Chris Jones Candid About Potential Last Home Game With KC Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs aren't fond of entertaining the thought that this could be their final game of the 2023-24 season. A one-and-done playoff showing would undoubtedly be a failure of an effort for everyone involved.
Regardless of whether they want it to be or not, though, this weekend's Wild Card game against the Miami Dolphins could be their last home game until next season.
It might also be defensive tackle Chris Jones's last home game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. While the All-Pro acknowledges it, he isn't ready to reflect on his time with the team.
"I think it's more so the goal," Jones said of his focus Tuesday. "You usually reflect after, right? It's like, after it's all done, you kind of reflect on what's the next chapter for you, for the team. You know, I try not to think about it. It could be my last game at Arrowhead, who knows. But most importantly, we've got a game to play. We're trying to make a deep run in these playoffs and if it is my last time, then we've got to make it worthwhile."
Should Kansas City advance past Miami and the two-seed Buffalo Bills take down the seven-seed Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones and the Chiefs would hit the road. If a hypothetical Divisional Round outing versus the Bills falls in the Chiefs' favor and the one-seed Baltimore Ravens win their first playoff game, a road scenario creeps up again. If Kansas City upsets Baltimore, Super Bowl LVIII is viewed as a neutral site matchup. There's a tangible path to just one home playoff game belonging to the Chiefs and their crowd this year. That's assuming they even advance past the first round, which isn't a guarantee.
For Jones, the end of the playoff run could spell the end of his tenure with the franchise. He held out during the offseason and through Week 1 of the regular season due to a contract dispute. Jones is set to be a free agent in the spring, setting him up for a payday the Chiefs may not want to match. If that happens, his eight-year stretch in Kansas City could come screeching to a halt. He reiterated that he isn't worried about that right now, instead focusing on the task at hand and leaving the future to sort itself out.
"Man, that hasn't crossed my mind," Jones said. "I'm just thinking about playing the Dolphins. If it is, it is. If it's not, it's not. You can't think about what-ifs. You can't think about the future because the future tends to change. People change throughout a day, feelings change by the day. You've just got to roll with the punches in life, man. If they give you lemons, make lemonade.
"Right now, we're trying to make lemonade out of this, man. We've got an exciting Dolphins team coming. Looking forward to it. We made the playoffs, won the AFC West. We're slowly knocking off goals we wanted to do throughout this year. The first thing was win the AFC West [and] have a home-field game back at Arrowhead, and then let's make it [to the AFC Championship Game] and get the Lamar Hunt trophy again. So we're slowly checking those boxes and if we continue to do that, we'll figure out the rest at the end of the year, right?"
Of course, this situation could play out in several ways. The Chiefs could benefit from seeding upsets and end up with another home playoff game later on. Jones could return on either a one-year deal or a long-term extension. As he referenced, that will get figured out in due time. As the longtime fan favorite takes the field for what could be his final experience as a member of the home team on Saturday, don't expect to catch him soaking everything in. He doesn't appear to be quite there yet, even if he understands the very possible reality he's faced with.
