Chandler Jones officially gets the franchise tag from Arizona Cardinals
As free agency approaches, the Arizona Cardinals have locked up star pass rusher Chandler Jones, whom they acquired last offseason in a trade…
The Arizona Cardinals traded a second round pick and former first round pick Jonathan Cooper to the New England Patriots for pass rusher Chandler Jones, a moved that helped significantly improve Arizona’s pass rush.
That move was made knowing full well that Jones was entering a contract year, and that it might ultimately take the franchise tag to keep him around. They reportedly will do exactly that:
The Cardinals have officially placed the franchise tag on OLB/DE Chandler Jones.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 27, 2017
The Cards' tag on Jones is the first one to be filed. More to come over the next 48 hours. The linebacker tender will be at ~$14.6 million.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 27, 2017
That $14.6 million tender will be fully guaranteed, and the Cardinals will have until July to strike a long-term deal with Jones, who notched 49 tackles, 11 sacks, and four forced fumbles in his first year with his new team.
The Cardinals weren’t able to reach a long-term deal with Jones prior to the initial franchise tag deadline, but as we’ve seen with big name pass rushers in recent years, that’s not necessarily an indicator that a deal won’t ultimately get done.
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The Denver Broncos were able to reach a long-term deal with Von Miller, worth $114.5 million over six years and $70 million in guarantees. While Jones hasn’t had the same type of impact as Miller, he offers the potential to be the same type of weapon in the postseason, showing himself capable of dominating a game as a pass rusher.
Miller’s average salary is just over $19 million, and Jones could come close to matching or even exceed that number. Spotrac has Jones’ value at just over $16 million per season, paying him roughly $84 million over five years.
Tagging Jones is the first step toward a long-term deal, and really just buys the Cardinals more time in negotiations. They could try and work to get Jones’ cap hit down under that $14.6 million number in 2017 while giving him a ton of guaranteed cash down the line.