The longer Chris Jones holds out, the worse and worse it will get for the Kansas City Chiefs.
With Chris Jones having not shown up to Kansas City Chiefs training camp, his holdout is only going to hold the defending Super Bowl champions back in their quest for an increasingly rare repeat.
Nate Taylor of The Athletic reported Jones wants a new deal netting him $30 million in average annual value, making him the second-highest paid player at his position group in the NFL. He is the best player the Chiefs have on the defensive side of the ball, and is worth every penny. Just pay the man before he finishes the final season of his four-year deal worth $80 million this year.
Even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is shocked Jones hasn't reported to training camp just yet. Here is what he told Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star about his star defensive lineman's absence.
Jones absolutely deserves to get paid, but in a league defined by a hard salary cap, there are only so many ways to slice up the pie. Looks like general manager Brett Veach is up against it here.
Once again, this is a prime example of why it is so incredibly difficult for NFL teams to repeat…
Kansas City Chiefs in the wrong over Chris Jones holdout, contract dispute
Look. I don't think the Chiefs are stupid enough to let Jones walk after this season in free agency. He is a hall-of-fame-level player very much in his prime. Unfortunately, if you do pay him what he is worth, it will cost the Chiefs opportunities to get other guys paid, namely defensive back L'Jarius Sneed. He's never been paid big money before. Also, y'all just missed out on DeAndre Hopkins, too.
Had Jones' contract dispute been resolved, it might have given Kansas City a better chance at competing in the Hopkins free agency sweepstakes. For now, Jones should be the top priority going away. Once Veach and Jones figure out how to make the dollars and cents make sense, then find away to keep Sneed in a Chiefs uniform as he is now just entering his prime as a professional.
Ultimately, you have to have everybody pulling in the same direction if you want any hope of repeating. The AFC is loaded at the top, and the emerging rival Cincinnati Bengals might have what it takes to hoist their first Lombardi Trophy ever next February. While I do expect for the Chiefs to contend for Super Bowls every season Patrick Mahomes is still elite, this could be a pullback year.
The sooner the Chiefs and Jones can get this thing figured out, the better off Kansas City will be.
