The Kansas City Chiefs entered the NFL offseason hoping to retain cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and defensive tackle Chris Jones before they hit NFL free agency. Weeks removed from becoming the first repeat Super Bowl winners in 20 years, it appears the Chiefs could be closing in on a major move.
Kansas City knew this offseason it would need to create significant cap room to bring back its defensive stars. The first step was releasing wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. While there will likely be other Chiefs cap casualties, the team is also working on a Patrick Mahomes contract restructure that would create massive salary cap room for 2024.
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- Kansas City Chiefs cap space 2024: $3.506 million
The Chiefs already placed the franchise tag on Sneed, preventing him from hitting the open market and providing him with a fully guaranteed salary of $19.802 million for the upcoming season. While the club is open to a sign-and-trade, it hopes to extend the top cornerback. In the meantime, Jones is the club’s top priority and things seem to be going well.
According to Dianna Russini and Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the Chiefs have “growing optimism” that they’ll be able to sign Jones to a new contract this offseason.
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While Kansas City could let him hit NFL free agency and then try to match any offer another club makes, the team is in a race to agree to terms on a long-term contract before the deadline at 12:00 PM ET on March 11. The team is so optimistic that several officials flew back to Kansas City after spending only a few days at the NFL Combine.
“I love Chris. Tried really hard to get something done, and we didn’t, but when we got together right after that Detroit game, we had a great talk. Both parties, I think, want to be here, so we’ll get to work. That’s certainly a guy we want back and love and want to see him finish his career here in Kansas City.”
Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach on defensive tackle Chris Jones
If Jones signs a new deal with Kansas City, he will become one of the highest-paid NFL players. The anticipation is, whether it’s with the Chiefs or another team, Jones will join Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald as the only two defensive players with an average annual salary of $30-plus million.
Re-signing Jones would make it more unlikely that the Chiefs and Sneed agree to a long-term deal, but the club is still holding out some hope that an agreement could be reached. While Jones could cash in by hitting the open market, he made it clear at the team’s Super Bowl parade that he wants to return. As of now, that appears to be the likeliest outcome.
