The Kansas City Chiefs and star defensive tackle Chris Jones have yet to resolve their contract standoff. Despite being in communication with the team, Jones has opted to sit out as training camp begins.
Jones’ absence caught Chiefs head coach Andy Reid by surprise, as he indicated to reporters on Sunday. Reid did assert that he is confident that the entire ordeal will be resolved soon enough.
“As far as Chris goes, we’ll just see how things go here down the road,” said Reid as he spoke to media members following practice, via Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride.
“There had been communication. We’ll see where it goes from here, and… if you’re not here, we just keep moving; that’s how we roll. We don’t worry a lot about that. We let it take care of itself — and we got great people working on that, so I’m not worried about that.”
Jones finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. The Chiefs star has already staked a claim on next season’s award. He finished with 15.5 sacks and 44 combined tackles, leading to a first-team All-Pro nod for the first time in his career.
Jones has just one year remaining on his deal which would pay him $19.5 million in base salary next season. He will be fined $50,000 for every day of training camp he misses.
The Chiefs were said to be waiting for the Jets to set the market with their contract extension for Quinnen Williams. Williams has since received a deal worth $96 million over four seasons, the second-largest in NFL history for an interior defender behind Aaron Donald. It’s a safe bet Jones’ camp is negotiating to exceed that figure and crack nine figures.
