It has been nearly two weeks since the news first broke that the Kansas City Chiefs plan to use their franchise tag on pending free agent DT Chris Jones. The team hasn’t officially applied the tag to Jones yet, but all signs point to that happening still.
The franchise tag period was already delayed once amid the looming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) vote from the NFLPA. On Tuesday, it was announced that the franchise tag period has, once again, been delayed. The franchise tag period will now end at noon on Monday, Mar. 16. This follows the CBA vote by players which is now scheduled to conclude on Saturday, Mar. 14.
This delay is an opportunity for the Kansas City front office and Jones’ representatives, the Katz Brothers, to get in a little extra negotiation time before the franchise tag is applied to Jones. We already know how Jones feels about receiving the franchise tag. Brett Veach has made it abundantly clear the Chiefs intend to keep Jones and on a long-term extension if possible.
NFL teams have struggled to make meaningful decisions related to their future so far this offseason because of the uncertainty surrounding CBA negotiations.
Saturday’s player vote could be the tipping point for a number of personnel decisions for various NFL teams, including the Chiefs. Expect the first domino to fall in Kansas City to be Jones, with more moves soon to follow. The NFL’s legal tampering window also opens on Monday, Mar. 16 with the free agency period following on Wednesday, Mar. 18.
