KC Chiefs must make decision on Chris Jones in next two weeks
By John McCarty
The KC Chiefs must avoid pitfalls of a franchised player, and the situation with ChrisJones must be resolved in two weeks. Either extend him or trade him; The NFL Draft is the deadline for action.
While the NFL calendar may tell you the deadline to get a deal done with a franchised tagged player is in July, as we have seen and learned, the deadline is actually much earlier than that.
No, the actual deadline is in April, culminating in the draft. For the Kansas City Chiefs, that is the deadline to get a deal done with Chris Jones. If they can’t get something worked out, the franchise must move Jones in a trade. Otherwise, well, they failed to learn from the travails of others.
Just last season, we saw franchised pass rushers Dee Ford and Frank Clark traded on franchise tags in deals done before the 2019 draft. Both involved the Chiefs, we know the details, they have been gone over numerous times in many ways. However, good value was had by all.
Also last season, the Houston Texans traded Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks in a deal that was a far cry from the trade of other tagged players. The Texans, in a bind nearing training camp, moved the star pass rusher to the Seattle Seahawks for a third round pick and two role players.
While the Raiders received good value when they finally relented and traded Khalil Mack to the Bears, the organization had to wait a year to cash in on their return, moving him before training camp in 2018.
The Chiefs perhaps could target future draft picks in an effort to increase value (the longer teams wait, the greater the return is) or because of the uncertainty surrounding this year’s draft. Or perhaps, would a team be willing to give up just a bit more this year because of the uncertainty, with Jones being a known value?
Of course, we all want the KC Chiefs to find a way to get a contract done with Jones. He’s an emerging force along the interior of the defensive front and it’s hard to truly discuss how organizations, in general, become better by moving on from top shelf talent. I won’t waste time, we all want Chris Jones back. You want him back. Your neighbor wants him back. I want him back.
Chris Jones has zero intention of signing the franchise tender and reporting for training camp. As has been widely discussed, Jones commented to Colin Cowherd last month the only two options for him were long term deal with the Chiefs or a trade.
Was that a misquote or was that Jones making clear he wasn’t going to sign the one year deal? It was a negotiating comment, as he’s already shown a willingness to hold out, and he will do that again this year if a deal is not done.
More than perhaps anything else, the Chiefs can’t afford to go into the season with Chris Jones as a holdout. The organization as to carry that cap charge on their books through the offseason, greatly limiting their options adding players and getting deals done, and if Jones doesn’t report, it’s a situation of the Chiefs holding the room for a player that isn’t playing. It’s bad business and not a good sign.
Will Chris Jones be with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020? We surely don’t know, but we certainly hope that he is. However, in the next two weeks, we likely will find out.