The Chiefs’ ability to spend between $27 and $28 million year should aid in bringing this project closer to completion, says Fowler. Having said that, Jones might be able to challenge both Aaron Donald’s $31.7MM AAV standard and the position’s record guarantee ($66MM) if he becomes a free agent because to the cap surge. During negotiations last year, the Chiefs refused to approach the Donald AAV neighborhood, and it will undoubtedly take a tremendous offer to convince Jones to forego testing free agency at this time.

Here’s the most recent free agency news as the legal tampering period approaches—less than a week away:

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini discusses what would have been a huge market for the veteran wide receiver Mike Evans, and she reports that the Chiefs were also among the clubs interested in Evans. Evans chose to re-sign with the Bucs on a front-loaded contract that came with a fully guaranteed $29 million. The Panthers, Giants, Jaguars, Patriots, Rams, and Titans were getting ready to try everything to entice Evans to leave Tampa. Prominent free agents frequently utilize the Combine to assess markets prior to the start of the legal tampering period, and it appears Evans concluded that this Bucs deal was better than what he could have obtained on the market. Evans, however, would have been the best wide receiver available if Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman Jr. had been franchise-tagged. Calvin Ridley might now hold that distinction.
Regarding the Bucs, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports that they are not ruling out a reunion at a lower salary with Shaquil Barrett. Barrett was let go by Tampa Bay last week, freeing up a $18 million annual salary. Although Barrett, a former Super Bowl player and NFL single-season sack leader, is entering his age-32 season and coming off a 4.5-sack performance in 2023, he could still draw interest as a free agency.
One player who might profit from Evans, Pittman, and Higgins’ absence from the field is Darnell Mooney. The Bears target had a 1,000-yard season in 2021 and has been in a low-volume passing offense, even though he hasn’t exceeded 500 receiving yards in any of the previous two seasons. The Chiefs and Titans are suggested as possible candidates by ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler as teams look to assess the deep threat. The Chiefs just let go of Marquez Valdes-Scantling due to their well-documented receiver problems from the previous campaign. DeAndre Hopkins was signed for just one more season by the Titans, who defeated the Chiefs for his services last year. Hopkins is now thirty-two years old.Treylon Burks hasn’t yet demonstrated a lot of consistency either.
Xavier McKinney and Kamren Curl will be in this year’s safety market, barring last-minute transactions. Without Kyle Dugger and Antoine Winfield Jr., these two could perform admirably. Adam Caplan of ProFootballNetwork.com notes that Curl’s market could generate about $14MM annually. After these NFC East starts, a boundary might form. Tony Pauline of Sportsskeeda adds that a profitable second wave shouldn’t be anticipated at this point. As a result, a gap developed between Jessie Bates and the field in the 2023 market. However, a few others (Donovan Wilson, Vonn Bell, and Juan Thornhill) obtained eight-figure guarantees.
GM Les Snead reports that the Rams have had discussions with Kevin Dotson’s team. They anticipate that he will go on the market along with center Coleman Shelton. In a congested guard market, Dotson should be anticipated to rank among the most paid players after a strong contract year. Shelton is also wanted back by the Rams.