Brett Veach says KC Chiefs want to retain Chris Jones

BJ Kissel spoke with general manager Brett Veach about a number of topics concerning the Kansas City Chiefs offseason in the team’s latest podcast.

Actions speak louder than words, they say, but right now, what Brett Veach says is all we have to go on.

The Kansas City Chiefs general manager recently sat down with team reporter B.J. Kissel for an episode of In The Trenches, the team’s podcast, and answered a number of questions about the team’s recent Super Bowl win, free agency, and the upcoming draft.

Specifically, Kissel asked Veach what he could say publicly about Chris Jones and the team’s ability or interest to retain him. Veach made it very clear that the team was very interested in bringing back the Pro Bowl defensive lineman.

“Chris is obviously a great player and he’s a priority. We have a lot of priorities. Look, we know how hard it is to win a Super Bowl and it hadn’t been in done 50 years and we won it with the group we had last year. So I think that as we attack this offseason—and first up is free agency before the draft—our goal and our mindset is to do whatever we can to retain as many players as we can and Chris is at the top of that list because of the talent he is. We have a lot of tough decisions to make, but our goal and our intent is to retain as much of this team as much as possible.”

At this point, the record clearly states that both sides want to work something out, not just for the immediate future, too. Jones has been clear that he wants to stay in Kansas City for his career, and the Chiefs have vocal about bringing back Jones now multiple times.

On the surface, this is very good news. If Veach somehow knew that the Chiefs could not afford Jones for the long-term given his likely contractual demands (perhaps $20 million per season), then Veach could begin to grease the wheels by discussing the financial realities of the modern NFL or he could even refuse to comment. Instead, he increases the expectations of fans by saying the Chiefs want him back, too.

On the flip side, perhaps Veach is playing another role here—to be able to point back and say, “We wanted desperately to make it work, but we couldn’t afford the high cost here and the player wouldn’t take less.” In that way, the team looks good for its attempt and maybe pushes some of the frustration back onto a player who wouldn’t take a more team friendly deal.

What we all hope for, of course, is that there’s nothing to read here under the surface at all. Chris Jones says he wants to stay in K.C., and Veach has said, once again, that he wants to retain him. Sometimes things are that simple and straightforward, and if so, I’d trust the numbers will work themselves out in the end.