Report: Cardinals not expected to franchise tag Jones

The Arizona Cardinals are not expected to use the franchise tag on linebacker Chandler Jones ahead of Tuesday's deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Jones is expected to become a free agent later this month.

The 32-year-old requested a trade from the Cardinals prior to the 2021 regular season due to being unhappy with his contract. He had a base salary of $15.5 million last campaign, having signed a five-year, $82.5-million contract extension in 2017.

Arizona would like to bring Jones back for a seventh season but will need to create space under the salary cap.

The Cardinals have just over $2,000 in cap space, according to Over the Cap. Despite cap constraints, the NFC West franchise recently signed general manager Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury to contract extensions.

Jones returned to the field last season having played in just five contests in 2020 after sustaining a torn biceps. The two-time All-Pro led the team in sacks from 2017-19.

He raced out to five sacks in the Cardinals' season-opening win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. The four-time Pro Bowler finished last season with 10.5 sacks to go along with 41 tackles and 12 tackles for loss.

Meanwhile, quarterback Kyler Murray has requested an extension following his third campaign with the Cardinals.

Copyright (C) 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.