Chiefs are making a big mistake with Chris Jones
The Kansas City Chiefs are making all the wrong decisions when it comes to handling Chris Jones' contract extension.Just like in 2019, the All-Pro defensive tackle is holding out, waiting on an extension. He skipped all offseason workouts, which, if the Chiefs decide to fine him, he could lose up to $98 thousand. However, it […]
The Kansas City Chiefs are making all the wrong decisions when it comes to handling Chris Jones' contract extension.
Just like in 2019, the All-Pro defensive tackle is holding out, waiting on an extension. He skipped all offseason workouts, which, if the Chiefs decide to fine him, he could lose up to $98 thousand. However, it is unknown whether they fined him or not. In that 2019 offseason, the Chiefs got an extension done during training camp, as they waited last minute like they normally do.
However, waiting last minute this time around is the worst thing they could do.
Chiefs inside Nate Taylor of The Athletic recently revealed some crucial information about how the Chiefs are handling the situation, which only makes things worse.
The Chiefs, according to a team source, are waiting to see if the New York Jets and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams agree to a contract extension before the start of training camp. If that deal happens and Williams indeed becomes the second-highest-paid player at the position behind Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald, who signed a three-year, $95 million contract restructure last June, Kansas City would then be able to negotiate a proper extension with Jones ahead of the upcoming season. -Nate Tayor, The Athletic
If this is true, this is the completely wrong way to go about the situation. Why would you have a younger player, who is considered to be one of the best at the position, be the guy that guides contract negotiations? Williams is great and will get a lot of money, but doing this doesn't make sense for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs need to get this done before Jones' price tag continues to climb. Teams are always negotiating with both the player and the NFL market. There is typically far less control over the latter factor, but that doesn't mean teams can't take advantage of it in the current moment. And that's exactly what the Chiefs need to do before Williams' new deal continues the recent snowball-effect of deals regarding the top DTs in the NFL.
Three young DTs in DaRon Payne, Dexter Lawrence, and Jeffery Simmons have signed deals since March that have done nothing but raise the price tag for the subsequent deal. Payne's deal pays him $22.5 million per year. Lawrence, who signed after Payne, makes $21.875 million per year, but, he was paid more money at signing, which is more important simply because a player gets paid that amount right then and there at signing.
On the surface, it may look like Lawrence was paid less, but when you incorporate the extra $9.253 million that becomes guaranteed in 2025 and is already guaranteed for injury, you can go ahead and add that to his total of $46.5 million, which comes out to $55.753 million and that's obviously higher than the $55.01 million Payne received at signing.
And then, of course, Big Jeff's deal is a gaudy $23.5 million per year, which is the second-highest AAV at the position. It's very likely Williams, who finished last year with 12.0 sacks and a first-team All-Pro nod, could make $25 million per year.
Why wouldn't Jones command more than that if Williams ends up with that total? It's a slippery slope that could easily hurt the Chiefs in the long run.
Jones is coming off the best season of his career in which he also finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He'll also still be just 29 when the season starts, which is still on the right side of 30. At the same time, it's also his last realistic shot at a top-of-the-market payday, so of course he's going to want as much as he can get. Especially with the recent trend of DT paydays.
And just to add to the point: Spotrac -while not the end-all-be-all, but still reliable enough- currently has Jones' market value at $32.2 million per year.
There is really no reason to wait any longer.
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Featured Image Via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
