Kansas City Chiefs: Potential landing spots for Chris Jones in 2020

Much of the discussion over the next few months of the Kansas City Chiefs offseason will center around the status of defensive tackle Chris Jones. If the Chiefs opt to move the tackle, where might he land?

We will start with a disclaimer: I am not advocating for the Kansas City Chiefs to move on from Chris Jones nor am I yelling for the Chiefs to do whatever it takes to keep him. This is simply a discussion on if the Chiefs do decide to trade the defensive tackle, what teams could make sense.

We won’t explore value, as teams will have to decide what they are willing to pay; We simply will look at a few teams that would make the most sense.

Indianapolis Colts

The organization who could be best positioned for a trade is the Colts. General Manager Chris Ballard was with the Chiefs when the Jones was drafted, the Colts are in the midst of a bit of an arms race with the Texans (and a lesser degree the Titans) in the AFC South, and possess both the requisite cap room and draft capital to make the deal.

Per spotrac.com, the Colts are second in the NFL in cap room with $86.137 million in 2020 cap space. After a trade during the 2019 draft with the Redskins, the Colts posses four picks in the first three rounds, 13th overall in the first along with the 34th and 44th overall selections in the second and 75th overall in the third.

They are loaded with both cap room and solid draft capital to make a move.

Arizona Cardinals

Loaded with young players led by 2019 top overall selection, the Arizona Cardinals are in an interesting spot to begin to load up on players with so many young players on the roster. While not quite as loaded with draft capital or cap room to the extent to which the Colts are, the Cardinals are still in a position to add talent to their roster.

Per spotrac.com, the Cardinals are 14th in the league with $51.542 million in cap room. They also currently three selections in the top 70 in the draft, with 40th and 72nd overall to go along with their 8th overall selection.

Perhaps, much in the way the Chiefs did with Alex Smith, could the Chiefs get a pick and player for Chris Jones? Maybe they could work out a trade where Jones goes to the desert and Byron Murphy comes to Chiefs Kingdom.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are in the same situation that the Chiefs were in last year. Their window is closing and they have had two controversial season ending defeats at home in consecutive seasons. Does the desperation of the Saints combine with the availability of a pocket pushing defensive tackle entice the Saints to make a move for Jones?

They have less cap room than the Chiefs do currently, so they would have to get creative, but as they say, desperation leads to bad

I don’t think the Saints would make the move, but perhaps if they move their first round pick (24th overall) knowing there will be some decisions at quarterback to come in a year or so, they can construct a package to make it work.

Seattle Seahawks

No move would be more ironic than the Seahawks being the trade target for Chris Jones. After trading Frank Clark to the Chiefs last year for two picks, could the tables turn and the Seahawks being the team that trades for Jones where they surrender picks to the Chiefs for the lineman?

The Seahawks do have plenty of cap room, sitting eighth in the league at $59.719 million. They also have plenty of draft picks, along with the 23rd overall selection, 59th and 64th overall in the second round and 103rd overall in round three.

However, with their own Jarran Reed as a free agent and L.J. Collier coming back from injury (drafted with the pick the Chiefs gave up), do the Seahawks jump into the defensive line deep end with Chris Jones?

Buffalo Bills

After spending a top ten pick on defensive tackle Ed Oliver last year, the idea of the Bills trading for Chris Jones would be interesting. However, with a young, rookie contract quarterback in Josh Allen to go along with solid young defenders on rookie contracts in Oliver, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and corner Tre’Davious White, Jones would combine with Oliver to create a formidable defensive interior for head coach Sean McDermott, who is a defensive minded coach.

The Bills, much like the Seahawks, will draft late in the first round, currently sitting at 22nd overall, followed by 54th overall and 86th overall in the first three rounds. They also have a solid amount of cap room, fourth in the NFL at $81.074 million in cap space

Conclusion

While it sucks to think about, I don’t think Chris Jones returns to the Chiefs next season. In a passing league and with limited cap space (currently sit at $18.955 million and a slew of other free agents), it’s hard to picture giving out two $100 million contracts to defensive linemen with so many questions elsewhere, and a quarterback about ready to reset what a big contract in the NFL is.

Next. Way too early look at Chiefs 2020 offseason. dark

While these are teams who could be possible landing spots for Jones, I’m not sure many viewed the Chiefs as a landing spot for Frank Clark at this point last year. Just remember, whatever happens from this point, the Kansas City Chiefs have a Super Bowl championship on their resumé and we should allow whatever decision the staff makes play out before we cast judgement.

Home/Chris Jones News