The NFL season starts on Thursday night, when the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Detroit Lions in a clash of postseason hopefuls. With roughly 24 hours until kickoff as of this writing, Chris Jones remains away from the team as he bargains for a new contract. Jones held out all of training camp and is prepared to miss regular season games, too.
Jones has also said he can play tomorrow night if the Chiefs come through with a suitable offer. He wants to play for Kansas City and compete for a Super Bowl, that much is clear. It's a matter of whether or not the Chiefs pony up and pay him what he's worth.
"All I'm doing is asking for a raise," Jones said. According Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, an agreement could happen at a moment's notice. One potential factor, however, is the new deal signed by Niners edge rusher Nick Bosa early Wednesday afternoon.
Bosa agreed to a five-year, $170 million contract with $122.5 million guaranteed, the richest contract for a defensive player in NFL history. With the market trending upward, it's getting harder for Kansas City to justify not raising Jones' salary. Jones is due to make $20 million this season, which places him seventh among defensive tackles.
As Garafolo states, it now comes down to finding where Jones belongs on the spectrum between his current deal and Bosa's new high-water mark.
Nick Bosa contract fuels Chris Jones' Kansas City Chiefs holdout
Kansas City has to be secretly despairing over Bosa's extension, which pays the San Francisco superstar an annual average of $34 million. That's 170 percent of what Jones makes right now. Jones' next contract probably won't break Bosa's record, but he did finish third in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. He's one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the sport and a worthy candidate for high-20s, even low-30s annually.
The Chiefs are an inherently expensive roster, fresh off the team's second Super Bowl in four years. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce — it takes a lot of money to keep players of that magnitude healthy. And, while the majority of fans focus on Kansas City's offense and the explosive playmaking talent of Mahomes, it's impossible to win a championship without quality defense. Jones' stout presence at the line of scrimmage was pivotal in the Chiefs' title victory over the Eagles, just as it was all of last season.
Jones is coming off a remarkable campaign in the trenches. He accumulated 15.5 sacks, 44 tackles, and 29 QB hits in 17 regular season starts. At 29 years old, Jones still has gallons left in the tank.
The Chiefs are set up to contend for the next half-decade at least. It would be a shame to jeopardize the chance at a dynasty to haggle over a few million dollars that Jones, the lynchpin of Kansas City's defense, has unequivocally earned.
Kansas City should end this charade tonight, but don't be shocked if Jones — emboldened by Bosa's lucrative contract — continues to play hard to get.