Chiefs' Jones hints he could hold out until Week 8: 'I can afford it'
Disgruntled Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones suggested he could sit out several weeks of the regular season as he seeks a new contract.
Jones tweeted a cryptic photo of a sign that reads, "If it's out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind also." The All-Pro defender then replied "Week 8" to a post asking when he plans to return to the team.
Week 8
— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) August 22, 2023
Potentially returning in Week 8 would give Jones the minimum number of games to get credit for the last year of his contract and qualify for free agency in 2024, notes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Chiefs would still have the option to franchise tag him before he hit the open market.
Jones has been subject to a daily fine of $50,000 for his training camp absence as part of the league's collective bargaining agreement, according to ESPN's Adam Teicher.
Jones will lose $7.5 million if he skips seven regular-season weeks, and he'd owe more than $2 million in non-waivable fines, per Florio.
"I can afford it," Jones tweeted.
I can afford it
— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) August 22, 2023
"There's been no communication, so I don't know what's going to go down," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday, according to Arrowhead Pride's Pete Sweeney. "Whatever happens, happens. And if he's not there, the game goes on."
Jones is in the final year of a four-year, $80-million extension he inked in 2020. His $20-million average annual salary ranks eighth among defensive tackles. Coming off arguably the best season of his career, the 29-year-old is reportedly seeking a new deal worth $30 million per year.
He earned his first first-team All-Pro nod in 2022 and finished third for the Defensive Player of the Year award after tying a career high with 15.5 sacks. The four-time Pro Bowler also racked up 29 quarterback hits, 44 tackles (17 for loss), and two forced fumbles. He put on a show during the team's playoff run that ended with a Super Bowl title in February.
Kansas City kicks off the 2023 regular season at home against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7.