The Kansas City Chiefs plan to use their franchise tag on Chris Jones if they cannot reach a long-term deal with the star defensive lineman, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The source said Kansas City will continue working toward a new contract with Jones and would use the franchise tag if necessary. Teams have until March 12 to use the tag.

General manager Brett Veach said at the scouting combine this week that the Chiefs are open to using the franchise tag on Jones, but that the reigning Super Bowl champions would like to agree to a long-term deal with the Pro Bowl lineman.

"It's certainly a priority for us. Sometimes these things take some time to work through," Veach said. "The franchise tag is something that we have the ability to use. We'd certainly like to see if we can work something out with him.

"The tandem of Chris Jones and Frank Clark is something any team would want, and we're going to work hard to get that done."

Jones didn't participate in the Chiefs' offseason practices and workouts in 2019 in the hope of getting a contract extension. It didn't happen and Jones reported to training camp on time. He played the season in the final year of the contract he signed in 2016 as the Chiefs' second-round draft pick from Mississippi State.

Jones, who turns 26 in July, led the Chiefs in sacks in each of the past two seasons.

He predicted in training camp in 2018 that he would lead the league in sacks, and although he didn't, he got close. Jones' 15.5 sacks were third in the league behind Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt.

Jones failed to register a sack in Super Bowl LIV but still played a big role in the Chiefs' victory. His pressure on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo forced an interception in the second quarter. Jones also knocked down three of Garoppolo's passes.

He has 33 sacks, 2 interceptions and 7 forced fumbles in 61 career games.

ESPN's Adam Teicher contributed to this report.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio State defensive end Chase Young said Thursday he believes he is the best player in this year's NFL draft, but the league's talent evaluators are going to have to wait and see for themselves.

Young said at the scouting combine that he will not take part in any of the on-field workouts for his position group in Lucas Oil Stadium and will only do position drills during Ohio State's pro day on March 25. The defensive linemen and linebackers are scheduled to work out on Saturday at the combine.

"That first day at [training] camp, when I step on the field, I want to be the best player I can be. I don't want to waste time trying to be a combine athlete,'' Young said Thursday. "I need to know I put my best foot forward trying to be the best player I can be.''

Then asked what he would do at the Buckeyes' pro day, Young said: "I'm going to do position drills.''

Young, who led the nation in sacks this past season with 16.5 despite missing two games due to an NCAA suspension, is considered one of the draft's top prospects, and there are some personnel executives who believe he is the best player on the board.

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy as the Tigers dominated on the way to a national championship, is expected to be the No. 1 pick in April's draft. Young, however, believes he should be.

"I definitely think I'm the best player in the draft,'' Young said. "I think I showed on my tape, you can look at every game, I think I showed [it]. I think I put my best foot forward this year. ... I think I bring a lot to the table, the whole package as a defensive end.''

Asked about what scheme he could fit into in the NFL, Young said: "I feel I can do everything. I'll do anything a team needs me to do. If they want me to move in to three tech and rush the passer, outside, stand up, I can do it. Drop back, check tight ends, check the back, I can do it. Play linebacker, I can do it. I feel like I'm going to come in with that mindset.''

Young was also asked Thursday about the fact that he did not have a sack in his final three games of the season. After a four-sack game on Oct. 26 against Wisconsin before his suspension and a three-sack game on Nov. 23 against Penn State, when he returned from his suspension, Young did not have a sack against Michigan, Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game or Clemson in the national semifinal.

"I'm not really tripping on numbers I could have put up,'' Young said. "I put up some pretty good numbers so far. I led the nation in sacks missing two games. What I did was enough.

"If you know football, you would see that. You would see who they changed their whole offensive game plan for one guy, but you know a lot of people may not really know how to study the tape, they may not know how to watch football, but if you know, you know. Being the best defensive end is not about sacks, it's about being the most destructive player on the field. You can do that without sacks.''

Also on Thursday, Young said how much it meant that LeBron James, an Ohio native, has defended and praised Young on social media.

"The best athlete on the earth, definitely somebody you want to be like on the field ... off the field, off the court too,'' Young said. "He's never had issues off the court. He's just an all-around good guy. ... It means a lot. I never thought the best player in the world would be a fan of me.''

INDIANAPOLIS -- NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith expressed confidence the players will approve the new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL, but understands why some players might be upset.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is also the team's player rep, J.J. Watt and Russell Wilson have been among the higher-profile players to publicly speak out about the proposed agreement.

