What the Chris Jones extension taught us about Brett Veach and the Chiefs

The new long-term extension for Chris Jones tells us quite a bit about Brett Veach and the Chiefs.

If you listened to the gallery, the sides weren’t supposed to be able to come together. The Kansas City Chiefs weren’t supposed to have the cap room, and Chris Jones was supposed to command too much. Sure, both sides might have said all the right things, but public relations departments exist for good reason. The Chiefs and Jones were supposed to part ways—at least sometime in the near future.

One day before the NFL’s own deadline for franchises to reach a long-term agreement with players given the franchise tag, the Chiefs and Jones were able to defy the odds (and the doubts of so many) with a newly-announced four-year extension worth $85 million with incentives.

Even in the days leading up to the announcement, Jones himself was casting doubts over the whole process. He posted a parable of sorts on Twitter about knowing your own worth, a sign that maybe the Chiefs weren’t the place that would value him most. Jones also posted about taking advice from New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell, who sat out a full NFL season because he did not want to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the franchise tag.

When the Chiefs designated Jones as a franchise tag player, they retained almost all leverage (e.g. control) in the relationship. Jones had a single option to play and make money in the NFL for the 2020 season: a single-year contract worth $16.1 million due to the tag and his position played. That’s a healthy sum of money, to be sure, but it also lacked the long-term security (and higher amount) that Jones was seeking all along.

Common belief held that Jones would either hold out or play out the season on the tag, after which the Chiefs would likely have to part ways with the All-Pro defensive tackle. The assumption being the Chiefs simply lacked the requisite cap space to make anything work out long-term to the degree that Jones wanted (e.g. Frank Clark money).

Back to the deadline. Despite the doubts on finances and the franchise’s best interests, the Chiefs ended up coming together with Jones on a deal that mirrored the amounts that Jones reportedly wanted (to cross the $20M annual mark). It’s an amazing accomplishment, especially since it emerges from the shadow of the team giving quarterback Patrick Mahomes the single biggest contract in American sports history just days before.

If all of this seems surprising, it is… but only to those who were cynical of the process all along. For those looking for reasons to doubt, they could be found. For those who wanted to believe the Chiefs were giving a smokescreen the whole time, there were obvious signs to which one could point. For those who thought the whole affair was a team and player both saying and doing the nice thing for the cameras, playing for the sake of PR, it was a possibility because other players and other teams had done just that.

However, for those watching closely all along, the script was different this time around. Chris Jones rarely blinked until the very end. In fact, after the Super Bowl he stated, “I want to be a Chief for life. I plan to stay here forever, man.” The Chiefs, at every level of the organization, stuck to their guns. There was no cloud. Everything was made clear. There was no subtext or mixed meanings. The team avoided coachspeak or generalizations every time they were asked about Chris Jones. Here’s Brett Veach on Chris Jones back before the NFL 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.”"

In short, the Chiefs made it clear at every possible opportunity that they loved having Chris Jones on the roster, that they recognized his value to the team and community, and that they were making it a priority to bring him back. It was that straightforward. It was that simple.

Teams don’t always work this way, of course, which is why the doubters were present to begin with. Even Chiefs fans know the game well after watching the likes of Scott Pioli in the front office, a man who could never give a straight answer to anyone about any subject. That New England way, where no one is clear on where they stand, was supposed to be the winning way and many franchises copied that secretive posture.

Not these Chiefs, however. Andy Reid is famous as a head coach for being honest with his players, and as a general manager, Brett Veach has clearly taken notes. Chris Jones could listen to his team’s own press conferences and know exactly where he stood with the team. They loved him and wanted him back. They would work to make that happen. He didn’t have to run to his agents to decipher coded messages. Nor did the Chiefs end up spouting vague sentiments like, “We’d love to make something work if possible.” They simply said what they were committed to doing and then they did it.