Chris Jones Tweets Thoughts on Long-Term Future With Chiefs

Kansas City's star defensive tackle shared what he thinks about an extension from the team.

The start of the new NFL league year is just around the corner, and the start of the legal tampering period on Monday will see teams' progress with prospective free agents pick up considerable speed. The Kansas City Chiefs are already compliant with the salary cap and could be players in this offseason's open market, and general manager Brett Veach will have avenues to free up even more money if he so chooses.

Restructuring quarterback Patrick Mahomes's ever-flexible contract is always an option, as is coming to terms on an extension with star defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones has one more year left on his deal but much has been made in recent weeks of the team needing to lock him up long-term after turning in the best season of his career to date. 

After taking to Twitter on Sunday morning to share that he's "grateful," Jones was asked by a Chiefs fan about the possibility of an extension announcement coming soon. Jones's reply instilled quite a bit of confidence:

"I'm a chief for life. I will not play for another franchise"

I'm a chief for life. I will not play for another franchise

— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) March 12, 2023

During Super Bowl LVII media week, Jones was asked about a contract extension scenario with the Chiefs. He said at the time that things would eventually work themselves out, and nothing appears to have changed between then and now to make anyone believe otherwise. His Sunday tweet, in fact, adds even more fuel to the proverbial fire. 

Jones, who turns 29 in July, is coming off a 2022-23 campaign that saw him finish third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Starting all 17 regular-season games for Kansas City, the former second-round pick matched a career-high with 15.5 sacks and ended up being named a first-team All-Pro for the very first time. Jones also made his fourth Pro Bowl in a row, which is a testament to his dominance over the last half-decade for the Chiefs.

As things currently stand, Jones's 2023 cap hit comes in at just over $28 million. Spotrac's estimates indicate that he'd be worth a $30M annual price tag on the open market, which would be in the neighborhood of what Los Angeles Rams superstar Aaron Donald garnered on the deal he signed after the team won Super Bowl LVI. Jones is likely going to become the second-highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the league in the event of an extension.

The last time Jones signed a hefty long-term pact with the Chiefs (2020), the news broke in July of that offseason. The expectation from many has been that any potential agreement for this offseason could follow a similar timetable, and it's unclear exactly where things are progress-wise as free agency approaches. An extension is far from a lock to happen, of course, which must be kept in mind. Twitter doesn't get deals done. With that said, Jones is doing nothing to stifle the speculation as a gigantic payday hangs in the balance. 

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