The NFL’s franchise tag period officially opens today after being delayed for two days. The delay was enacted in hopes of the NFL and NFLPA being able to reach an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. That hasn’t yet happened, as players still need to vote to accept or decline the terms of the proposed CBA. Until there is a new CBA in place, the NFL will operate under current rules, which would allow teams to use both the franchise tag and transition tag in 2020.
Now that the franchise tag period has opened, the Kansas City Chiefs will have until March 12 to use the tag, presumably on star defensive tackle Chris Jones. They’ll have just 15 days of negotiation time with Jones before they’ll have to make some sort of decision regarding his future in Kansas City.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach didn’t take the franchise tag off the table for Jones when he spoke at the NFL combine earlier this week. However, It’s clear that Veach would prefer to agree to a long-term extension. There was initially some concern that Jones might hold out if the team was forced to use the franchise tag, but now there’s a growing sense of optimism that’d he’d eventually report.
The Katz Brothers (who represent Jones) and the Chiefs have maintained a positive dialogue throughout the process dating back to the 2019 offseason. Right now, there’s no reason to expect they won’t get something done to keep Jones in Kansas City for the 2020 season at the very least.