Winners and losers of Chris Jones' holdout from KC Chiefs

Loser: The Chiefs organization

This needs to be singled out here because the Chiefs themselves have lost out in a few ways given Jones's holdout.

First, Jones might have stayed in tremendous shape on his own time and dollar during this spring and summer, but even that is nothing compared to being in and around Arrowhead (or the team's training camp) during this offseason. That means that even when Jones returns, he's not going to be in game shape just yet. Given the issues at the position, it makes the Chiefs weaker and more susceptible to losing when it feels like there are more contenders than ever.

Second, the Chiefs have been financially hamstrung this entire summer. There's no way of knowing whether or not they've been unable to make some specific moves, but there's definitely been little-to-no wiggle room to get anything else done on the books. Other teams have been able to add the occasional vets as training camp started or was underway, but Brett Veach needs a new deal with Jones to generate cap space for this year.

Finally, this has been a feel-good offseason for an organization with a ton of positive momentum in its sails ever since they lifted the Lombardi back in February. Patrick Mahomes is a household name and a pop cultural icon at this point. Travis Kelce made the same leap by hosting Saturday Night Live, starting his own music festival, and generally being omnipresent. From Netflix docs to ESPY wins, it's been a very fun ride for a while and that excitement and momentum should have carried into a joyous training camp.

Instead, training camp has been plagued by concerns, none of which have been greater than the shadow cast on St. Joe by Jones and his holdout. Suddenly a thin position has become a source of doubt. Teammates are having to answer for one another. Newer teammates aren't getting mentored. Camp questions are focusing on who is not there versus the progress made by those present.