What a Seahawks trade for superstar DL Chris Jones could look like
By Geoff Shull
Chris Jones really is a special talent. By all means, he is a player nearly any team would rather keep than trade. So, what gives?
The Chiefs are in a financial pinch. According to Spotrac, the team only has $3.5 million in cap space. However, this figure doesn’t take a handful of expenses into account. It is missing items such as the practice squad, injury reserve safety net and the impending extension of their superstar quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
This figure also does not include Chris Jones franchise tag amount of $16.1 million, as he has not signed his franchise tender yet. When you add this all together, the team is actually sitting right around $18 million over the cap going into the 2020 season. This is known as “True” cap. They have to find the money somewhere to be able to extend Patrick Mahomes.
The team could get creative by restructuring a handful of contracts; however, this could hurt their future cap space. With the NFL’s cap likely to decrease over the next year or two, this could really haunt them in the future. If you want to read more about this, CLICK HERE.
The smartest thing to do would be to trade him for the best offer out there and invest in some young talent to surround their quarterback. They have plenty of veteran and proven players on their team. They need an influx of inexpensive rookie-scale contracts to keep their books in check.
The extension window is closing for players who have been franchise tagged.
When a team franchise tags a player, they have until July 15th to negotiate a new contract. If a deal is not made by this date, contracts cannot be negotiated until after the season concludes.
With reports circulating that the Chiefs and Chris Jones have not had any meaningful talks in months, it really makes a person wonder. The window is under 30 days away to negotiate. Extensions of this magnitude typically take weeks, if not months to conclude. Think how messy the Russell Wilson and Bobby Wanger’s extensions were.
The Chiefs need to be careful. The way I see it, they have 4 avenues to go down.
- They can trade Chris Jones now and recoup top dollar for the player and invest in the future.
- They can trade him after the extension window closes, however they will receive pennies on the dollar. Similar to the Jadeveon Clowney trade.
- They can extend him. However, between he and Mahomes contract, this could wreak havoc on an already expensive roster.
- Or they can simply hold onto him on the franchise tag for 2020. If they do this, they will need to make cuts elsewhere on the roster.
The final option could hold some merit. It gives the Chiefs an opportunity to win again this year. However, it could very well cost the team a lot of draft capital. If Chris Jones leaves next free agency, the most the team would recoup would be a 3rd round comp pick. It would also mean likely cutting some key players to get below the salary cap line. Again they, are nearly $18 million over the cap as is.
The Chiefs are stuck between a rock and a hard place. So, what would a trade look like?