24 July 2023
SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. (WDAF) — The Kansas City Chiefs are used to contract holdouts in the Andy Reid administration.
Last season, offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. waited until August to sign his franchise tag and come to training camp in St. Joseph. This season, defensive tackle Chris Jones is holding out for a new contract.
CEO Clark Hunt didn’t say much about Jones. But when negotiating contracts, the front office always looks out for the team’s best interest.
“One of the challenges in the National Football League is the salary cap and it makes it tough to keep a championship team together,” he said.
“That’s something that (Chiefs general manager) Brent (Veach) and staff are really focused on. I think they’ve done a fantastic job and that’s just how we’re gonna view it going forward.”
“We’ll see where it goes from here,” head coach Andy Reid said. “But if you’re not here, we just keep moving. That’s how we roll.”
“We don’t worry a lot about that. We let it take care of itself. We’ve got great people working for us.”
And the players understand the business of football. Their focus is on the younger players getting reps.
“We’re excited to see young guys come in and put on some tape and it’s a great opportunity for those guys to go show what they got,” safety Justin Reid said.
“When he gets here, we’re going to make sure everybody’s up to speed and compete with him,” linebacker Nick Bolton said.
Veteran and Kansas alum Daniel Wise is one of the players taking reps in Jones’ place.
This season, Jones will be the seventh highest-paid player at his position earning $20 million.
For the Chiefs to keep him in Kansas City, his pay will likely need to go higher than that.