What a Seahawks trade for superstar DL Chris Jones could look like
By Geoff Shull
An addition of this magnitude will not come cheap, yet the Seahawks should pursue it regardless.
The Seahawks will need to give up a haul to acquire a player with this kind of talent. However, this would be an investment in the future. They currently only have one player signed past the 2022 season, Russell Wilson.
By trading and extending Chris Jones, they could have their two future cornerstones locked in for the long haul. This would also give the Seahawks another superstar like Russell Wilson publicly asked for several months ago.
What a trade could look like
The Seahawks have a lot of future cap flexibility. It would be smart to extend him as part of the deal. Similar to how the Chiefs traded and extended Frank Clark in 2019. The team will likely push the majority of the cap hits later in his contract. This would ease the burden of acquiring the player this year.
What an extension could look like:
Terms: 4 years, $85 million
Avg Salary: $21.25 million
Gtd: $45 million
Cap hits by year:
- 2020: $13.5 million
- 2021: $20.5 million
- 2022: $24.5 million
- 2023: $26.5 million
This contract would give Chris Jones a small leg up on Deforest Buckner’s recent extension. He would surpass Buckner’s contract in terms of both average salary and total guarantees, just slightly. Seattle would bank on the salary cap re-establishing over the next couple of seasons, and it should.
After this contract, this would be Seattle “True” cap space for future seasons, as it is now:
- 2020: -$10.25 million
- 2021: $42.5 million
- 2022: $164.5 million
- 2023: $185 million
For all of you wondering how we could afford this massive contract in this current season, I implore you to read this article. I have outlined the 3 ways the Seahawks can create cap space to make room for a star-caliber player. And yes, there are more options than just cutting players.
2020 Seahawks who could be cut before ever playing a snap in Seattle. dark. Next
This really would be investing in a player to be a cornerstone for the organization for years to come. Seattle has the future cap space to absorb this. Chris Jones is young enough, that he should just now be entering his prime. This is a win-win trade, that will help Seattle and Kansas City take care of their biggest needs. Adding superstars for Seattle and creating cap space to sign Patrick Mahomes for Kansas City.