"Man, democracy is messy," Smith said before addressing agents at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. "And when you urge players to become part of a union, when you decide instead of having sort of a bubble that excludes people, that you want people not only to become involved in your union but become reps in the union, to take leadership roles in your union, how could you ever take a position that you have some sort of adverse effect if they express their feelings, right? Can you imagine a role where you go through this whole thing and nobody cared?"

NFL player reps voted to approve the 10-year agreement with the league on Tuesday in Indianapolis, but Smith did not provide a timetable as to when the full membership would vote. A majority of the voters would have to approve the deal for it to be put in place.

"The process is that, as you could imagine, getting the language right is somewhat tortured as well," Smith said. "As soon as the package that has all the final language goes to the players, then that process will begin."

As for the addition of a 17th regular-season game, Smith said he understands why players would be reluctant and said that was a big reason why the process took as long as it did.

"For a player that doesn't want 17 under any reason, those players will vote their conscience," Smith said.

Smith said there was a concerted effort in the negotiations to help the "core players," which he said accounts for about 60% of the players who make the league minimum. As part of the new deal, minimum base salaries will increase by $100,000 in 2020. For the players who make more than $4.25 million, they will receive a regular game check instead of having their weekly pay capped at $250,000.

Smith said the percentage that will go to the players could rise above 48.5% in the future, which could mean a $3 billion to $5 billion increase over the life of the deal to the players.

Smith said there was a thought about having opt-out language in the new CBA but he did not believe that would be prudent.

"If $5 billion is projected to come to players over the course of the deal," Smith said, "and let's say there's a change in the way people are viewing this game, there's a massive change in ratings, there's a change in the financial markets, I would rather be in a world where we have long-term deals that insulates us against those things rather than a deal where people who are already rich can decide that they don't want to pay you anymore."

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped the Milwaukee Bucks clinch the earliest NBA playoff berth in 15 seasons on Sunday. Meanwhile, LeBron James has the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of the Western Conference, but is that enough to stop Antetokounmpo from repeating as MVP?

Will Zion Williamson make an All-NBA team before Ja Morant? Who will win Defensive Player of the Year? Which coaching performance has stood out this season?

Our experts answer the big questions and make their bold predictions about the NBA awards races.

MORE: NBA predictions -- MVP, Rookie of the Year and Finals matchups

1. What would LeBron or another contender have to do to catch Giannis for MVP?

Bobby Marks: Petition the league to change the MVP criteria to factor in the playoffs. Because, in all seriousness, even a late-season injury to Antetokounmpo would not shift this race.

Jackie MacMullan: Don't close the curtain on James just yet. He continues to fuel this debate by averaging a career-high (and league-leading) 10.6 assists, committing to the defensive end of the floor and exhibiting consistent positive leadership -- a stark contrast to last season's petulant behavior, an unseemly blemish on his Hall of Fame career.

General managers often tell me ESPN's real plus-minus has true value when measuring players. James leads the league by a wide margin at 10.24.

Royce Young: At this point, Antetokounmpo has such a running start that it's going to be nearly impossible to close the gap. The Bucks are on track for 70 wins and a historic net rating, while Antetokounmpo is producing nonsensical numbers, while also sitting most fourth quarters.

Kirk Goldsberry: James needs to convince voters he's taking a lesser roster to the top seed in a tougher conference. Each team's net rating with its superstars on and off the floor are his Exhibit A:

• James on: 10.7 | James off: minus-2.6 | Differential: 13.3

• Antetokounmpo on: 15.8 | Antetokounmpo off: 6.0 | Differential: 9.8

Both players are clearly making their teams better, but the Bucks are still really good when Antetokounmpo is on the bench. The same cannot be said for the Lakers, who look like a lottery team when James is on the bench.

Kevin Pelton: Come up with a better story. Reigning MVP on a team posting one of the best regular seasons in NBA history is going to be difficult to beat. I think it would take something along the lines of a 20-game winning streak for a contending team, or a historic individual stretch (repeated triple-doubles for James or a scoring spree surpassing what we saw earlier this season from James Harden).

2. Fact or fiction: The best defensive player will win Defensive Player of the Year.

Goldsberry: Only if Antetokounmpo wins it. The man is the most versatile and unique defender on planet Earth. He's the best defender on the best defensive team in the league. He leads the NBA in defensive rebounds, and he's arguably the best rim protector in the league, too.

