Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones has been holding out for a new contract since mandatory minicamp in June. It has officially reached the point now that Jones’ teammate and fellow All-Pro Travis Kelce has made a public plea to Kansas City’s star defender.
When asked about Kelce’s plea to Jones, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was rather dismissive during his September 1 press conference.
“Certain guys do it one way, certain guys do it another way. Chris has chosen to go this route, some other guys have chose to get their deals done and come in and play,” Big Red said. “I’m not here to criticize one way or the other. We’ve had a lot of success with the guys that we have and we go with it. … I take the distractions and throw them out the door and get on with what’s real.”
In episode 51 of his “New Heights” podcast, Travis and his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, discussed Jones’ holdout. The conversation began with Jason asking Travis if he had any updates on the situation.
“Ah man, Chris, can you please come back? You’re really scaring me, man. I don’t get it,” Travis said. “You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it. I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you. We need you bad. And I don’t know what the situation is.”
Jason playfully defended Jones’ stance and told Travis that he doesn’t think Jones should end his holdout until after Week 10, which is when the Chiefs and Eagles play each other.
“Don’t let them do this to you, Chris. You need to hold strong, my man! For all the other D-tackles in the NFL. You cannot take this injustice,” Jason said. “You must stay (away) through at least the Eagles game, and then you can come back. I think that’s the appropriate time — it’s just a coincidence.”
Chiefs ‘Hopeful’ Chris Jones Returns for Week 1
Speaking to the media on August 30, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach was asked if the organization expects Jones — who was placed on the Active/Did Not Report list at the start of the regular season — to return to the team prior to Kansas City’s regular season opener against the Detroit Lions on September 7.
“Listen, we’re certainly hopeful for that. We have been in communication, and actually just the last few days, we’ve been in more communication,” Veach said during his press conference. “We’re going to continue to press on and work hard. (There is) a lot of respect on both sides of this thing. It’s been obviously well stated how we feel about Chris (Jones), and he feels the same way. Again, we’re just going to keep working on this thing, and we’re looking forward to next Thursday and hopefully he’s in the lineup and he’s ready to go.”
Twitter Reacts to Travis Kelce’s Plea
Users on Twitter — which was recently rebranded to “X” — reacted to Travis Kelce’s plea to Chris Jones.
“Not everyone can be like Trav (Travis Kelce). One of the few cats out there that just wants to win…not a shot at Chris but Trav is a rare breed for sure,” one user wrote.
“Some players just don’t measure success the way the all-time greats have,” another user wrote. “They want to win at all cost, to be the best. Some people are just ok with getting there. This is an example of 2 contrasting ideas of what success looks like.”
“Could this possibly be an inside job to keep CJ fresh for the second half? I’m hoping that this theory is right,” another user wrote.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid Sounds Off on Travis Kelce’s Plea to Chris Jones