By Jordan Long
The Arizona Cardinals are going to place the franchise tag on linebacker Chandler Jones. This will prevent him from be coming a free agent. The franchise tag will pay Jones $14.4 million this up coming season. Both sides will have until July 15th to work out a long-term deal.
This was a smart decision for Arizona. Jones is one of their best tackling linebackers. Last season he had 49 tackles. In his career Jones has a total of 163 tackles. Not only can he tackle in the open field, Jones sacks the quarterback with a total of 47.
What makes him valuable is that he can force fumbles, which can turn into turnovers. Jones forced 4 fumbles last year and has a total of 14 forced fumbles in his career. Those fumbles give the defense a chance to get off the field and put the offense in decent field position which could equal more points on the scoreboard.
The Cardinals had to make this move. Jones is a linebacker that every team desires. If he hit the open market, many teams would be interested and he would have been picked up quickly. Arizona couldn’t risk it.
The Cardinals are now going to need to negotiate a long-term deal with him. Luckily, they have plenty of time for the sides to work it out. Arizona stays a better defensive football team with this move. Hopefully a long-term contract will be rewarded to him so Jones can stay in a Cardinals’ uniform for years to come.
What do you think of the move to franchise tag Chandler Jones?
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