The Kansas City Chiefs are set to open up the 2023 NFL season on Thursday Night Football this week against the Detroit Lions. It’s a game that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and company are favored to win. However, a lot of the attention in Kansas City is still on superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Jones has been locked into a contract dispute with the Chiefs all offseason long. He has not shown any interest in ending his holdout even with the season so close to beginning.
There have been rumors and rumblings that Jones could extend his holdout into the regular season. That isn’t something that Kelce and the rest of his teammates want to see.
Ahead of Week 1 action, Kelce took some time to send a message to Jones. It’s clear that he wants to see a resolution happen between the star defensive lineman and the Chiefs.
“Chris, can you please come back? You’re really scaring me, man. I don’t get it,” Kelce said. “You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it. I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you.”
Very rarely will you see a teammates come out so publicly to ask a teammate to come back in the middle of a contract dispute. While it’s easy to see Kelce’s side of things, Jones’ side of things is also easy to understand.
Over the last few years, the Chiefs have continually allowed talented defensive players to walk instead of offering them fair contracts. Two of the prime examples are Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill. Jones would just be the latest in the strange moves the Chiefs have made on the defensive side of the ball.
Last season with Kansas City, Jones ended up recording 44 tackles to go along with 15.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four defended passes.
Those numbers show why the Chiefs need Chris Jones back on the field. Hopefully, Travis Kelce’s message will help the two sides get things done. If not, Kansas City’s defense will take a massive hit, at least in Week 1 against a very talented Lions’ offense.
