Chiefs, Chris Jones Work Out Deal Ahead of Franchise Tag Deadline
As NFL teams continue to prepare for the return to training camps, expected to take place later this month, as they plan to try and play a regular season that is something close to normal, things are going on behind the scenes. There are 14 players that were hit with the franchise tag in the offseason. Those guys are staring down a 4 pm ET deadline to get a long-term deal done or run the risk of playing on the one-year deal afforded by the franchise tag. If the two sides can’t work out a deal before that, an extension can’t be signed until after the season comes to an end.
Of that group, eleven of the 14 had signed the one-year franchise tag tender as of early this week. Players that had not signed the tender included Bengals receiver A.J. Green, who has missed 23 of the last 24 regular season games due to injuries and didn’t play at all season. Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has been disenchanted with the Jaguars for a while now and has demanded a trade multiple times, with little success. Bud Dupree of the Steelers and Shaq Barrett of the Bucs signed their tenders but filed a grievance as they feel they should be classified as edge rushers instead of linebackers, which carry a tag value that is $2 million less than edge rushers.
Then there was Chiefs’ defensive end Chris Jones. After seeing Kansas City hand out a massive extension worth a potential $503 million to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, there was growing concern that the Chiefs wouldn’t have the money to keep Jones on a long-term deal. He hinted at potentially sitting out the season, as former Steelers and current Jets’ running back Le’Veon Bell did back in 2018.
On Tuesday, that no longer was a concern. The two sides agreed on a four-year deal potentially worth $85 million. He’ll receive $37 million upfront and $60 million of that is guaranteed money. There also is $5 million in incentives that are available should he be able to reach them. Jones becomes the seventh defensive player in the league to be guaranteed at least $60 million in their contract. That group is led by the $90 million that Bears linebacker Khalil Mack was guaranteed when he signed his deal a couple of years ago. Kansas City is the only team in the league with three players that each have at least $60 million guaranteed on their deals. Mahomes is guaranteed $140 million while fellow defensive lineman Frank Clark has $62.3 million of guaranteed cash on the books.
Jones finished last season with 36 tackles (23 solo) along with nine sacks, eight tackles for loss, four pass defenses, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 13 games last season. He did miss three games with a groin injury. In the postseason, he added three tackles (one solo), one quarterback hit and three pass defenses, all of which came in the Super Bowl win over San Francisco. For his career, Jones has 136 tackles (97 solo), 33 sacks, 37 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions, 20 pass defenses and one defensive touchdown over 61 games. He was a second-round pick, 37th overall, by the Chiefs out of Mississippi State back in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Kansas City dodged a potential showdown with their talented defensive tackle and kept him in the fold for the next four seasons. How the big contracts will affect the depth of the team is yet to be seen but as it stands, keeping Jones in the mix is a smart move for the defending Super Bowl champs as they try to defend their crown. Credit has to go to both sides by hammering out this deal. Jones got his money while not having to run the risk of alienating himself by holding out, while the Chiefs did all they could to keep the key personnel of last year’s title team intact.
