This Saturday marks the official start of training camp for the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs following a three-day camp that took place with the rookies this week and now, the veterans report to St. Joe today as the team gets closer to the start of the season.
Among them, you can count in defensive tackle Chris Jones, who decided to end his holdout despite a major ‘rift’ between him and the organization over a contract extension. After holding out from all team-related activities for most of the 2019 offseason, the first day of camp will be the first time Jones practices with his teammates.
Jones held out thinking it would land him a new contract extension but nothing happened.
Now in a contract year, Jones is set to make around $1,982,667 in 2019 according to over the cap if nothing gets done. Jones reportedly wants a deal similar to what the Chiefs gave defensive end Frank Clark (5-years, $104m, $63m guaranteed) after they traded for him earlier this offseason.
It’s likely the two sides will begin negotiations towards an extension now that he’s with the team, General Manager Brett Veach emphasized during team mini-camps they were not going to begin any negotiations whatsoever until he returned.
However, if the two sides can’t get a deal done, it’s likely Jones tests free agency in 2020 in order to get paid as per report.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Katz brothers who represent Jones said in a statement:
“He knows his value and if he has to play out his deal in order to reach free agency, then that’s what he will do. For now, he’s focused on winning a Super Bowl for Kansas City.”
While Chris Jones’ contract situation is still a developing story and a lot can happen between now and when the 2020 NFL free agency kicks off, the good thing is he’s back and he seems willing to put differences aside and help the team win despite a rift between him and the Chiefs upstairs office.
For right now, that’s all you can ask.
