Andy Reid Makes Scary Comment on Chris Jones Situation

Reid's Wednesday morning comments don't provide a ton of hope in regards to Jones's continued holdout.

The Kansas City Chiefs have done their best to conduct an offseason program, training camp and preseason without All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones as he holds out due to contract concerns. With the club's final preseason game and the 2023 NFL regular season on the horizon, though, the sand in the hourglass is beginning to run low as both sides are tasked with ironing out a long-term extension.

Jones, who is coming off the best season of his career, took to X (previously Twitter) on Tuesday to hint at dragging his holdout deep into the season. Week 8, to be exact, which would put a great amount of strain on the Chiefs to win without him while also costing Jones quite a bit of money. It'd be a suboptimal path to take, and one that seemed much more avoidable just a month or two ago. Despite both team and player having all offseason to work on a deal, nothing appears to be particularly imminent.

On Wednesday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about Jones's holdout. Reid's message: There's nothing new, and Kansas City will keep moving with or without its best defensive player. 

"There's been no communication," Reid said. "So I don't know what's going to go there. Whatever happens, happens. If he's not there, the game goes on, right? That's how it works." 

When prompted about whether there's anything he can do on his end to intervene or help push the situation along, Reid admitted the ball is out of his court. He doubled down on there needing to be more communication between both parties, although the fact that there hasn't been any as of late doesn't bode well for a contract getting finalized soon.

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Following up Reid on Wednesday morning, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was upfront in saying the Jones holdout has gone on longer than just about anyone on the team expected. Many thought the 29-year-old defensive tackle would be with the team by this point in the summer, especially considering Jones's openness about loving the Chiefs and the Chiefs' openness about wanting to have him in a Kansas City uniform for the long haul. Mahomes isn't losing hope for an extension just yet, and he said he doesn't fully expect the club to start the regular season without Jones in the fold. 

"No, not necessarily," Mahomes said. "I know that stuff, contract stuff, is hard to talk about because everyone wants to make money for their entire family and everything like that. But I know how much Chris loves the Chiefs and loves being a part of this organization. I just try to stay out of it and just tell Chris that I love him and that whenever he does come back, he'll be welcomed with open arms. We know he's preparing himself so when he does get back, he can be that dominant player he always has been."

With a Sept. 7 season opener against the Detroit Lions quickly approaching, the Chiefs can't afford to dwell on things. They must keep prepping without Jones, regardless of how much it would hurt them if he doesn't report to begin the season. There's no denying his talent, as missing a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber player will leave any team in a relative bind. Mahomes isn't be worried about any added pressure being a result of this situation, though, citing confidence in others as the reason why.

"You have to trust everybody," Mahomes said. "Obviously Chris is a once-in-a-lifetime type of player — to be that big at the defensive tackle spot and being able to get sacks and do stuff like that. But you have to trust the entire defense just like they have to trust the entire offense. Whenever I'm not in the game, they trust the guy that comes in is going to go out there and make an impact. You've seen that with Chad (Henne) over the last few years and the game Trav (Travis Kelce) wasn't in a couple of years ago, other guys stepped up. That's how great football teams work... you've got to have depth everywhere and you've got to have guys that will step up whenever their name is called."

Read More: Winners and Losers From Chiefs' Preseason Game Against Cardinals