MacMullan: Fiction, because measuring defense effectively remains the last great frontier in analytics. In the case of measuring superb defense, the numbers do lie. Even the eye test often fails -- a dogged on-the-ball defender, harassing the ball handler up the floor in plain sight, could well be a liability on the weak side if he is unable or unwilling to rotate or help in a timely fashion. There are too many nuances for a voting body to land on the same page on this award.

Pelton: I'm not sure I would say there is a single best defensive player, given the difficulty in separating out how much of a role individuals play in their teams' defensive success from scheme and interaction with their teammates, so I guess that means my answer is fiction? (But also maybe it just means whoever wins Defensive Player of the Year is probably a reasonable choice.)

Marks: Fact. Antetokounmpo should be the deserved favorite for both MVP and DPOY. Milwaukee has the league's best defense, with an absurd 97.2 rating when Antetokounmpo is on the floor. There are strong arguments for other contenders, but this one belongs to the front-runner.

Young: Fiction. Rudy Gobert remains the most impactful defensive player in the NBA, but it's unlikely he'll make it a three-peat considering the Jazz's struggles, particularly on defense. Whether it's Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid or someone else (it's not you, Hassan Whiteside; you can't be 27th in defensive rating and win DPOY), it's hard to definitively say anyone has eclipsed Gobert as a defender.

3. Which rookie will make an All-NBA team first?

Pelton: Zion Williamson. Whether he wins Rookie of the Year or not, Williamson has been the best-performing rookie this season since he returned to the court, and I don't think it's particularly close. Add in the typically slower development path for point guards like Ja Morant and I'd make Williamson a heavy favorite here.

Marks: Williamson. Morant will face stiff competition at the guard position in the future, especially with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson returning to full strength next season. Despite Williamson playing 88% of his possessions at power forward, per Cleaning The Glass, starting center Derrick Favors could leave in free agency and open the door for Williamson to shift to center next season. That would help Williamson's case.

Young: Williamson. With the historic start he's off to, it's reasonable to wonder if he would've made it this year had he not been injured to begin the season. Morant is going to make All-NBA teams in the future, but Williamson is already at another statistical level.

MacMullan: I'm calling it a tie. That's how bullish I am on both Morant and Williamson, who have each shown the temerity, the talent and the fearlessness to excel in a league that is often overwhelming and humbling for young players. Both have put in the time and have not shrunk from big moments. The one question that remains is this nagging feeling among league observers that Williamson will have to shed some weight to continue to excel, or risk injury.

Goldsberry: Williamson. I love Morant, but I think Williamson's path to All-NBA is easier. These days, there are fewer All-NBA candidates in the frontcourt than there are in the backcourt, and Williamson is already one of the top-scoring bigs in the NBA. Still, both will be perennial All-NBA guys by 2023 -- maybe even sooner than that.

4. Who has had the most impressive coaching performance this season?

MacMullan: Raise your hand if you ever imagined that the Toronto Raptors would be sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference without Kawhi Leonard while managing a revolving door of injuries. No worries. The Raptors keep on winning with their innovative young coach, Nick Nurse, at the helm. I recently asked budding Celtics star Jayson Tatum who the toughest guy was for him to score against and he answered, "The Toronto Raptors team. Those guys are always doing something different to try and stop me.''

Goldsberry: Billy Donovan edges out Nurse for me. The Oklahoma City Thunder weren't supposed to be this good. I think they are transforming from a Cinderella story into a matchup nightmare for anyone in the first round of the playoffs. Who wants to see Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams? Who wants to try to win games in OKC? Nobody, that's who -- and Donovan deserves tons of credit for getting this group to coalesce.

Marks: You can make a legitimate argument that the current group of head coaches is the strongest the NBA has seen in a long time, but Nurse and Donovan stand out the most to me. They've both exceeded expectations in incredible ways.

Pelton: Mike Budenholzer. Beside their consistency, what's impressed me most this season is how well the Bucks have played without Antetokounmpo on the court. Their plus-6.0 net rating without the MVP favorite would rank fourth in the league. That's testament to Budenholzer's system putting role players in a position to shine.

Young: Nurse, with Donovan a close second. Both have had to adjust to star departure(s), but in different ways. Nurse reverse-engineered a championship roster to elevate Pascal Siakam into the role of the go-to star while continuing to maximize the depth around him. Donovan has the Thunder in playoff contention after the shocking trades of Paul George and Russell Westbrook handed him a jumbled roster.

5. What is your bold awards prediction?

Marks: Bradley Beal finds redemption and is named to the All-NBA team. That might not make up for missing out on All-Star status, but earning All-NBA honors carries more weight than playing in an exhibition game.

