Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones has suggested that he is prepared to take his contract holdout into Week 8 of the regular season. It is a decision that could cost him in the neighborhood of $8 million in fines.
The Chiefs, in response, traded for a defensive lineman. They agreed to send a sixth-round draft pick to the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders for Neil Farrell, 24, a 6-foot-4, 319-pound run-stopper, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
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Chiefs Agree to Trade With Raiders Amid Chris Jones’ Holdout
Chiefs Add ‘2-Gapping Nose’ in Trade With Raiders
Here is what NFL.com’s Lanze Zierlien had to say about him before the draft.
“Nose tackle prospect with a well-earned reputation for making it hard on blockers to do their job in the run game. Farrell has seen personal maturity and development in his play that allowed him to consistently bully opponents as a physical force in the middle in 2021, but he tested poorly at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He will be somewhat tethered to home base but could help in upgrading a leaky run defense. Farrell is a two-gapping nose with Day 3 value.”
Farrell was the No. 121 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He logged 158 defensive snaps across nine games and recorded 12 total tackles for the Raiders last season.
Now, he provides some additional depth behind Daniel Wise and Derrick Nnadi. He could do even more in the short term. The Chiefs released nose tackle Danny Shelton too, per Adam Schefter.
Rookie sixth-round pick Keondre Coburn has also impressed this preseason.
The bigger implication is what this means for Jones’ holdout. This move suggests the Chiefs are taking him at his word.
“There’s been no communication, so I don’t know what’s going to go there,” head coach Andy Reid said on August 23, via KHSB 41. “Whatever happens, happens. If he’s not there, the game goes on. Right? So That’s how it works.”
It could also suggest that they are indeed dug in on the notion that he will not be traded. And that they will instead focus on hammering out a deal that works for both sides. Jones, 29, is heading into the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract. He is said to be eyeing a deal worth $30 million annually.
“I think for all parties, I think the best resolution would be for him to end his career as a Chief,” General Manager Brett Veach said, per Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star on August 7. “Hopefully, we get this resolved, but we have no intentions of making a trade.”
How Long Can Chiefs Wait Out Chris Jones?
Jones had 15.5 sacks last season. He has 65 sacks since entering the league in 2016, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL. K.C.’s’ defense ranked second in sacks and fifth in pressure rate with Jones wreaking havoc from the inside or outside.
DEFENSIVE END CHRIS JONES. @StoneColdJones
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/fM5ertlhHi pic.twitter.com/7aZzgxyzsm— NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2023
If they cannot get him back, it might be the one thing outside of losing Patrick Mahomes (or Travis Kelce) that can derail Chiefs’ run to repeat as NFL champs. Adding Farrell is a start. But, if things go poorly early on, how quickly will that shift the front office’s approach; be an increased effort to work things out with Jones or find another option?
Chiefs Trade Preseason Standout
Farrell’s was not the only trade the Chiefs have made in the last 24 hours. The team also shipped preseason standout receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette to the Carolina Panthers for a swap of conditional seventh-round picks.
Smith Marsette finished the preseason with nine receptions on 10 targets for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
#Chiefs WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette with the quote of the day.@jessenewell: "Who do you think you are?"
"One of the baddest mfs in the league." pic.twitter.com/Y22QSbSynC
— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) August 26, 2023
Smith-Marsette signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad after the Chicago Bears waived him last season. He saw the field in two games. He has also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings who drafted him in the fifth round (No. 157 overall) in 2021.
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