5 teams who should trade for Chris Jones
The All-Pro’s future long-term future with the Kansas City Chiefs looks in doubt.
The Kansas City Chiefs stuck the franchise tag on Chris Jones to avoid losing him this offseason but their hopes of keeping him around for the foreseeable future appear questionable.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Jones and the Chiefs have made little traction in talks over a long-term deal.
The lack of movement towards an extension for Jones may push the Chiefs to seek a trade partner and receive premium draft capital for a player who was critical to their victory in Super Bowl LIV.
Jones was at his game-wrecking best as he helped inspire the Chiefs to a comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers in a performance that demonstrated why he is likely to command an extremely high price in a potential trade.
Any team looking to strike a deal for Jones will likely need to have the salary cap room to sign him to a long-term deal. DeForest Buckner’s deal with the Indianapolis Colts set the market at defensive tackle in that regard, as he was inked to a four-year, $84million deal following a trade from the 49ers.
Here we look at five teams who should be eyeing a deal for the All-Pro.
Salary cap details courtesy of Spotrac.
5 teams that should trade for Chris Jones
5. Detroit Lions
The Lions might not be considered a contender by many but Detroit is closer in the NFC North than it is given credit for and adding a player of Jones’ caliber could be the difference between falling short and winning the division.
Matthew Stafford was enjoying one of the best seasons of his career before it was curtailed by injury, with his 3-4-1 record in the eight games he played in 2019 not reflective of his performances.
With Stafford set to return, an offense featuring plenty of young talent at the skill positions should be able to compete with those of the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
It is on defense where the questions lie. The Lions have disappointed on that side of the ball in both of Matt Patricia’s seasons as head coach.
The Lions made moves to address that in the offseason, adding Jamie Collins at linebacker and Duron Harmon at safety while drafting cornerback Jeffery Okudah.
But acquiring an interior rusher of Jones’ standard would be a substantial boost to a pass rush that lacked juice even following the signing of edge rusher Trey Flowers last year.
The Lions, $28.2million under the cap, have the financial capital to tie Jones to a long-term deal and trading for him would be a move to turn Detroit from irrelevant to playoff contender.