Chiefs Could Pull a Dee Ford With Chris Jones and That Would Be a Travesty
By Scott Rogust
The Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2020 league year with expectations to retain their key players in order to push towards a potential dynasty. They had the chance to lock in stud defensive tackle Chris Jones to a long-term contract extension, but instead opted to place the franchise tag on him Monday morning.
This isn't the franchise tag of old, where a team is essentially guaranteed to remain on the roster for the upcoming season. No, teams are increasingly known to tag players and begin shopping them to other teams. Hell, the Chiefs did it last year with linebacker Dee Ford, subsequently shipping him off to the San Francisco 49ers.
But if the Chiefs are going down the same path with Jones, they're making a massive mistake.
With Chris Jones wanting a big-money contract [deservingly], will the #Chiefs give it to him or simply decide to go the Dee Ford route of last season with a tag-and-trade? with Patrick Mahomes deal coming up, they need every bit of cap space possible. https://t.co/uwEEiDKXWs
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 16, 2020
As everyone knows, Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams is the cream of the crop at the defensive tackle position -- and Jones is the only interior defensive lineman that approaches the same level as Donald.
In his four years with the Chiefs, Jones showed his ability to clog the trenches to stop the run game and put pressure on the quarterback in passing downs. That's further evidenced by his 72 quarterback hits and 33 sacks through 61 career games.
Look, we understand the Chiefs have to pay quarterback Patrick Mahomes down the line, and he'll come at a hefty price, so freeing up cap space is something they'll have to do to accommodate that.
#Chiefs have officially placed the franchise tag on DL Chris Jones, per @AdamSchefter. Will be interesting to watch how this plays out. Jones (rightfully) wants to get paid big-money. KC already paid Frank Clark big-money on their d-line and have Mahomes waiting on a record deal.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) March 16, 2020
Considering the Chiefs placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jones, interested teams would have to surrender two first round picks. Of course, that'd be a smart business decision for any team. But can the Chiefs select a player out of college who will make the same impact as Jones? That's highly doubtful.
The Chiefs can't overthink this. They have to keep Jones in Kansas City for the foreseeable future. If not, their defense will suffer.