Would the Kansas City Chiefs actually be better off allowing superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones to depart via free agency this offseason?
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay thinks so, and he gives a very specific reasoning.
The Chiefs have a couple of major defensive free agents to worry about this spring: Jones and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who is coming off of the best season of his career.
The problem for Kansas City is that it cannot financially afford to hand out market-value contracts to both players, so unless one (or both) of Jones or Sneed is willing to take a massive hometown discount, the Chiefs will have a tough decision to make.
Kay thinks Kansas City should opt to keep Sneed over Jones.
He notes that Sneed is two-and-a-half years younger than Jones and is projected to earn significantly less on the open market than Jones, which would allow the Chiefs more financial flexibility.
While the idea of actively letting Jones walk may sound crazy, Kay makes a sound argument.
Jones will be 30 years old at the start of next season, and if we are being honest, he wasn’t as good this past year as he was in 2022.
Yes, the Mississippi State product earned his fifth straight Pro Bowl selection and notched First-Team All-Pro honors for the second consecutive year in 2023, but he registered 30 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Two years ago, he racked up 44 tackles, 15.5 sacks, a couple of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Is it possible that Jones—who has significant mileage—is already declining?
Meanwhile, Sneed seems to be peaking now and has only played four seasons in the NFL, so he certainly has some room for growth whereas Jones may already on the downside of his career.
We’ll see what the Chiefs decide to do with Chris Jones in the coming weeks.
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