The Super Bowl LVIII victory was less than a month ago, but the Kansas City Chiefs are forced to start looking ahead. While the core formed by head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce will be back in 2024, other key contributors to their championship are running out of contract.
Perhaps the case that worries Kansas City the most is that of defensive tackle Chris Jones, who is expected to draw plenty of interest in the open market. Therefore, Reid let everyone know he hopes the team can find a way to re-sign the 29-year-old.
“I’m hoping [it is close],” Reid said Thursday on The Rich Eisen Show, via Charles Goldman of AtoZ Sports.. “I can’t give you anything because I don’t have a whole lot. I’m doing all these media things, so maybe something is going better than I think it is.”
Jones comes from another All-Pro season with the Chiefs, recording 10.5 sacks in the team’s route to a second straight championship. Selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Mississippi State product has so far spent his entire career at Arrowhead.
Chris Jones celebrating the Chiefs 2024 Super Bowl win.
“We’d love to have him back,” Reid said. “[General Manager] Brett Veach and his gang are working through that. Chris Shea works with our cap and does the contracts. So, they’re all working through this thing. They’ve had great communication. So, we’ll just see where it goes from here.”
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Chris Jones drops cryptic post on social media
Amid huge speculation about his future, Jones took to social media with a cryptic post that left the football community thinking: Did he suggest he’s coming back to Kansas City in 2024?
Just two letters: KC, and a picture with Andy Reid celebrating the Chiefs’ latest Super Bowl victory were enough to give plenty to talk about on the Internet. The post went viral in a matter of minutes, as it already has nearly 2 million views on X (formerly Twitter). “Well, that could be taken a couple of different ways,” Reid said about Jones’ recent post. “But I like the dot, dots.”
Chiefs GM wants Jones to stay
Chiefs general manager Breet Veach has already addressed Jones’ contract situation, making it clear keeping the star defensive tackle is the franchise’s top priority this offseason.
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“I love Chris,” Veach said Tuesday. “We tried really hard to get something done (last year) and we didn’t. But when we got together right after that Detroit game (in early September), we had a great talk. Both parties, I think, want to be here, so we’ll get to work. That’s certainly a guy we want back and love and want to see him finish his career here in Kansas City.”
