Tuesday 28 February 2017 18:02, UK
The Arizona Cardinals have placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on outside linebacker Chandler Jones after failing to reach agreement on a long-term deal.
The "non-exclusive" tag allows the Cardinals to continue negotiating with Jones through July 15.
If another team makes him an offer, Arizona can either match it or receive two first-round draft picks. Under the franchise tag, Jones would receive about $15m (£12m) for the coming season.
The 27-year-old Jones is one of a number of key Cardinals players who are out of contract.
Defensive tackle Calais Campbell, safety Tony Jefferson and linebacker Kevin Minter headline a number of other players set to hit the market.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said earlier this month the team faces a delicate balance in retaining as many of their key free agents as possible but singled out Jones as the priority.
"We've had a lot of great dialogue [with Jones]," Keim told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "We certainly will place the franchise tag on him if we can't get a deal done.
"When you find guys who are core players that you want to move forward with, you got to try to be active and aggressive and try to see if you can re-sign them.
"We can't have everybody back. Just the way the salary cap is situated, you have to make some tough decisions. You have to make some tough decisions based on what their salary is, their age, their injury history. So many things go into it. That's the tough part of the business. We all know we get emotionally attached to these guys."
Acquired in a trade with New England a year ago, Jones had 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 15 tackles for loss last season in 2016.
Jones has 25.5 sacks over the past two seasons, third-most in the NFL over that span.
