Brett Veach Delivers Big Update on Chris Jones Contract Situation
With their initial 53-man roster now settled and a practice squad in the works, the Kansas City Chiefs' focus now shifts to their season-opening contest against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7. There's also one other big-time development the club has to deal with, though: the contract status of star defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Jones, who is under team control for the 2023-24 campaign, didn't participate in organized team activities (OTAs), training camp or the preseason due to a holdout. As he enters his age-29 season, he's reportedly seeking an extension that would exceed that of Quinnen Williams and potentially even put him in the neighborhood of Aaron Donald. Kansas City hasn't given in as negotiations haven't taken the best of turns during the offseason. Jones's holdout didn't end earlier this week and as a result, the Chiefs placed him on the reserve/did not report list once it finalized the 53-man roster.
Despite Adam Schefter of ESPN noting that there was "no end currently in sight" regarding the Jones holdout, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon and expressed some optimism. According to Veach, the team has recently been communicating with Jones's camp and he hopes the star interior defensive lineman will be in uniform for Week 1.
"Yeah, listen, we're certainly hopeful for that," Veach said. "We have been in communication and actually, in just the last few days, we've been in more communication. So we're going to continue to press on and work hard — a lot of respect on both sides of this thing. It's been, obviously, well-stated how we feel about Chris and he feels the same way. We're just going to keep working on this thing. We're looking forward to next Thursday, and hopefully he's in the lineup and he's ready to go."
While on the did not report list, Jones's $19.5 million 2023 base salary won't count against the Chiefs' salary cap. Additionally, if he does return and report to the team at some point, Kansas City reserves the right to utilize a two-week window as a ramp-up period that also comes without a requirement of paying Jones. The Chiefs' consensus third-best player has taken to social media to threaten to drag his holdout deep into the regular season, although the situation may be a bit more fluid than previously thought if Veach's perspective is accurate. As both sides work to get a deal done, Veach wants to simply keep chugging along.
"We've been in communications," Veach said. "And I'd like to keep all of those communications between us and them just out of respect for the whole process in hopes that we can continue to work to get something done."
Injury updates on Kadarius Toney, L'Jarius Sneed and Tershawn Wharton
The Chiefs picked up cornerback Darius Rush off the waiver wire on Wednesday morning, which prompted many to question which player could be going on the injured reserve list in order to make room for him on the roster. Defensive lineman Matt Dickerson was released instead, serving as a positive indicator of Kansas City's overall health.
Three players, in particular, have been subject to plenty of injury discussions: wide receiver Kadarius Toney, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. With Toney rehabbing from a meniscus injury suffered in training camp, Wharton still trying to get back to full strength after tearing his ACL last season and Sneed dealing with a prolonged knee issue, their probabilities for Week 1 have been pondered. Veach says they're all avoiding the injured reserve list, and there's a legitimate chance they're available for the opener. Wharton's status doesn't appear to be up in the air much.
"I don't want to speak for the coaches or for Rick (Burkholder), but they have a good chance to be where they need to be Week 1," Veach said. "We'll see. I'll let Rick make those decisions in conjunction with the players. He has a great relationship with all of our players, but especially those two. Credit to Kadarius and to LJ, Turk Wharton — I mean really all of the guys. You think about Kadarius and LJ and Turk Wharton right off the bat, just give them so much credit.
"The work Rick, Julie (Frymyer), Glove (David Glover), Ev (Evan Craft), Tiff (Tiffany Morton), the whole staff down there [have put in]. Those guys have worked their tails off around the clock to put themselves in a position to play Thursday, and I think that they certainly have a chance. We'll see how it goes."
