Arizona is preparing to get its franchise player locked up.
Chandler Jones and the Cardinals are finalizing a five-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Jones could have made a guaranteed base salary of $14.6 million this season if he had wanted to play on the one-year franchise tag, but he and the team had been discussing a long-term deal, and it appears they’re now just about done with those discussions.
The Cardinals acquired Jones in a trade with the Patriots last season, and it was expected at that time that they’d eventually come to a long-term deal. In his first season in Arizona, Jones started all 16 games and recorded 11 sacks, and the Cardinals will now hope they get that kind of production from Jones for many more years.