Getty Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is still awaiting a contract extension.
It feels like the entire Kansas City Chiefs community is waiting on a Chris Jones extension, and according to a KC insider, the organization could be waiting on it too.
KSHB41’s Nick Jacobs has become a bit of a Chiefs expert and media insider on Twitter, and he had a theory on the current hold-up between Jones and Kansas City. On June 20, he tweeted: “Everything for the Chiefs roster wise [in my opinion] will be a waiting game until [a] Quinnen Williams deal gets done. Then Chris Jones can get his $$$ and the Chiefs then have room for whatever roster activities they want. So any vets that want legit $$ will have to wait on those dominos.”
Jacobs is referring to New York Jets rising star Quinnen Williams, of course, who is expected to join Jones near the top of the defensive tackle market after an extension of his own. Only, that extension has yet to occur.
“That doesn’t make Chris [Jones] or his agents or the Chiefs villains in this,” Jacobs added in a follow-up tweet. “It’s just the way Chris’ agents guarantee top dollar. Same way if I’m in [Patrick] Mahomes camp, I would let [Justin] Herbert and [Joe] Burrow get their contracts [first], then leapfrog that APY. Mahomes is the reason the QB market reset.”
Chiefs Insider Explains Why Chris Jones Is Waiting on Quinnen Williams & the Jets, Not the Other Way Around
After Jacobs’ initial comments, Chiefs fans wondered what would happen if Williams and his agent are waiting on Jones. The KSHB41 producer had the answer for that too.
“Jones [is a] 2× Super Bowl champion, 4-time pro bowler, 4x all-pro, Defensive POY finalist, [with] 65 career sacks,” he replied. “Williams [has] 27.5 career sacks [and is a] 1x Pro Bowler [and] 1x All-Pro.”
Jacobs then listed “2022 Next Gen Numbers” in a screenshot, providing evidence that Jones was also the more disruptive defensive lineman last season. The KC game-wrecker bested Williams in every category listed besides QB pressure rate, including total QB pressures, hurries, sacks and “turnovers caused by pressure.”
“The larger point is that each accomplishment or stat or stat ranking comes with a price tag set by the market,” Jacobs concluded later to close out this conversation. “Right now Williams doesn’t have as much banked long term. So that’s why I don’t think they would be waiting on Chris [Jones’] deal. Williams’ floor and ceiling are set.”
Latest on Jets & Quinnen Williams as Chris Jones Waits for a New Deal With Chiefs
Just the other day on June 15, ESPN NYJ beat reporter Rich Cimini predicted that the Jets would eventually sign Williams to a “four-year, $98 million extension, keeping him with the Jets through 2027.”
The NYJ insider added that it would be a “surprise” if Williams didn’t have a new deal “by the start of the season,” saying it could even happen “by the start of training camp.”
The APY on that projection is $24.5 million per year for Williams, an average Jones is expected to top. The Chiefs superstar currently makes $20 million per year according to Over the Cap.
Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald is the only interior DL that makes more than $24.5 million per year, currently, at $31.667 million per year. Jones admitted that he does not necessarily need to reset the D-tackle market — meaning surpass Donald — but The Athletic’s Nate Taylor reported that he’d like to “at least” place second.
That means waiting on Williams and the Jets, as Jacobs outlined above.
While the exact timeline on all of this is unclear, it’s in the Chiefs best interest to get this deal done soon. Jones’ extension is expected to free up cap space in 2023, which could make it possible for the franchise to orchestrate one or two final veteran acquisitions this summer.