Getty Chiefs DT Chris Jones reacts against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
During the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Friday night preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, one Chiefs player was watching the game from somewhere else other than Arrowhead Stadium, grabbed his phone, and bashed the referees for a miscall during the first half.
That player would be none other than Chris Jones.
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Saunders or Jones?
Late in the second quarter on a Vikings offensive drive, a rush of zero yards for Minnesota running back A.J. Rose was pushed upfield due to a penalty on Chiefs defensive lineman Khalen Saunders. The penalty was for unnecessary roughness.
The laughing matter didn’t have to do with the penalty per se, but rather what was said when the penalty was announced by the referee. The official that announced the penalty — Shawn Hochuli — claimed that the penalty was on No. 95 of the defense. But Saunders is No. 99; No. 95 is worn by Jones.
That caused Jones — who was absent from Friday’s game due to a sinus infection that held him out of practice all week — to take to Twitter and express his displeasure with the mishap.
“They be calling fouls on me and I’m not even playing,” Jones tweeted.
They be calling fouls on me and I’m not even playing
Jones’ Transition, Preseason Performance
Jones was in mid-season form this summer despite missing the final preseason game. In two preseason games, the three-time Pro Bowler recorded two sacks and one forced fumble. In the second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, Jones earned a 95.5 overall defensive grade by PFF during his 13 snaps in the first half.
Getting reps at defensive tackle and as an edge-rusher through the first two weeks of the preseason, Jones has shown an elite ability to transition to the outside of the defensive line, which isn’t something he’s done during his first five years in the NFL.
“Defensive end is a little different because you’re more so on the island, yourself,” Jones said on Aug. 18 in regards to the difference between playing on the interior compared to defensive end. “It’s just you and the tackle, and you have so much space in between you and the next guy on the field. It’s a little different, but I like it. It’s not that bad.”
Jones also spoke of the advantages his versatility provides for Kansas City’s defense.
“We can scheme up offenses — we can find great matchups on the inside or outside and I can be able to play off of that,” Jones explained. “Bringing [Jarran] Reed in has been a great acquisition to our defensive line. He’s a stellar guy, and we’re trying to work off each other.”
Part of what helped Jones transition so smoothly as an edge rusher was picking the brain of his teammate, Frank Clark — a two-time Pro Bowl defensive end — while also watching tape of some of the other elite pass-rushers in the NFL.
“He teaches me a lot,” Jones said of Clark. “We talk a lot. We’re very close, and I look at J.J. Watt, of course. And Cam Jordan, guys who succeeded in this league and excelled at the position. I look at Myles Garrett — just a few of the guys that I also pay attention to, but I’m also still paying attention to the D-tackles.”
The Chiefs kickoff against the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium in the regular-season opener on Sept. 12. By then, Jones will surely have recovered from his sinus infection, gotten more reps at defensive end, and will be a force to be reckoned with for quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense.