KC Chiefs: DeForest Buckner trade complicates Chris Jones situation
By John McCarty
Trade return and contract value that the Colts paid to San Francisco to acquire DeForest Bucker complicates the KC Chiefs’ situation with Chris Jones. What will a resolution look like?
On the first day of the league year in what feels like months ago, the San Francisco 49ers traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for the 13th overall selection.
In addition, the Colts signed Buckner to an extension to a four-year deal worth $84 million, with $44.378 million guaranteed. This deal does not help the Kansas City Chiefs with their work on getting a Chris Jones extension worked out and certainly doesn’t help in an effort to find a trade partner.
First off, yes, the Chiefs would have likely accepted the trade with the Colts for the 13th overall pick. And yes, Chris Jones would have flat rejected the contract Buckner signed. If Jones isn’t agreeing to a deal, the Chiefs would have been unable to trade him.
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Secondly, Buckner signed for an average of $21 million a season, which is on the low end of what Jones should be asking for, but what it does is eliminate the option for the Chiefs to get Jones any cheaper.
With salary cap concerns both this year and issues already for next season, having to pay the full freight makes it difficult to get a Jones deal done, especially not knowing what a Patrick Mahomes extension is going to look like.
Thirdly, with the 49ers landing a top half first round pick, it drives up the perceived price in a trade for Jones in a trade. It’s hard to fathom the idea of a team close to the where the Colts were picking being willing to part with that selection. If Jones goes for less than the 13th pick or the trade chart value of that pick, will the Chiefs have been viewed as selling low or do they flat reject the trade idea entirely?
It’s hard to imagine the Chiefs willing to have Jones on the roster past the draft. What little contract leverage the Chiefs have left at this point completely evaporates after the draft. If you combine the comments from Jones on the Colin Cowherd show earlier this offseason along with Jones having held out of all activities as long as he did last offseason, it’s hard to imagine him showing up for much if any of the upcoming season.
Can the Chiefs really run the risk of Chris Jones missing a large chunk if not all of the 2020 season while carrying the $16.126 franchise tag costs against the cap? Can the Chiefs get a Jones contract done without knowing what Mahomes will cost long-term?
Would the Chiefs be willing to – if they can’t get a deal done – do a trade for Jones for less than the 13th pick the 49ers received in the Buckner trade? With the Buckner contract, what impact does that have on the contract demands Jones may have? Does his price go up?
It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the coming weeks.