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The Kansas City Chiefs want defensive tackle Chris Jones to remain in town for the rest of his career.
The four-time Pro Bowler continues to hold out as he seeks a contract extension, and general manager Brett Veach said coming to terms with Jones is the only solution on the table. The GM told Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star:
“I think for all parties, I think the best resolution would be for him to end his career as a Chief—and get that financial security—and for us to do what we had set out to do, and that’s to work through last offseason with this offseason in mind and get some young guys, which we did that, and then focus on this year and getting Chris done. Hopefully, we get this resolved, but we have no intentions of making a trade.”
Veach then elaborated by saying that he understands why Jones wants a pay increase and that he wants to get the deal done:
“He’s a great player, and he wants a big contract. He deserves a big contract, and I don’t think there’s any surprises in that regard. But there’s just some hurdles we have to work through in regards to how we can keep this thing going for the short- and long-term. But we’ve never wavered on, ‘This is a guy that we want to exhaust all of our efforts to get done,’ because that’s how much we think of him.”
Jones had 15.5 sacks in 2022, which tied for his career high and gave him a career total of 65. The seven-year veteran also had 44 tackles, four passes defended, a fumble recovery and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
The 29-year-old has one season at $19.5 million remaining on his contract.
Jones is a catalyst for a Chiefs defense that has won two Super Bowls in the past four seasons, and he would be difficult to replace. Veach acknowledged that getting him back on the field is key:
“It wouldn’t be as good as one with (him), and I think we certainly acknowledge that. I mean, he’s the guy that makes everything tick. I think that’s apparent to us, and that’s why—going into the offseason and even to where we are now—that’s why our mindset is to continue to work hard to get something done with him, because that’s how we feel about him.”
Kansas City will kick off the regular season September 7 against the Detroit Lions.
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