On the surface, the Kansas City Chiefs’ decision to franchise star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed seemingly opened up a hornet’s nest for the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Sneed was set to join All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones on the NFL free agent market in March. By placing the tag on Sneed, Kansas City’s thought process could have included one of two things.
Sneed’s franchise tag value is set at $19.8 million. As for Jones, the tag would have cost his Chiefs roughly $32 million. Perhaps, general manager Brett Veach and Co. came to the conclusion that Jones simply priced himself out of their market after he held out into the 2023 season.
The other possibility behind the scenes in Kansas City is that the team believes it has a better chance of retaining Jones long-term ahead of NFL free agency in comparison to Sneed.
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Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report noted on Wednesday that the internal thought process in Kansas City is that it can lock Jones up before he’s able to negotiate with other teams starting on March 11.
Jones has long been the Chiefs’ No. 1 priority this offseason. And while Sneed played a vital role in them winning a second consecutive Super Bowl title, he might be seen as more expendable from an internal viewpoint.
It also must be noted that the Chiefs have given Sneed permission to seek out trade partners if the two sides can’t come to terms on a long-term contract extension within the next two weeks. This is certainly something to watch.
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The 29-year-old Jones has just been sensational since Kansas City made him a second-round pick out of Mississippi State back in 2016. Over the course of the past six seasons, he’s racked up a whopping 152 QB hits, 68 tackles for loss and 67 sacks.
Any new deal for Jones ahead of free agency would likely cost the Chiefs $30-plus million annually over at least four seasons.