Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce desperately wants one of his teammates back before their season starts Thursday.
In his “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce” podcast, Kelce begged Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones to end his holdout and return to the team, stating that Jones was “really scaring me” by staying away.
“Chris, can you please come back?” Kelce said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “You’re really scaring me, man. I don’t get it. You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it. I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you. We need you bad, and I don’t know what the situation is.
“He’s just the best defensive player in the league right now. He’s deserving of all the money in the world. Chris, I love you. Please come back now.”
Jones has skipped all of training camp in search of a new contract. He wants a raise from the $19.5 million he is due to make in 2023 on the final year of his current deal, which puts him outside of the top five highest-paid players at his position. The Chiefs are not sure if he will show up for Week 1, and Jones is not tipping his hand.
Kelce and Jones seem to have fundamentally different approaches on contract matters. Still, the tight end’s plea certainly is heartfelt.
