The Kansas City Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on Chris Jones but now need to make cap room, ideally through trades. Who could the champs deal?
The franchise tag period had barely begun on Feb. 27 when the Kansas City Chiefs placed the tag on defensive tackle Chris Jones. As reported by Ian Rapaport of NFL Network, the goal for general Brett Veach and the Chiefs is to work out a long-term deal with the phenomenal defender who is a key building block for a defense that showed marked improvement from 2018 to 2019 en route to winning Super Bowl LIV.
Whether or not a deal is worked out with Jones, however, the Chiefs need to make some room under the salary cap to fit him and other potential additions this offseason. According to Over the Cap, Kansas City currently has only $13.67 million in cap room as of right now, which is not enough to even fit Jones under on the franchise tag. And as reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Chiefs could look to trade players to make room.
With Jones and a looming extension for All-World quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs need to make as much room under the cap as possible. And it stands to reason why they would prefer to do so via trade. After all, a trade means they could get something in return as opposed to simply cutting these players.
So looking at what the Chiefs have on their roster and the books, what trades could the champions make? Let’s take a look at five possible trade candidates for the Kansas City Chiefs. (Note: All figures are via Over the Cap.)
5. Chris Jones, DT
Possible Trade Partners: Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks
The first possibility that has to be discussed is that the Chiefs could simply be tagging Chris Jones in the interest of trading him to get something in return as opposed to simply losing him as an unrestricted free agent in March. We saw Veach and Kansas City do the same thing last year with Dee Ford.
Such a move would make a lot of sense financially as Jones will carry one of the five largest cap hits on the roster either on the franchise tag or if the two sides were to strike a long-term deal. On the flip side, the Chiefs defense has lived and died by having Jones on the interior of the line. He’s their best run defender and a force as a pass-rusher, something he displayed in the Super Bowl.
If Kansas City were to decide to trade Jones, he would likely fetch the largest haul in terms of what they could get in return and there would certainly be no shortage of suitors. Having said that, it also seems like the least likely option given the team’s apparent commitment to the defensive tackle and his value to the defense.