It looks like the Kansas City Chiefs shot to repeat is in jeopardy if they don’t give stud defensive tackle Chris Jones a new deal.
Chiefs DT Chris Jones Makes It Clear; He Is Holding Out
You saw this situation play out last offseason where star Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill wanted to be the highest-paid receiver in the league. The Chiefs decided to trade him to Miami for draft picks, and we saw who won that trade.
This is a different situation because Chris Jones is the heart of that defense, and life without him could be tough to overcome for an up-and-down defense.
REPORT: 4x Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones wants 30 million dollars per year, according to @ByNateTaylor of @TheAthletic. #Rams DT Aaron Donald is the highest-paid DT in the league at $31.67 million, so it’s not unreasonable for Jones who some consider to have passed Donald… pic.twitter.com/uagnFGc7Tc
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 24, 2023
Is Chris Jones Worth Aaron Donald Money?
Jones has been with the Chiefs since 2016, and in that time, he’s had 65.0 sacks, 243 tackles, and 65 tackles for loss in his six-year career.
It was easy to replace Tyreek Hill because you still had the top tight end in the NFL in Travis Kelce and were able to fill the void left by Hill by signing Juju Smith-Schuster, Marques Valdez- Scantling and drafting Skyy Moore last season.
However, not signing Chris Jones before the season starts could alter the Chiefs’ season in a big way. The Chiefs don’t have an edge rusher to replace Jones’ production. The team is still banking on 2022 First Round Pick George Karlaftis to be the pass-rusher he was at Purdue. He had 6.0 sacks last year, but asking Karlaftis to be a replacement for Jones is a tall task.
Kansas City’s defense is iffy heading into this season. If Jones doesn’t get a new contract, there is a void of pass rushers as Kansas City also let Frank Clark walk this offseason. In addition, Safety Juan Thornhill left for the Cleveland Browns.
The Chiefs have employed a bend but don’t break defense in Patrick Mahomes‘ era. The area that Kansas City’s defense does well is rushing the passer; as a defense a season ago, Kansas City sacked the quarterback 55 times, and Chris Jones played a big part of that with 15.5 sacks of his own.
Now, is Chris Jones better than Aaron Donald? Not quite. But if anyone should be making money close to Donald, it’s Chris Jones because he’s that important to Kansas City’s defense. Unlike the Tyreek Hill move, not giving Chris Jones a contract extension would be a decision General Manager Brett Veach regrets for years to come.
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