Chris Jones listed among top 2024 NFL free agents

There are a lot of defensive tackles set to hit free agency next year, but most teams will try to find a way to sign them to an extension.

For months, one of the presumed activities on the table for the Kansas City Chiefs has been the construction of another long-term contract extension for defensive tackle Chris Jones. As the team’s best defensive player overall, a man coming off of his finest season as a pro, and someone who is scheduled to be a free agent one year from now, it feels like an obvious task.

So far this offseason, however, the Chiefs and Jones are still working out of the same contractual situation with which they entered the spring and there have been no real signs that anything might change soon—no rumors that negotiations are underway or that the Chiefs have made it a priority at this point. Of course, there is still plenty of time.

That said, the lack of a deal in place gives hope to other franchises that the Chiefs might be unable or unwilling to pay such an amount to Jones, which could open him up to free agency. And that’s a big deal given that The Athletic recently ranked Jones as the No. 4 overall free agent-to-be in 2024—a confirmation, as if we needed it, that he would be rewarded very handsomely if allowed to hit the market.

There are a lot of factors complicating the picture here, including the need for cash on hand to give out a contract in the first place. It also doesn’t help that so many other big defensive tackles are ready for extensions of theiir own. That might only drive the price up and it’s possible Jones wants to be the last one to sign to be the cherry on top of it all.

Don’t forget that Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets and Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants are also a part of the same class of free agent linemen and those players rank No. 6 and 5, respectively, on The Athletic’s list, meaning there are riches to be had if they can only hit the market along the defensive interior. That doesn’t include Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans either, who comes in at No. 9.

Given his importance to the Chiefs’ defense, it would be a disaster if the Chiefs somehow let him leave in free agency, and Kansas City isn’t foolish enough to let something like that happen. But The Athletic’s report is a reminder that they have a desirable asset and it remains important not to let him get away.