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Chris Jones is on the final year of an $80 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. He's currently in the midst of a contract dispute with the team as he would like to be extended. The two sides are having some difficulty coming to an agreement, which is something one NFL analyst believes would be catastrophic.
Marcus Spears said on First Take:
"That offensive line was playing into a lot of what that offensive struggle was for this team. The other point is, and you mentioned that with Chris Jones, look, it's a foregone conclusion that Chris Jones better be back in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. I mean, defense, if they're not stupid and they want to try to go win another Super Bowl, they better get 95 back in the fall because he is the heartbeat of that defense and he's the transcendent player that makes everyone else around him better."
It's Spears' contention that the Chiefs defense would fall apart without Jones. If that happens, then there's only so much that Patrick Mahomes and company can do.
Andy Reid is an excellent head coach, but he doesn't have as much to do with the defense. Losing a player of Jones' caliber would be difficult to withstand for any team, especially one with genuine repeat champion aspirations.
Chiefs GM maintains interest in keeping Chris Jones
Fortunately, it doesn't appear as if the Chiefs are going to make the mistake Marcus Spears is warning them of. Their GM Brett Veach has gone on record to state that he expects to sign Chris Jones.
Veach said via NFL.com:
"I think for all parties, I think the best resolution would be for him to end his career as a Chief -- and get that financial security -- and for us to do what we had set out to do, and that's to work through last offseason with this offseason in mind and get some young guys, which we did that, and then focus on this year and getting Chris done. Hopefully, we get this resolved, but we have no intentions of making a trade."
Until that happens, though, the Chiefs are in danger of missing out. They'll need him to get past the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and others.
