Chris Jones' post on Instagram is causing Chiefs fans to panic as the star defensive tackle holds out of training camp looking for a new contract.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce steal the majority of the headlines for the success of the Kansas City Chiefs, but as Chiefs training camp is underway, it's their defensive superstar, Chris Jones, who remains a hot-button topic for discussion.
Jones, who has been a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate for Kansas City, is looking for a new contract, one that would pay him as the top defensive tackle in the NFL. By all indications, though, the team and Jones are far apart in discussions.
But are things even worse than that?
On Thursday, Jones posted a cryptic message on his Instagram Stories that featured lyrics to the Kevin Gates song "Walls Talking" with the following line bolded: "Guess all good things must come to an end."
It might be time to panic.
Chiefs: Chris Jones sends fans into panic with cryptic IG post
Jones and the Chiefs have undoubtedly had a "good thing" going. The defensive lineman is one of the most disruptive players in the league on that side of the ball, consistently racking up pressures and giving the Kansas City defense a dominant presence who can wreck games singlehandedly, something that simply makes the rest of the unit better.
So for Jones to be insinuating that this "good thing" could be coming to an end rightly sends up alarms for the fan base. This is, in the simplest terms, a player the Chiefs can't afford to play without.
Kansas City has made it clear that they want Jones back, but they aren't going to just write him a blank check. From the perspective of the front office, that obviously makes sense. At the same time, the difficult balance for Brett Veach and any GM to find is what will work financially and not letting an extremely talented and valuable player, in this case a cornerstone of a budding dynasty, leave the organization.
And with the way Jones is talking on social media, that now seems more possible than ever. There is some hope that won't be the eventual outcome, though.
ESPN's Dianna Russini reported on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Chiefs Wire) that, though things are murky, she still expects based on her sources that a deal will get done with Jones. His message on Instagram paints a much less optimistic picture. Then again, when you're talking about dollars and cents, a players has to posture properly. And perhaps that's all this is.
If it's not, however, things could get dicey for the Chiefs on the defensive side of the ball.
