Chiefs, Chris Jones Not Overly Concerned with Star DT's Career-High Workload

Chris Jones is playing a higher percentage of the Chiefs' snaps than he ever has, but neither he nor the team appears too worried as December rolls on.

Nov 24, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

No team is 100% healthy at this point in the season, but some have been visited by the injury bug more than others. The Kansas City Chiefs are being tested plenty in their attempted title defense, entering the year with players nursing ailments and then seeing several others go down once games started being played. That, in turn, has forced the franchise to lean on its core more than ever.

The proof is in the snap counts for defensive tackle Chris Jones. In his first year on a new contract extension, the two-time All-Pro is on the field for a higher share of snaps (83%) than he's ever averaged. Only his career-best season in 2022 (80%) comes remotely close. This current stretch coincides with the former second-round pick's age-30 campaign, which is oftentimes when players begin to decline.

Instead, Jones is still going strong. Should Kansas City be concerned or exercise some preventative maintenance? Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo isn't too sold on that, as he lumped Jones in with every-down players like linebacker Nick Bolton, cornerback Trent McDuffie and safety Justin Reid this week.

"It's a good point, it's a really really good point," Spagnuolo said. "We would have to look at that. I look at the play count every week [but] I haven't added them up. We do, over the course of the game, I know Joe (Cullen) takes Chris out early in the first half of games and it's to keep him fresh and all those guys fresh. We'll have to keep our eye on that as we get down the stretch. I don't feel like the guys are tired. Now, you'll have to ask them. Chris takes care of his body and does a good job. Nick, his snap total's always going to be high because he's out there for all the downs. Some of the other guys are the same way. I think Trent, Trent's would be high. Justin Reid's would be high. I think that's probably typical of the way we've been all the years here."

Week 13's win over the Las Vegas Raiders provided solid justification for the Chiefs continuing to count on Jones to stay on the field. In the narrow victory, the star interior lineman reached the 60-snap threshold for the second time in three games. In the process, he set a season-high mark with six tackles and tied his 2024-25 bests in tackles for loss (2) and sacks (2). Those sacks were his first since Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

There aren't any peripheral signs of Jones hitting a wall. After logging between two and four pressures in Weeks 7-10, he's notched totals of seven, five and three in the next set of outings. Pro Football Focus grades Jones as the No. 1 pass-rushing defensive tackle in the sport, and other advanced metrics like Brandon Thorn's true pressure rate and pressure quality ratio both make the case for Jones as perhaps the game's best pass rusher period.

Doubling down on what Spagnuolo said, Jones gave defensive line coach Joe Cullen a vote of confidence and seems fine playing as much as the Chiefs need him to.

"You know what, Joe does a heck of a job trying to watch the reps," Jones said. "In the first half, we were on a heck of a pace. Sometimes the game transitions to where I have to be out there more than we planned for. That's just part of it."

Carrying such a significant salary, especially at this stage of his career, some argued that Jones would have to fully maintain his previous level of play in order to be worth it. That's exactly what he's done, sacks aside, through 12 games. Despite another year of wear and tear on his body and even with him being double-teamed routinely, he finds ways to win and has a domino effect on the rest of the defense. Demanding so much from one specific player is always risky, although it's hard to argue with the results.

Until proven otherwise, Kansas City isn't wrong to shy away from too much load management for their best defensive player.

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