiders appreciate additional explosiveness on the interior pass rush, a rigid role given after he was signed early in Week 11 -- it should expand upon re-upping for next year -- after serving his last suspension for taking Adderall not knowing that his therapeutic use exemption had expired.

He was clean and sober at the time. Still is. The setback, which came after establishing himself with the Seahawks, didn’t deter his drive. It enhanced it and provided a clear perspective on what he wanted to do next.

“They all hurt, but I’m not going to lie. This last one, though, was tough,” Jordan said. “I wouldn’t say I took it worse. I would say that I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I crossed out anybody and everybody who wasn’t about Dion and the plan for the next 5-10 years of my life, with or without football.

“I have also realized that I don’t put football on too high of a pedestal. It’s what I do and I love it, but it’s not who I am. I don’t have to spend all day trying to be this individual who longs for people to cheer on No. 95. What I’ve learned is that I want to be around people who what to be around Dion Jordan, the individual not the football player. It’s an easier way of living. I know who I am, and I’m comfortable with the mistakes I’ve made. I just move forward.”

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NFL fans can be tough. And fickle. They often look at players as assets with height, weight, athleticism and explosiveness functioning only to serve the team they love. If (and when) you don’t perform, focus shifts to the younger models.

Their love is intense at first, especially for those highly drafted. That was especially true in Miami, where everybody loved the athletic freak out of Oregon who the Dolphins moved up nine spots to select. Party invitations come as long as you perform. Mistaking love for No. 95 as love for Jordan got him in trouble.

“It was very difficult,” Jordan said. “All eyes are on you. That’s especially true of where I was drafted and the city I was drafted to. Everything was kind of full speed. I have learned how to tone all that down and eliminate that type of noise and only use it when I need to. I’m focused on who I am as an individual is a lifelong goal.”

That hard lesson took a while to learn, but Jordan figured it out in time. He stopped drinking in 2017 and hasn’t looked back, even with this year’s suspension a significant setback. The decision to make positive life choices with time to realize personal and athletic goals stands as one of the proud moments in his life.

“I’m proud of it mainly because it was a decision I made on my own,” Jordan said. “It was a life choice I decided to make. I feel so good about that, and appreciative of myself to the point where I hold myself to a higher standard when I walk in rooms. That shows up with the way I act, the way I treat people and my decision not to drink. It’s a gratifying thing, to do for yourself and love yourself in such a way.”