Chiefs rumors: Hardman begged Chiefs to save him, Chris Jones timeline, Locker room woes

Chiefs Rumors: Chris Jones timeline

In light of the news that the Chiefs have decided to release wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and place the franchise tag on shutdown cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, a path has been paved for Kansas City to work out a long-term contract extension with stud defensive tackle Chris Jones.

By cutting MVS, the Chiefs save $12 million in cap space. Their decision to tag Sneed nets him a one-year, fully guaranteed contract worth roughly $19 million, and more time to find common ground on a multi-year deal down the road. 

Kansas City can now shift its focus to retaining Jones, who has been labeled as “the top of the list” (subscription required) offseason priority in the eyes of general manager Brett Veach. Entering his age-30 season, Jones has played a critical role in the Chiefs winning three Super Bowls over the past five years, earning five Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro nods. 

With Valdes-Scantling out of the picture and Sneed’s contract status for 2024 being handled, the Chiefs are in a position to ramp up their negotiations with Jones and expedite the process as they look to continue revamping their roster in pursuit of another title. Veach is officially on the clock to get a deal done with Jones as soon as possible. 

Jones’ calculated market value is a $28.4 million average annual salary, according to Spotrac, while tagging Jones would’ve cost the Chiefs roughly $32 million. Perhaps, the two sides can meet somewhere in the middle and finally shut the door on the contractual standstill dating back to last offseason.