The Kansas City Chiefs had their work cut out for them this offseason. As the reigning Super Bowl champions, every team wants to emulate them around the league. Part of that entails signing players to try and bring some of that championship success to their team.
That occurred multiple times in free agency as the Chiefs lost a number of players. Offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, safety Juan Thornhill, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders and wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman were among the most prominent departures.
Kansas City also released edge defender Frank Clark. They attempted to work out a restructured deal, but nothing came to fruition. He has since signed with the Denver Broncos.
Some of those holes have been filled with outside free agents, while others will be filled internally with players stepping into larger roles. The Chiefs are up against it a little bit with the salary cap, so adding to the roster any more could present some challenges.
However, there is one way to alleviate some of those concerns; work out an extension with star defensive tackle, Chris Jones. Extending him is the one move that ESPN NFL insider Field Yates believes the Chiefs should make this offseason.
“No surprise here, as the Chiefs have talked this offseason about their openness to extend one of the NFL’s best defensive players. Jones is entering the final year of a four-year, $80 million deal and is due for a raise — likely north of $22.5 million per year, which is where other elite defensive tackles have checked in this offseason. An extension for Jones would also create cap space for the Chiefs this year, which they need.”
There is no denying that Jones has earned the lucrative contract that he is playing out. He has recorded at least 7.5 sacks in five consecutive seasons and is one of the best players in the NFL at his position.
With the defensive tackle market booming this offseason, working out an extension with Jones makes a lot of sense for both sides. Jones is worthy of the raise coming his way and it would present the Chiefs a chance to open up some much-needed cap space for this year.
