The Kansas City Chiefs have officially begun negotiations on a brand new contract extension for defensive lineman Chris Jones.
The Kansas City Chiefs have already started speaking to defensive lineman Chris Jones and his representatives about a contract extension that would lock one of the league’s best pass rushers up for the foreseeable future as a Chief.
Jones’ current contract, a 4 year, $6.2 million deal set by the rookie wage scale in the CBA, is up after the 2019 season. Jones could expect to see a contract upwards of $15 to 20 million annually, which would make him one of the higher paid defensive linemen in the league.
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In a report by Brooke Pryor of the Kansas City Star, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said, “There’s a lot of time to go before the season starts, and he’s certainly a guy that we’ve targeted and would love to get done.”
"“The conversations have started. I wouldn’t say they are heating up at a rapid pace, but you’ve got to start somewhere. We’ve had two to three of these conversations, and they’re getting better.”"
Jones had the best season of his young career in the 2018 campaign for the Chiefs, leading the team with 15.5 quarterback sacks, which was third best in the league behind Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.
Jones also nearly quadrupled his tackle-for-loss total compared to the previous two seasons. In 2016 and 2017, Jones had five tackles-for-loss in each season. In the 2018 season, he had 19 tackles-for-loss. In his three seasons with the Chiefs, the 24-year-old has 24 total sacks.
After the release of Justin Houston and the trade of Dee Ford, the Chiefs are counting on Jones to carry the load for a new defense on his shoulders. His presence in Steve Spagnuolo’s new defense will go a long way toward anchoring the front seven, and the Chiefs sound like they’re ready to reward him well in response.