What does Jeffery Simmons extension mean for Chiefs, Chris Jones?

The Tennessee Titans signed defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to a massive contract. Here’s what it means for Chris Jones and the Kansas City Chiefs.

This NFL offseason, defensive tackles are getting paid. The first big domino to fall was Daron Payne, who initially had the franchise tag placed on him by the Washington Commanders. But, shortly afterward, Payne and the Commanders agreed to terms on a four-year, $90 million contract extension. With that, the defensive tackle market increased in price. Flash forward to this past Friday, it has now further increased.

The Tennessee Titans and Jeffery Simmons agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension. The price? $94 million, giving him an annual salary of $23.5 million per year.

With this latest contract, teams are going to have to hurry up before the price for impending defensive tackle free agents further increases. One of those teams are the Kansas City Chiefs, as star interior defensive lineman Chris Jones’ contract runs out after this season.

What does Jeffery Simmons’ new contract mean for Chris Jones, Chiefs

Well, for the Chiefs, they have to try and hurry up to get Jones to agree to a new contract extension. The thing is, there are some other young defensive tackles that are due for new deals, and they are both playing for New York teams. Quinnen Williams of the Jets and Dexter Lawrence of the Giants, both of whom are 2019 first-round picks, have proven to be the best at their position, and they are both due for new contracts. Considering that they are both 25 years old, they should both cash in on huge contracts.

So, what’s the rush for Jones? He can hypothetically wait until all of the top defensive tackles receive their new deals, then try to reach the Aaron Donald threshold in terms of annual salary. Maximize his value.

As for Jones, he at one point had the second-highest annual salary of any defensive tackle in the NFL after earning $20 million per season on a four-year contract. Now, as of this writing, Jones ranks sixth. Here is who ranks ahead of Jones in terms of annual salary, via Spotrac:

• Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams: $31.7 million
• Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans: $23.5 million
• Daron Payne, Washington Commanders: $22.5 million
• DeForest Bucker, Indianapolis Colts: $21 million
• Javon Hargrave, San Francisco 49ers: $21 million

This past regular season, Jones recorded 44 combined tackles (30 solo, 14 assisted), 29 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, four defended passes, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. As for the playoffs, he posted eight combined tackles (six solo, two assisted), six quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and two sacks in three games.

Spotrac projected Jones to earn an annual salary of $30 million, per their calculated market value.

Defensive tackles are getting paid huge money this offseason, and Jones could cash in as well. Now, it’s just a matter of how much he will earn and if he can exceed the annual salaries that Simmons and Payne have received.