After a career year and a second Super Bowl ring, Chris Jones has stepped up his quest for a new contract.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ All-Pro defensive tackle did not show up for the start of his team’s training camp on Saturday, according to ESPN, and the two teams would remain “far apart” in talks for an extension. He is liable to a fine of $50,000 each day he does not appear.
Jones, who also held the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason, is entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million deal he signed in 2020, a deal that certainly worked for the Chiefs.
Jones, 29, is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he tied a career-high 15.5 sacks, tied for the fourth-highest mark in the NFL and easily the most among interior linemen. He also had 44 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 29 QB hits, four passes defended and two forced fumbles, earning first-team All-Pro honors and a fourth straight Pro Bowl nod.
He remained strong in the playoffs, leading the Chiefs’ defense as the team won Super Bowl LVII.
It’s been a pretty good offseason for defensive tackles as far as contracts go, which might explain why Jones is looking for an early raise. Jones’ average annual contract value of $20 million, once one of the richest deals for a defenseman in the league, now ranks only ninth among interior defensive linemen, according to OverTheCap.
Five of the position’s six richest contracts have been signed this offseason: Quinnen Williams with the New York Jets (four years, $96 million), Jeffery Simmons with the Tennessee Titans (four years, $94 million), Daron Payne with the Washington Commanders (four years, $90 million), Dexter Lawrence with the New York Giants (four years, $90 million) and Javon Hargrave with the 49ers. San Francisco (four years, $84 million).
Jones will probably be looking for something in this neighborhood.