Chris Jones sat out Kansas City Chiefs practice Wednesday with what the team reported as a back issue, an absence head coach Andy Reid moved quickly to downplay ahead of the regular-season opener.
Jones was not alone among notable absences. Offensive tackle Josh Simmons worked out separately at the facility, and Kingsley Suamataia left practice early because of illness, according to Daily Chiefs. Nothing in Wednesday’s reporting suggested a lengthy absence for the star defensive tackle, whose Chiefs open the regular season Sept. 14 against the Denver Broncos.
Reid told reporters that Jones “will be fine,” according to a Daily Chiefs report from the practice facility.
The coach added, “He’ll be all right, though,” a line echoed across multiple outlets covering Wednesday’s session at the Chiefs’ training complex.
Chris Jones’ Career Arc and Injury History
Christopher Deshun Jones was born July 3, 1994, in Houston, Mississippi. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound defensive lineman starred at Mississippi State before the Chiefs made him a second-round pick, 37th overall, in the 2016 NFL Draft. Jones enters his 11th season in Kansas City in 2026, all of it spent with the franchise that drafted him.
Jones has appeared in 155 career games with 134 starts, racking up 87.5 sacks, 339 tackles, 13 forced fumbles and a safety. He made seven straight Pro Bowls and earned first-team All-Pro honors three consecutive years from 2022 through 2024. Jones was on the roster for all three of Kansas City’s Super Bowl titles.
In March 2024, the Chiefs re-signed Jones to a five-year contract worth $158.75 million, a deal that made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league by average annual value at signing. General Manager Brett Veach called Jones “a future Pro Football Hall of Famer” at the time.
Soft-tissue injuries have been the recurring theme of Jones’ otherwise durable career. He has been listed with groin, calf and wrist ailments in past seasons, including a stretch of games missed with a groin injury in 2019 and a calf issue that cost him time down the stretch of 2024. He battled a hamstring problem in December 2025 but did not miss a game, playing all 17 contests.
What Kansas City Expects From Chris Jones in 2026
Jones started all 17 games last season, but his sack total dropped to seven as Kansas City’s pass rush cratered to 35 total sacks, down from 57 in the Super Bowl-winning 2023 campaign.
Jones flagged the drop-off himself in June, saying, “We’ve got to get more sacks,” as quoted by Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star. He added that the shortfall “affected the defense tremendously.”
Kansas City responded by adding reinforcements up front, drafting defensive tackle Peter Woods in the first round and bringing in veteran help to share the load Jones has often carried alone against double- and triple-teams. The moves are designed to keep opposing offenses from keying entirely on Jones, who remains the interior anchor of a defense trying to rebound from missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
A short absence like Wednesday’s barely registers against that backdrop. But any extended time away from Jones would be a different story for a Chiefs team leaning on him to again be the disruptive force who has defined its defensive identity for a decade.
Why Did Chiefs DT Chris Jones Miss Practice Today? Is He Injured?