MacMullan: No one has ever won back-to-back Most Improved Player awards, but this is the season it should happen. Siakam's meteoric rise to NBA stardom has continued in Year 4, and this time he made the biggest leap of all -- from up-and-coming young talent to legitimate All-Star. He is posting career highs in everything from points per game to free throw shooting (80.6%). I spent a couple of days with Siakam during his rookie season and ducked for cover every time he attempted a 3-pointer. This season, he hits them at a 37.3% clip.

Young: Chris Paul will make his first All-NBA team since 2016. Paul was a surprise All-Star, reigniting his career and rediscovering his Point God identity. He has quietly become one of the most important players to his team, altering the fabric and style of a roster, leading a locker room and picking the right spots every game to assert himself. Paul was far from being considered a top-25 player last season, but are there 24 other guys you'd want on your team right now to win a game?

Goldsberry: LeBron James will win the MVP. The Lakers have a ton of home games left, as well as a bunch of national TV appearances. At 35, James will not only lead the Lakers to the No. 1 seed out West, but he'll do so under the brightest lights in the NBA. As a result, voters will be compelled to give the king his fifth MVP.

Pelton: I think Zion Williamson will end up winning Rookie of the Year. Is that still bold?

MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs left-hander Brad Wieck was found to have an abnormal heartbeat during his pre-spring physical, leading to a cardiac ablation earlier this week.

"The ablation was successfully performed at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago on Monday morning and Brad returned to Arizona [on Wednesday]," the team said in a statement.

Wieck, 28, was acquired last season from the San Diego Padres, compiling a 0.600 WHIP in 14 games with the Cubs. The cardiac ablation should prevent a recurrence of atrial flutter.

"Brad will rest and rehab for the next week and be evaluated further to establish a timeline for resumption of pitching activities towards the end of the next week," the Cubs said.

Wieck is expected to be one of the lefties out of the bullpen this year. He has a career ERA of 4.97 in 49 games split between San Diego and Chicago.

GOODYEAR, Arizona -- Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase could be sidelined three months with a strained back muscle, another blow to Cleveland's pitching staff.

The hard-throwing Clase, the centerpiece of an offseason trade that sent two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to Texas, experienced upper arm discomfort following a bullpen session last week. He continued to have issues this week, and the Indians had him undergo imaging tests Wednesday.

An MRI confirmed a moderate strain of the teres major muscle in his upper back. The team said he will be re-evaluated weekly, but the 21-year-old is expected to miss 8-to-12 weeks of game activity.

Clase was expected to have a role in the back end of Cleveland's bullpen.

It's been a tough start to camp for Indians pitchers as starters Mike Clevinger (knee surgery), Carlos Carrasco (hip flexor) and Aaron Civale (sore groin) are all sidelined. Clevinger is making progress but is not expected to be ready for major league games until at least mid-April.

Clase's fastball has been clocked over 100 mph. He made 21 appearances for the Rangers last season and recorded 21 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

Before being hurt, he had been impressive this spring. Manager Terry Francona noted after a session earlier in camp that Clase was "throwing 100 mph bowling balls. It was heavy. It looked really heavy."

WESTON, Mass. -- Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is cleaning house, and you might be surprised by what he's selling.

The man known to Red Sox fans as Big Papi is, of course, selling tons of memorabilia from his baseball career. But he is also selling other sundry goods, including a neon Rolls Royce sign, a backyard composter and a stone owl sculpture, at an estate sale scheduled for Saturday at his home in the affluent Boston suburb of Weston.

"In addition to some exceptional sports memorabilia, you'll find beautiful furniture and decor, designer ladies clothing and accessories, gym equipment, game room tables and more," the company running the sale said on its website.

The baseball-related items for sale include framed jerseys, David Ortiz bobbleheads, Big Papi commemorative Coca-Cola bottles, signed Red Sox photographs and a Boston Bruins jersey with the name Ortiz and his No. 34 on the back.

The three-time World Series champion and his wife put the six-bedroom, 8,100-square-foot home on the market last year for $6.3 million, but it is not currently listed.

The monocle almost didn't make it to Justin Meekins' picture day.

Meekins, a senior outfielder at Salisbury University in Maryland who bears a strong resemblance to former MLB outfielder Jayson Werth, needed that monocle from Amazon Prime. It had to accompany his long locks, curled-up mustache and stone-cold glare.

It arrived with two minutes to spare, when Meekins' dad dropped it off on campus.

And with that, the outfit was complete. For the third straight year, Meekins would have a roster picture that looked different from any of his teammates'.

