Chris Jones was in the house for the Chiefs' season-opener against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, and he did not look like he was enjoying himself.
You okay up there, Chris Jones? Blink twice if you're in trouble.
The star defensive tackle decided to watch his team play the Lions in Week 1 from a suite in the stands of Arrowhead Stadium, surrounded by what appeared to be Italian mobsters. That might explain the tense negotiations.
Jones is reportedly forfeiting $1.1 million by sitting out of the Chiefs' 2023 season-opener, taking a stand that hurts both him financially and hurts his team on the field.
In the first half of Week 1, the Lions completed a full-field drive capped off with an Amon-Ra St. Brown touchdown, thanks in part to an effective running back duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. If Jones had been playing, the Chiefs' run defense may not have looked so vulnerable against the Lions' rushing attack, and Jared Goff may have tasted grass one or two times.
After the 49ers made Nick Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, Jones' contract negotiations with the Chiefs may be taking a turn for the worse. Bosa's set to make $34 million a year. If the Chiefs didn't pay Jones top-of-the-market money before, the ceiling has only risen, and the rift between the defensive star and the reigning Super Bowl champions may be widening. Emotionally and physically, Jones and the Chiefs are quite a distance apart from each other.
For his part, Jones doesn't look like he's enjoying his holdout too much, which could give Chiefs fans some solace in a potentially close game against the Lions.
SOS: Chris Jones watches Chiefs-Lions Week 1 game in misery
If there's anything the first half of this game can tell us, it's that the Chiefs' defense needs Jones. Badly.
In an ideal world, Jones would get his deal done during the game and rejoin his teammates on the field. In the most likely scenario, Jones' contract negotiations continue to drag on past Week 1's results, seemingly to no end.
Keep biting those nails, Chiefs Kingdom.
