Superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones did not participate in mandatory minicamp, as the former All-Pro hopes for a contract extension. While player and team have yet to reach an agreement, General Manager Brett Veach is optimistic that the Chiefs will be able to strike a long-term deal with their homegrown star.
Brett Veach “Feels Good” About A Chris Jones Contract
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The Kansas City Chiefs have been the NFL’s team to beat since the 2018 season, and while most of that success has to do with Patrick Mahomes, nobody can deny that this team would not have been this successful without defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones, now entering the final year of his contract, skipped mandatory minicamp in hopes of receiving a new deal. While player and team have yet to come to terms, general manager Brett Veach seems to believe that a new contract is a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’.
“We have great communication and there’s a lot of time before camp,” Veach said, per Harold R. Kuntz of FOX 4 News Kansas City. [I] feel good about where we’re going to be with Chris…and I’m sure we’ll have a great dialogue from now to the start of training camp and look forward to Chris being here not just for next year, but for a long time.”
"We have great communication"
We were able to talk to Brett Veach today about where the Chiefs are at with Chris Jones pic.twitter.com/9z6PJ2lYLa
— Sports Radio 810 WHB (@SportsRadio810) June 16, 2023
Jones, now entering his age-29 season, is coming off of what could easily be his best season in a career full of memorable moments. The defensive tackle recorded a staggering 15.5 sacks while earning First-Team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career. There is a strong case to be made that Chris Jones is the best player at his position not named Aaron Donald, and his next contract will reflect that. The only question is how Veach will manage to structure the deal while maintaining cap space.
Structuring A Chris Jones Contract
As of this posting, the Kansas City Chiefs have next to no salary cap space. According to OverTheCap, the team has just $650,891 in available spending money. Even before accounting for a Chris Jones contract, this isn’t enough money to make it through a season, so the team will have to restructure a few deals as it is.
Fortunately, handing out a new contract to Chris Jones could actually increase Kansas City’s cap space in 2023. The defensive tackle currently carries a staggering $28.3 million cap hit, but the Chiefs could clear up to $16 million by extending Jones. This will solve all of their financial worries in the short term while also freeing up the money to sign somebody like Dalvin Cook.
However, just becuase the Chiefs CAN clear $16 million with an extension doesn’t mean that they should. The bill always comes due eventually, and freeing up salary cap space now just means that they’ll have to pay extra in a few years. Patrick Mahomes carries a $39.7 million cap hit for 2023, but that number jumps into the mid-40’s every season from now until 2027, when it jumps to $62.3 million.
Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league and is worth every penny, but it’s going to be hard to build a team around that contract. In order to build a sustained winner, the Chiefs should structure the Chris Jones contract to free up $8 million or so in 2023 without causing a major cap hit down the line.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
