A Chris Jones extension tops the list of offseason questions for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs. The 6'6", 311-pound defensive tackle is as much of a force as he’s ever been and, with his 29th birthday still five months away, and his health not in question (he’s missed only six games in seven years as a pro), it’s fair to reason that he has plenty left in the tank. But how much will it be worth going forward? It’s a question the Chiefs are going to have to deal with the next few months.
Next year is the final year of the four-year, $80 million deal Jones signed off the franchise tag in 2020, and Jones would be well within his rights to ask for something in the neighborhood of what Aaron Donald got last year (and it’s hard to compare anything to that deal because that one had three years left on it). Either way, it’s going to be expensive, probably around $30 million per year, and maybe more if Nick Bosa gets his deal from the 49ers first.
Here are three other things the Chiefs have to work out over the next couple of months …
1) Will the Chiefs tag Orlando Brown Jr. again? With a second tag, his number is set at $19.944 million. And that means doing a long-term deal with the 26-year-old would probably have to put Brown in the range of Trent Williams, David Bakhtiari and Laremy Tunsil, who all average over $20 million per year. The good news is the Chiefs weren’t far off from there last year. You’d think they’d have to go a notch up from where they were, but it seems like this situation should be workable if both sides are reasonable, even if it takes using a tag as a placeholder to get there.
2) Will the Chiefs move on any of their younger stars? The two who would be worth monitoring would be 2020 draft picks Willie Gay and L’Jarius Sneed, who’ve both become integral pieces of Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. I’d expect that Kansas City will at least explore extensions with both of them, though the presence of ’22 rookies Leo Chenal at linebacker, and Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams at corner, makes those matters less pressing.
3) Who will Patrick Mahomes throw to in 2023? Obviously, Travis Kelce. And Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney are under contract for next year. But Juju Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman are free agents, so there certainly could be some shuffling (again) at the receiver spot, where four of the top five guys statistically this year weren’t even on the team in ’21.
