Fans call out Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs for failing to strike a new deal with Chris Jones - “Carrying that defense for like 5+ years”

The good news for the Chiefs is that Patrick Mahomes is still their quarterback. But Chris Jones refusing to report to their first training camp practice must count as bad news.

However, the attitude that has come forth from coach Andy Reid seems to suggest that they are not worrying about their premier defender being absent from practice. He said:

“As far as Chris goes, we’ll just see how things go here down the road. There have been communications, we’ll see where it goes from here. We’ll take it. If you’re not here, we just keep moving and that’s how we roll. We don’t worry a lot about all that. We let it take care of itself.”

Also for not turning up to practice, Chris Jones faces non-waivable daily fine of $50,000. The way he is being treated for years of service to the team did not sit well with many NFL fans.

They took to Reddit to highlight his importance and made their general displeasure known. Here is a selection of some of the comments.

Comment by u/AlphaBern0 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/Rob3125 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/FancyRobot from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/emmasdad01 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/Comprehensive_Main from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/TummyDrums from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/Squirrel_Apocalypse2 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/MuletownSoul from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/The785 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Comment by u/slippyal2 from discussion [Schefter] Chiefs’ All-Pro DT Chris Jones, who has been seeking a new deal this off-season, did not report with the rest of the team to training camp today, per source. The two sides remain “far apart” on a new deal for the Defensive Players of the Year finalist. in nfl

Is Chris Jones as important on defense as Patrick Mahomes is on offense?

The star defensive tackle has been with the Kansas City Chiefs since they drafted him in 2016. Since then, he has been an epitome of consistency for the team. Even though the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and, previously, Tyreek Hill have commanded attention for an explosive offense, Chris Jones has chipped away on defense.

He made the PFWA All-Rookie Team in his rookie season. Since then, he has followed it up with four straight Pro Bowls from 2019 to 2022. In the same period, the Chiefs have claimed two Super Bowls and three AFC Championships.

At just 29 years old, he already holds the NFL record for the most consecutive games with sacks at 11. Last season was his first First-Team All-Pro selection and no wonder he is looking to cash in on a robust market for defensive tackles.

His importance cannot be understated. To put it into perspective, the Chiefs finished the regular season last year with the 16th best defense in terms of points allowed at 21.7 per game. They were also middling in yardage allowed with 328.2 total yards per game. Their lacunae on defense was hid by an offense that took apart all comers.

Maybe they can bank on the same strategy again. But losing Chris Jones might make the defense significantly worse; so much so that even Patrick Mahomes might find the arrears insurmountable.