Here’s Back-Pocket Lever Chiefs Have Yet To Pull

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The night of Dec. 14 might go down in franchise history as the beginning of the rest of Chris Jones’ career.

“Are we out of the playoffs?” he asked the media during his press conference after a 16-13 loss to the Chargers.

Given an affirmative answer to his question, he paused to absorb the enormity of the moment. An hour earlier, he’d endured the sight of Patrick Mahomes limping off the field late in the fourth quarter. It was the first time in his 10 NFL seasons Jones would miss the postseason.

“I think we have a lot of guys who are very resilient in our locker room, competitive,” Jones continued, contemplating a bounce-back season in 2026. “We all knew what was at stake. We all wanted to be a part of this game. We’re always looking forward to it. Unfortunately, we didn't get the outcome that we hoped for. But everyone battled.”

jones, elliot — Dec 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) closes in on New England Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Chiefs, Jones now reaping rewards of 2024 contract

The battle the Chiefs fought with Jones in the 2023 offseason is paying important dividends three years later. In a contract stalemate that summer, Jones didn’t report to training camp and missed the entire preseason plus the NFL’s kickoff game, a 21-20 loss to the Lions. After the Chiefs’ Week 1 setback, he signed a one-year deal to end the holdout.

Then, before hitting free agency two years ago this month, Jones signed a five-year, $158.75 million contract extension. And just as they did with Travis Kelce’s deal two weeks ago, Brett Veach and Chris Shea creatively engineered Jones’ contract to benefit both player and team.

Mahomes stands at just 11.5 percent

This month, when Jones tweeted his obvious endorsement for pursuing free-agent Cameron Jordan as the Chiefs entered the new league year, Jones’ cap number sat at $44 million. It’s currently the highest on the team, 14.9 percent of the $301.2 million salary cap. And after Mahomes restructured his contract in February to lower the quarterback’s cap number to an astoundingly low 11.5 percent. Consider that Joe Burrow accounts for 15.9 percent in Cincinnati, Justin Herbert takes up 15.4 percent of the Chargers' cap and Josh Allen has 14.7 percent in Buffalo.

The financial beauty of those Mahomes and Jones cap numbers is that the Chiefs are actually in great shape for the future. They’ve built in flexibility with Jones’ contract, whether they want to restructure that deal to sign a player like Jordan, or save the restructure for next year’s crop of free agents.

burrow mahome — Sep 15, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) shakes hands with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

“I think we have $60 million in convertible contracts,” Veach said at the scouting combine Feb. 24. “So, we have many different ways to attack this, and I think that's the one thing that we've been good at. We don't do a lot of money pushed down to future years, and I think we run a pretty tight ship there. So, this gives us flexibility to do different things. So again, that's part of the process with all those guys, and we'll see how the scenarios shake out.”

The Chiefs know they don’t have a Jordan-type future in Jones. Jordan turns 37 this year but his latest comments appear to hint that he plans to play at least two more seasons. Jones, meanwhile, turns 32 in July and said recently that he’ll be long retired by the time the Chiefs open their new domed stadium in Kansas, when he turns 37 in 2031.

That’s why Kansas City signed Khyiris Tonga this month, and last April used a second-round pick – some thought far too high – to draft pass-rushing defensive tackle in Omarr Norman-Lott. The rest of Jones’ career is at the forefront of Kansas City’s roster-building strategy.