Defensive tackle Chris Jones Wednesday spoke out for the first time since starting his holdout from the Chiefs, expressing his desire for a raise and denying a schism between him and the organization.
“I don’t think there’s no animosity between me and the Chiefs organization,” Jones said. “I think they’re just, you know, a little disagreement. You know, I’m asking for a raise, they feel like, this is what I deserve. I felt like I deserved more and just a misunderstanding.”
Jones made his remarks during a public appearance at the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City. The Chiefs are hosting the NFL season opener Thursday night, prompting the Chiefs to turn their annual Red Friday celebration into a Red Wednesday event. The organization’s annual commemorative flag sale as part of the event benefits the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Kansas City, and Jones is a spokesperson for McDonald’s.
But most of the questions at the event centered on Jones and his holdout, which marked its 47th day on Wednesday. Jones said he’s been training in Miami, working out twice daily and “staying focused, understanding that this is a process.”
“I’ve been keeping in contact with my teammates,” Jones said. “I’m still working out every day, still doing similar things that they do in training camp. The camaraderie, we’ve got a lot of new players, miss that aspect of it, but I’ll be ready to go when that time calls.”
When that time arrives, however, remains an open question. Jones declined to provide details on the state of negotiations between himself and the club’s front office.
“I can’t really talk about it,” he said. “Hopefully it gets worked out. It’s always been my goal to be a Kansas City Chief for life. I’ve said that multiple times on social media platforms, from interviews and they know where my position is at and hopefully we can get something worked out for the long term.”
Earlier during the holdout, Jones replied on social media that he might not return to the club until Week 8. He didn’t rule that option out Wednesday. “This is Week 1, right so we’ll see where it goes,” he said.
“Things can change in a matter of days,” Jones said. “There’s 24 hours in a day, right? So there’s 24 hours for feelings to change, positions to change and situations to change. All we can do is take it an hour at a time, right.”
Jones is in the final season of a four-year, $80 million contract signed in 2020 that is scheduled to pay him a base salary of $19.5 million in 2023. The highest-paid defensive tackle in the league, Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams, has a $95 million contract with an average annual value of $31.67 million. Quinnen WIlliams of the New York Jets in July signed a four-year, $96 million extension averaging $24 million per year. Jones reportedly seeks a deal in between the two, albeit closer to Donald’s numbers.
One defensive lineman, however, did agree to a new contract extension Wednesday. San Francisco defensive end Nick Bosa agreed to a five-year, $170 million deal averaging $34 million per season. While the situations differ — Bosa plays defensive end, he’s also aged 25 compared to Jones at 29 and had been franchised tagged by the 49ers — it’s another data point among the NFL’s highest-paid defensive players.
Jones didn’t appear to rule out returning to the club under the terms of his current contract if an extension isn’t reached.
“I asked for an extension,” Jones said. “Unfortunately that hasn’t been brought yet. We’ll just see where it goes. We’ve got a whole year ahead of us and things, situations could change in a year or so. Right now I’m under contract for the rest of this year and we’re just going to make the best of it.”
Jones disputed the notion that his holdout had an effect on his teammates. He protested when asked if he was letting down his teammates by declining to report to the club.
“How? That’s what I’ve got to ask,” Jones said. “How have I let them down? It’s just like when you’re at a job and you ask for an extension, right? And you ask for a raise, right? You’re not letting anyone down. Who are you letting down by asking your boss for a raise, right? When you take the personal feelings out of it, you kind of can get it. All I’m doing is asking for a raise.”
He also posited that “holding in” by reporting to work but refusing to practice or play games would have been a distraction for his teammates.
“I didn’t want to be a distraction,” Jones said. “I could have done a hold in but that’s even more of a distraction. I’d be there holding in while all the guys are there, you know what I mean. That’s a bigger distraction.”
The All-Pro defensive tackle also offered a curious answer when asked about his message to Chiefs fans.
“What can I say? Opinions are like buttholes,” he said. “Everybody got them and they all stink, right? Some are going to like it, some are going to respect it and some are going to dislike it. That’s just the way it is. You can’t make everybody happy, unfortunately. As much as you try to do and as much as you try to appease people you’re not going to make everyone happy, unfortunately, I’m sorry. And I’m just asking for a raise, right?
Jones also suggested if he and the club reached an agreement, he could play immediately.
“A deal gets done today, I’ll be out there tomorrow,” he said.
While that notion seems improbable, head coach Andy Reid said Tuesday he hadn’t given the idea of Jones attending the game as a player or booster any thought.
“Listen, I haven’t even gone there,” Reid said. “We’re focused in on the guys who are here getting ready to play the Lions, that’s where I am at. If you’re not there, you’re not there. Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game so you can’t spend time, you’ve got to exhaust your time on the team you’re playing so that’s where we’re at.”
And Jones saved one of his shortest answers for the question of whether he could see himself returning to the team without a new contract.
“We shall see,” he said.
