The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are yet another team that could be impacted by holdouts during training camp.
Earlier in the week, Pro Bowl running backs Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) and Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders) failed to come to terms on contract extensions before the deadline for franchise-tagged players. Both are likely to be absent from the start of training camp.
While Kansas City has been more confident in getting reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist Chris Jones locked up, time is ticking on this front.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters on Tuesday ahead of training camp starting. In the process, the Super Bowl winner indicated that he has no idea whether Jones will show up when veterans are slated to report to Chiefs training camp later this week.
“I don’t know that,” Reid told reporters. “I’ll have to just see how that goes. There’s communication going on. That’s the important part, then we just have to see.”
Jones, 29 is slated to enter the final year of his contract. As currently constructed, he’ll earn a base salary of $19.5 million. That’s far below market value for a player who absolutely dominated a season ago.
- Chris Jones stats (2022): 29 QB hits, 17 tackles or loss, 15.5 sacks
The four-time Pro Bowler joined eventual winner Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons as a finalist for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award last season. To say that he’s important to the success of the Chiefs would be an understatement.
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Kansas City Chiefs still looking to lock up Chris Jones
Unlike the aforementioned Barkley and Jacobs, Kansas City’s star defender is under contract. This means that he will face fines should the defensive lineman opt to hold out of camp.
Reid’s comments come shortly after a report indicated that the Chiefs are confident something will get done ahead of Week 1.
“The Chiefs would like to give him (Jones) that long-term extension. I’m told that they are still optimistic that this will get done, likely before training camp for Chris Jones,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington noted earlier in July.
Things could have gotten a bit more complicated in extension negotiations after fellow defensive tackle Quinnen Williams inked a four-year, $96.7 million contract with the New York Jets recently.
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Five of the six highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL have inked contracts this offseason. In addition to Williams, Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans), Daron Payne (Washington Commanders), Dexter Lawrence (New York Giants) and Javon Hargrave (San Francisco 49ers) have cashed in on deals worth $84-plus million.
As the NFL defensive tackle market continues to play out, the Kansas City Chiefs are going to be up against it with Jones. Signing him sooner rather than later wouldn’t only avoid a holdout, but it would also eliminate any potential drama for the defending champs as they look to repeat.