"I just thought I would do something different again," said Meekins, whose style first went viral thanks to The Podcast About Division III Baseball. "I don't think there's anything more different than wearing a monocle in a roster picture. It kind of just came out of being a weird guy and embracing my weirdness."

For Meekins, dressing up on picture day -- or any day -- is nothing new. He often frequents thrift stores, and will wear anything from a fur coat to a bandana.

So sophomore year, when he was in line with a teammate, they thought of what he could do that was different. And Meekins -- a self-described "pretty weird guy" -- said the first thing he thought of was putting his hair in front of his face. The glasses were his. Junior year, he again wore glasses, but added a new twist: curling his mustache. His dad thought it'd be funny. And so a tradition was born.

The attention has followed. Meekins was recently recognized while walking to the dining hall with a teammate.

"Somebody walked by us and said, 'Oh, you're that guy,'" he recalled. "And I was like, 'What guy are you talking about?' And he said, 'You're the picture guy.'"

While he's enjoying the limelight, Meekins is quick to deflect the attention his pictures receive toward Division III Salisbury, which is off to a 4-2 start and made the NCAA regionals last season.

"We're kind of on the map I guess you could say," Meekins said. "I think the best part is that our program and our school are getting recognition, too.

"I wasn't expecting all this but it's really cool. I didn't think it was going to be this crazy. But it's definitely a lot of fun."

As for the monocle, it's still in the locker room, and Meekins said he'll take it home with him if it's still there at the end of the season.

"It will be able to tell a story of how I had my three days of fame from a little Amazon monocle that I bought," Meekins said. "It turned out to be a pretty big hit."

World Rugby says it is considering "rugby-specific" eligibility rules for transgender players, differing from the International Olympic Committee policy.

Players transitioning from men to women are currently required to suppress their testosterone levels, in line with IOC limits, to play in women's games.

But critics say unfair imbalances of strength and power remain.

World Rugby wants to explore a "rugby-specific framework, prioritising welfare, inclusion and fairness".

Its chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, added: "We are committed to delivering a fit-for-purpose policy in the modern sporting and societal landscape, balancing inclusivity, while promoting fairness and welfare."

His statement follows a two-day workshop in London which brought together experts in performance, science, medicine, risk, law and ethics, former and current players and rugby officials to discuss the matter.

Their recommendations, including a call for more research into injury risk, ethical considerations and performance, will be taken on by a working group.

Kelly Morgan, who, as Nicholas Gareth Morgan played teenage representative rugby for East Wales, accepted that her pre-transition past gave her an advantage over team-mates as she played women's rugby for Porth Harlequins Ladies.

"I do feel guilty, but what can you do?" she told BBC Sport Wales in August. "I don't go out to hurt anybody. I just want to play rugby."

WALLER, Texas— A.J. Foyt Racing has signed ripKurrent, an energy services company, as the primary sponsor of Charlie Kimball’s No. 4 Chevrolet for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Moreover, ripKurrent will have a season-long presence on the car as an associate marketing partner.

“I am excited for ripKurrent to come on board for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with AJ Foyt Racing,” Kimball said. “As a tech company that is disrupting the norms associated with commercial and industrial facility energy usage and finding efficiencies for those companies, there is no better place to showcase technology, speed and success than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

The ripKurrent logo will be on the nose of the No. 4 Chevrolet throughout the season and the car will feature a distinctive ripKurrent livery for the Indy 500.

“We are very excited to be partnered with A.J. Foyt Racing and Charlie Kimball for the 2020 season, and more specifically, the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500,” said Jade Culbertson, founder and president of ripKurrent, LLC.  “After attending many Indy 500s as a native Hoosier, it will be surreal to think we have an entry with a world class team in AJ Foyt Racing and driver Charlie Kimball in the race. They have the knowledge, experience and skill to put the car in victory circle.”

Based in Boca Raton, Fla., ripKurrent is expanding its involvement in the NTT IndyCar Series after having sponsored Kimball’s car at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last August.

The No. 4 Chevrolet, which is based in the team’s Waller, Texas race shop, will feature several different liveries over the course of the season as the team continues to sign marketing partners for its two-car operation.

“We welcome our new partner ripKurrent for the 2020 season,” said Larry Foyt, president of A.J. Foyt Racing. “We are thrilled that they will be the primary sponsor of Charlie Kimball’s No. 4 car in the Indianapolis 500. The ripKurrent Chevrolet looks amazing, and I can’t wait to hear it at full song around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”