It would be very expensive for the Chiefs to franchise-tag Chris Jones in 2024

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones attended last night’s game, as a fan and not a player.

His holdout officially has lasted into the regular season, with Week 1 gone — and the $1.08 million salary that goes along with it.

While it remains to be seen whether he’ll keep missing games in September and October, he has previously said he’ll be back by Week 8. There’s an important reason for that. It’s the practical deadline under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to show up and get credit for the final year of his current contract.

He’d then be eligible for free agency in 2024. And the missed games and lost salary, we’re told, will not reduce the basis for his franchise tag, if the Chiefs use it.

Per multiple sources, Jones’s cap number of $27 million becomes the starting point for his tag in 2024, even if he doesn’t earn all of his $19.5 million salary. That equates to a franchise tag, by rule, of $32.4 million in 2024 (i.e., a 120-percent increase over his 2023 cap number).

It will go even higher if Jones, in the games he plays, gets 10 total sacks. His cap number would increase by the ensuing $1.25 million incentive, and the franchise tag amount would become $33.9 million.

The easiest way to avoid that is to sign him to a long-term deal. Will the Chiefs do it?

The clock has expired on Week 1, and the final ticking has begun in advance of Week 2 at Jacksonville.