KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two days after saying he wouldn’t criticize defensive tackle Chris Jones, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid took a less diplomatic tone Sunday when asked if the holdout could play Thursday night against the Detroit Lions.
“I can’t tell you that,” Reid said before Sunday’s practice. “I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know what his agenda is or when he’s coming or not coming. But we’re rolling right now. I haven’t put much thought into that part.”
Reid’s remarks came after a report Saturday claimed the Chiefs were offering Jones $74 million over three years with $70 million guaranteed for injury. He declined when asked to elaborate on when was the last time he spoke to his star defender.
“Not trying to be a lawyer, but I don’t really want to talk about my thing with him or anything else there,” Reid said. “But I’m just going to tell you that (general manager Brett) Veach has had communication there and with his agent so that’s the important thing right now.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes echoed his head coach when asked about the prospect of playing Thursday night without Jones in the lineup.
“I mean, at this point, you kind of just prepare to play the game with the guys that are in the building and let the front office and stuff handle that,” Mahomes said. “We got a tough test with the Detroit Lions, and we’re going to try to focus on how we can win with the guys that are here.”
Sunday marked the final day of the NFL’s official training camp period. Veterans such as Jones who are under contract are subject to a $50,000 fine for each day of the preseason training period missed. The 44 days Jones has been absent resulted in a total fine of $2.2 million.
Starting Monday there won’t be daily fines for Jones but he does risk missing paychecks. Jones, who has a base salary this season of $19.5 million, will forfeit a pay of nearly $1.1 million if he’s not on the active roster Thursday night. Even if Jones were to report before the game, the Chiefs could file for a roster exemption for up to two weeks. If that happens, Jones could practice with the team but wouldn’t be paid for any games for which he’s exempted from the roster.
During the team’s June minicamp – which Jones skipped, incurring a fine of nearly $100,000 and foregoing a $500,000 workout bonus – Reid was optimistic Jones would report for training camp. He conceded Sunday there’s no guarantee in contract standoffs such as this.
“Listen, you’re never sure how it’s going to work out,” Reid said. “You deal with too many people on this type of thing. So these things can go either direction. Again, I don’t spend a lot of time on it. I’ve got 90 guys, or had 90 guys, in the offseason that we need to make sure we’re going in the right direction.
“Then now we’re getting ready to play a game. You’re either here or not here, and that’s how I go about it.”
This past Thursday, tight end Travis Kelce issued a plea to Jones to return.
“I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother,” Kelce said during this New Heights podcast. “This is just me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you, we need you bad. And I don’t know what the situation is.”
When Mahomes signed his record 10-year, $450 million extension in 2020, he texted Jones that his contract was next. Jones had been franchise tagged by the Chiefs, and less than two weeks later signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chiefs.
“I had a feeling the deal was going to get done,” Jones told NFL Network in July 2020. “When Pat’s deal got done … Pat texted me and said let’s get this thing done. I left some on the table, let’s get this thing done.”
Sunday Mahomes was asked if expected teammates such as Jones to take below-market contracts to keep the core group of teammates together.
“I mean, I know how special it is here,” Mahomes said. “But I know how special of a thing we got going. And so like, I’ve never tried to stay – I stay out of the contract stuff. But I know I’m lucky to be in this place. And I want to go out there and win as many championships as I can.”
Reid says he’s concerned with how noise around the Jones holdout is playing in the team’s locker room.
“The guys know, they know how the business side works, and the guys that have a chance to play are excited to do that,” Reid said. “So not worried about that part.”
