Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is slated to hit free agency next week, and given how big of a contract he is going to command, he isn’t a slam dunk to return to the Chiefs.
However, Jones seemed to give the Kansas City faithful some hope on Thursday, when he took to his X account to post a photo of him celebrating the Chiefs’ recent Super Bowl win with the caption “KC……”
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach has already said that the team is prioritizing re-signing Jones this offseason, and it appears that Jones wants to remain with the Chiefs.
The fact that Kansas City is rumored to be in the process of trading cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is more evidence that the club is planning on handing Jones a massive deal.
Like Jones, Sneed was set to become a free agent this month, but the Chiefs slapped a franchise tag on him. The general consensus is that Kansas City did this in order to trade Sneed, because it would likely not be able to afford to keep both Jones and Sneed. At least not without hurting other parts of the roster.
Jones is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he played 16 games and registered 30 tackles and 10.5 sacks en route to his fifth straight Pro Bowl appearance and second consecutive First-Team All-Pro selection.
The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Mississippi State, was selected by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Jones broke out in his third NFL season, racking up 40 tackles, 15.5 sacks and an interception. However, he did not make his first Pro Bowl until his fourth year.
The Houston, Ms, native posted 15.5 sacks yet again in 2022, which was when he logged his first First-Team All-Pro nod.
We’ll see if the Chiefs are able to get something done with Chris Jones in the coming weeks.
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