Getty Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones reacts after an NFL play.
The Dallas Cowboys may already have a loaded defensive line, but Kansas City Chiefs star defender Chris Jones evidently wants to join it. Jones has been one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL for several years, but he’s currently not playing as he awaits an improved deal.
Heavy’s Josh Buckhalter highlighted Jones’ “liked” posts on X (formerly known as Twitter,) which included a recent post about the Cowboys making a trade for the Chiefs star.
Chris Jones’ likes👀
The liked post, shared by @BurnedByCeeDee on September 2, lists Dallas as a “potential suitor” for Jones in a trade.
“It’s being rumored that the Cowboys are a potential suitor if the Chiefs look to trade Chris Jones. The Chiefs would want Osa Odighizuwa and a 1st. Should the Cowboys go all in?” the post reads.
The idea is tantalizing, but it’s also hard to see how this deal would work considering Dallas has invested a lot of long-term salary money into names like corner Trevon Diggs and still has several future contracts to handle, such as linebacker Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Dallas could still trade for Jones as a mercenary move, but the defender likely wants his contract demands met by a prospective new team for a trade to be a possibility.
Chris Jones Wrecks Offenses with Chiefs
In terms of the foundational pieces of Kansas City’s Super Bowl success, Jones is about as important as any player on the Chiefs’ defense. First joining as a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Jones has totaled 99 career starts in seven seasons.
After a year getting up to speed, Jones has been a top-end producer over the past six years. According to PFR, his lowest sack total in a season in that span was 6.5 in 2017, a year in which he set personal bests for forced fumbles (4) and passes defended (7.)
Before 2022, Jones only double-digit sack season was in 2018. The former Mississippi State star racked up 15.5 sacks, despite only starting 11 games in the regular season. He followed up with 9 more sacks in 2019 during Kansas City’s Super Bowl run.
After decent, but not eye-raising campaigns over the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, Jones reminded the NFL of exactly how good he is. He once again totaled 15.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and made the first-team All-Pro squad for the first time in his career.
Cowboys Give Terence Steele Huge Payday
Investing in the players “in the trenches” is important, and Dallas did so this week by handing offensive tackle Terence Steele a massive five-year contract. The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on September 3.
“Cowboys and RT Terence Steele reached agreement on a five-year, $86.8 million contract extension that includes $50 million guaranteed, per sources,” Schefter wrote on X. “Deal has a max upside of up to $91.8 million. The contract was negotiated and confirmed by @ErikBurkhardt of @RocNationSports.”
Between Steele’s deal and the recent $18 million raise given to guard Zack Martin, Dallas has committed to $105 million in potential spending on the offensive line. The Cowboys have shown a willingness to spend money ahead of the 2023 season, but that may have eliminated any chance of bringing Jones in by allocating funds elsewhere.