Just hours before the official deadline expired for NFL franchises to use a roster tag designation of any kind, the Kansas City Chiefs have applied the franchise tag on defensive lineman Chris Jones—a move that will come as no surprise to anyone.
The Chiefs were expected to place the tag on Jones all along in order to give them long-term flexibility on their ability to either sign him to a long-term contract extension or deal him to another team in a “tag-and-trade” scenario (a la former Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford from one year ago).