4 lingering questions about Chris Jones's return to the Chiefs

What was the ultimate strategy here?

Our knowledge is limited and our perspective is skewed. Let's just admit that from the outset. There is so much more that we don't know than we know and that impairs our ability to understand. But with that said, many of us in Chiefs Kingdom are still left shaking our heads wondering what exactly was all this about in the first place.

As mentioned earlier, the Chiefs and Jones have been saying all the right things all along. Jones has insisted he wants to stay in K.C. for life. The Chiefs have intimated they want Jones to retire with the team. In fact, general manager Brett Veach stated that the Chiefs were planning for a long-term extension for Jones 18 months ago when they traded Tyreek Hill. In other words, back in 2022, Veach didn't pay Hill because he was setting money aside for Jones even then.

So how did we get here? How did both sides sour so much? Aaron Donald's deal has been out there for some time, and no agent or GM should have been surprised where comparable deals for Quinnen Williams or Dexter Lawrence landed. In fact, the parameters here felt so straightforward that it was even a shock that Jones's holdout bled into training camp at all.

At this point, Chiefs Kingdom has turned on the Katz brothers (Jones's agents) for likely giving him poor advice because it's the only puzzle piece that fits. You can't blame fans for searching for such answers when the situation is so puzzling in the first place. Did Jones receive bad advice? Was Jones responsible for his own exorbitant expectations? Will Jones stay with these agents going forward? Did the Chiefs offend Jones by trying to go cheap?

Even with the situation resolved for now, we're left with a long list of questions. Some of those answers will become clear as Jones gets back on the field with his teammate. Others might leave us searching for a long time to come.