The beginning of mandatory minicamp for the Kansas City Chiefs was Tuesday as it happened with plenty of teams. This time of the year is normal to have players not showing up, and that was exactly the case for the Super Bowl champions.
The Chiefs won another title thanks to the core of superstars they have. Patrick Mahomes was the leader of an offense that continues being effective no matter what, with Travis Kelce as the only reliable receiver following Tyreek Hill’s trade.
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Their offense is the reason why they are contenders. However, the defense has improved a lot as the year went by. They have a lot of young players that stepped up, but Chris Jones was the veteran presence that made the unit go.
Chris Jones’ contract
There are interesting decisions to make in plenty of teams. Disgruntled players that want a new contract decide to not show up to practice this early in the offseason. This one seems a bit different than other examples because it looks very unlikely that the team would make a drastic decision with him.
Chris Jones didn’t appear in the start of mandatory minicamp because he is seeking a new contract. The defensive tackle has one year left on his contract with a base salary of 19.5M that could be worth up to 20M, although his performances suggest he deserves a raise.
This is especially true considering players like Dexter Lawrence, Jeffery Simmons, and Daron Payne all received massive contract extensions. He is expecting to be at least the second highest-paid defensive tackle, according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic. That means he wouldn’t accept less than the 23.5M per year that Simmons received from the Tennessee Titans.
The star of Chiefs’ defense had a fantastic season that included 15.5 sacks. He was the best defensive tackle in the league last year, so his desire for a new deal isn’t unreasonable. Kansas City’s fans shouldn’t be overly concerned about it because they went through a similar situation a few years ago.
The Chiefs won the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and Jones had an expiring contract,but back then both sides were able to reach an agreement. The perfect player-franchise match suggests that they should be able to make it work again. Considering he has a cap hit of over 28M, extending him would also open a lot of space to sign DeAndre Hopkins if they want to.
Top 10 highest paid DT by AAV
1- Aaron Donald – Los Angeles Rams – $31,666,667
2- Jeffery Simmons – Tennessee Titans – $23,500,000
T3- Daron Payne – Washington Commanders – $22,500,000
4- Dexter Lawrence – New York Giants – $21,875,000
T5- DeForest Buckner – Indianapolis Colts – $21,000,000
T5- Javon Hargrave – San Francisco 49ers – $21,000,000
7- Chris Jones – Kansas City Chiefs – $20,000,000
8- Jonathan Allen – Washington Commanders – $18,000,000
9- Vita Vea – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $17,750,000
10- Kenny Clark – Green Bay Packers – $17,500,000
