When attendance was taken by media on Day 1 of the Kansas City Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp on June 13, there was one glaring omission from those in attendance: All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones.
ESPN’s Adam Teicher was the first one to point out Jones’ absence via Twitter.
Chris Jones was not participating as Chiefs began mandatory mini camp today
Though it is unclear why Jones was not present for Day 1 of minicamp, his latest post on Instagram seemingly foreshadowed his absence from team activities on Tuesday.
Jones posted a video with the caption “Coming for it all. #year8” with a video of him sacking Los Angeles Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins and celebrating with a “make it rain money” celebration.
Chris Jones Is Holding Out For a New Contract
Though he has not clearly stated it publicly, Chris Jones is seemingly holding out until he receives a contract extension from the Chiefs.
Jones is in the final year of his four-year, $80 million deal with Kansas City and has a $28.2 million cap hit for the 2023 season according to Over The Cap.
The best way to lower his cap number for at least the 2023 season would be to hand Jones, 28, a contract extension, which would give him yet another payday but would also push his cap hits down the road. Kansas City would eventually have to address those cap hits as it has to this off-season under Jones’ current deal. But an extension would provide cap relief for the team for the next year or two while also making their star defender happy.
So what will it take for Jones and the Chiefs to strike a new deal? According to Nate Taylor of The Athletic on March 2, Jones wants a contract extension that makes him “at least” the second highest-paid player at his position.
That means the defending Super Bowl champions will have to give Jones a deal that exceeds Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons’, as Simmons received a four-year, $94 million extension this off-season which includes $66 million in total guarantees per Over The Cap.
According to Over The Cap’s effective cap space (the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster), the Chiefs currently have $652,557 in cap space.
Chris Jones Deserves Every Penny He Gets
Whatever Chris Jones makes from his next contract extension will be justified based on his performance last season.
Jones registered a total of 77 pressures (50 QB hurries, 15 sacks, 12 QB hits), 31 stops, and 2 forced fumbles during the 2022 regular season according to PFF. His 92.3 PFF defensive grade during the regular season was the highest among all interior defenders in the NFL, which snapped Aaron Donald’s eight-year streak of being the highest-graded interior defender in the NFL.
Arguably the best performance of Jones’ seven-year NFL career came during Kansas City’s AFC Championship victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in January. During that game Jones dominated by way of 10 total pressures (5 QB hurries, 3 QB hits, 2 sacks) and 3 stops.
Once mandatory minicamp ends on June 15, the Chiefs will then have summer break until training camp begins at the end of July. If Kansas City is unable to agree to terms on a new deal by the time training camp begins, then expect Jones’ holdout to continue into training camp until he gets the contract that he wants.
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Chris Jones Takes Strong Stance in Contract Standoff With Chiefs