With big contracts on the horizon, it’s really up in the air for what is going to happen to Chief Star.
The Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle was placed under the franchise tag. The Chiefs were unable to find an agreement with the team before the deadline on a long-term contract. Now, it seems that the team is ready to make an extension happen according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Chiefs’ GM Brett Veach on franchise player Chris Jones: “The deadline to get a deal done is July 15. So there’s a lot of time to continue dialogue and to work on something with Chris, but we certainly are going to work to retain him, not just for next year, but for the future.”
When Jones was hit with the tag, he was clearly upset and made some disparaging comments.
“After four years, you do everything the right way…you expect to be rewarded,” Jones said, via ProFootballTalk. “So you know when you’re hit with the franchise tag, it can go different ways. You can feel like they’re not valuing you or they’re not valuing what you bring to the table.”
In 2019, Jones made the Pro Bowl, leading the defensive unit with 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks en route to a Super Bowl title. In a span of two years, he has recorded 24.5 sacks in 29 games, including nine last season in 12 games.
He is by far the best defensive player on the team that has his prime years ahead of him at just the age of 25-years old.
If Jones hits the open market, he will be out of the team’s price. The Chiefs rank dead last in salary cap and are going to have to find a way to pay quarterback Patrick Mahomes an absurd, but well-deserved, amount of money.