Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is willing to sit out until Week 8, per his own social media account. Jones is on the wrong side of 30 and wants one more big payday. Brett Veach and the Chiefs front office agree that he deserves that, though they seem to have misunderstanding as to just how large that next contract will be.
Per Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated, Jones is seeking an extension in the neighborhood of $30 million AAV. Aaron Donald is the highest-paid defensive player in football and earns $31.7 million per season.
NFL Rumors: Would the Chiefs consider trading Chris Jones?
When Veach traded away Tyreek Hill last offseason, it was done in part so they could keep players like Jones around long term. However, signing Jones to a $30 million AAV contract also limits the Chiefs spending moving forward, just as keeping Hill would have. It puts Kansas City's front office between a rock and a hard place, almost forcing their hand. Previously, there would have been no chance the Chiefs trade Hill away. Veach made that clear himself.
"You reach this point where you, I think, both parties want to just kind of take a deep breath and reset a little bit. And then (the talks) become less frequent, but at the same time, I mean, the start of the season is Sept. 7," Veach said a few weeks ago. "So by nature, they're gonna have to heat up again. And like I said, that's why we're still optimistic."
That optimism will be placed on hold if Jones is actually intent on receiving a contract around $30 million AAV, rather than the deal Quinnen Williams of the Jets just got, for example. Williams is far younger than Jones, and is only set to receive more than $30 million AAV in the final season of his deal.
Trading Jones doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a Super Bowl-caliber team. The Chiefs defensive system is built around its pass rush. For now, Veach will just have to call Jones's bluff.
