Former NFL agent has theory for why Chiefs, Chris Jones haven’t reached a deal yet
Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones over the weekend shared a photo of himself to his Instagram story with a message.
“@Chiefs We Outchea,” Jones wrote.
Jones is still hoping for a new contract with the Chiefs, and former NFL agent Joel Corry wrote about the situation for CBS Sports.
Corry believes Jones is waiting to see what contracts are given to others at his position.
“Jones was hopeful that the young defensive tackles (Dexter Lawrence-Giants, Jeffery Simmons-Titans and Quinnen Williams-Jets), who were heading into the final year of rookie contracts, would ‘blow the market out’ this offseason in the days leading up to Super Bowl LVII,” Corry wrote. “That’s because Jones knew he would reap the benefit of any changing market conditions.
“Simmons is currently No. 2 in the interior defensive lineman salary hierarchy. He received a four-year, $94 million extension, averaging $23.5 million per year with $59.8 million of guarantees, in April. Williams is expected to help narrow the gap between (Rams star Aaron) Donald and the rest of the market with a deal upward to $25 million per year before the Jets open training camp in the latter part of July.”
The Giants gave Lawrence a four-year, $90 million contract in May, so Jones likely is rooting for Williams to get a bigger deal than that.
Corry believes once the Jets and Williams have a deal, the Chiefs could reach agreement with Jones.
“Jones may want to wait until Williams signs to have more complete information about the interior defensive lineman market, especially since Jets head coach Robert Saleh has expressed confidence that a deal will be done by the start of training camp,” Corry wrote. “The Jets open training camp earlier than other teams because they are playing the Browns in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 3.
“A Jones deal shouldn’t be less than the approximate midpoint of Donald and the second-highest-paid interior defensive lineman. This would be right around $27.5 million per year with Williams being unable to beat Simmons’ $23.5 million per year. At this salary level, the overall salary guarantees should at least be in the $70 million neighborhood with around $55 million fully guaranteed at signing based on Simmons’ and Lawrence’s deals. Jones insisting on joining Donald as a $30 million-per-year interior defensive lineman wouldn’t be unreasonable.”
Jones, 28, is due to make $20 million in the 2023 season, per Spotrac with a $28.29 million 2023 cap hit.
