Predicting the next 3 moves for the Chiefs in free agency

Let's look at the next few steps we can expect to see from Brett Veach and the Chiefs this spring.

Things are getting ready to swing into high gear for the Kansas City Chiefs. That's also true for the rest of the NFL.

The franchise tag deadline passed this last Tuesday, and the Chiefs used theirs (again) on corner L'Jarius Sneed. From there, the Chiefs have decisions to make about signing him long-term or trading him, but they have loads of other contracts to consider as well with free agency beginning next week.

On Monday, every team can legally "tamper" with free agents from other teams. On Wednesday, the floodgates are open as hundreds of players will be without work in a new league year. That means every team will have openings on both sides of the ball to fill with everyone feasting on the top options at the same time.

So what can we expect to see from the Chiefs in the early going? Believe it or not, the Chiefs will likely have news to announce before we get to that point next week. Here's where we think the Chiefs are headed.

A Chris Jones splash

The Chiefs have left themselves with zero leverage when it comes to Chris Jones, which indicates a very high amount of trust in getting something done between the team and Jones for the long term.

Jones is the team's best defensive player and is still in his prime. He stands to be paid a ridiculous sum of money (you can start the bidding at $30 million on the open market) for the next three seasons, at least, but can the Chiefs go that high? Then again, can they afford to go without Jones at a position where the only other player on the active roster is Neil Farrell and then a couple of futures signings.

In order to keep Jones from becoming a free agent in a matter of days, the Chiefs will need to act fast and reach a deal with the All-Pro defensive tackle. Jones held out last year and that's always a threat this time around as well given the history here of trying, but we think someone finally ties a bow on this and appeases everyone in the room.