Arizona Cardinals likely to franchise tag Chandler Jones
The Arizona Cardinals will likely use their franchise tag option before the deadline on March 1st if a deal can’t be done on line backer Chandler Jones
Obviously we know by now if a long term deal cant be reached, Chandler Jones is getting the franchise tag. February 15th marked the first day that NFL teams can place a franchise tag on 1 pending free agent, and they have till March 1st to do so. The Arizona Cardinals have not used the franchise tag option since 2012 when it was used on Calais Campbell.
Jones was a big part of the Defensive unit in his first year with the Cardinals after being traded from New England. He piled in 11 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 49 combined tackles. Jones improved a Cardinals pass rush in 2016. The team totaled 49 sacks in 2016, 13 more than 2015 when they made a run to the NFC Championship.
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The projected franchise tag minimum for linebackers is $15,287,383 which would take a toll on the Cardinals cap space. Since the Cardinals run a 4-3 Scheme it could also be expected Jones could be tagged as a Defensive End, with a projected minimum of $16,988,266. Either way tagging Jones will cost the Cardinals in cap space and likely let them not sign back some key defensive free agents.
In his end of the season press conference, Bruce Arians assured Jones wouldn’t be going anywhere.
“Chandler’s not going anywhere because if we have to, we will franchise him,”
We were also reassured by Cardinals President Michael Bidwell during an interview on the “Doug and Wolf” show on Arizona Sports 98.7 that Jones would either be tagged or get a new long term deal.
“He’s a great pass rusher, but if we can’t agree to terms that work for us, we’re just going to franchise him. His people know that.”
The good news, is heading into 2017 it looks like the Cardinals will have their pass rush back to wreak havoc on opposing Quarterbacks, but its definitely going to come at a price.