Kansas City Chiefs Want To Retain Chris Jones ‘Not Just For Next Year, But For The Future.’

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach made it clear once again that the team wants to keep Chris Jones for 2020 and beyond. Veach reiterated the team’s commitment to signing the defensive lineman to a long-term contract on Thursday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the comments on his Twitter account, adding there is a deadline to get a long-term contract completed.

“The deadline to get a deal done is July 15. So there’s a lot of time to continue the dialogue and to work on something with Chris, but we certainly are going to work to retain him, not just for next year, but for the future,” Veach said.

This is far from a new development in the ongoing saga. What is a bit different is the acknowledgment that the Chiefs need to lock down Jones before July 15. After that, they will still have Jones for the 2020 season but will have to go through the process of getting him on a long-term contract all over again.

The team has been talking about trying to get a long-term deal done since the Super Bowl, but so far, the Chiefs have only managed to franchise-tag Jones. While that has been the end of negotiations for some teams, Veach has made it clear the tag just gave him more time to talk without having to worry about other teams getting involved.

There was a period of time this offseason when some analysts believed Veach could trade Jones for draft picks and salary-cap space. At the end of March, the franchise was just $177 below the cap.

Then they managed to work out a restructuring with wide receiver Sammy Watkins. The new deal with Watkins meant they were able to retain the veteran receiver and get a bit more flexibility, moneywise.

Just how realistic it is that the Chiefs and Jones will get a deal done is anyone’s guess at this point. The two sides have been talking since early February at the least.

So far, there hasn’t been any real progress reported. Jones had also said he wanted a long-term deal in place before the start of last season. When that wasn’t done, some fans worried he would either report late to fall camp or not at all.

In the end, he showed up on time and contributed 36 tackles and nine sacks to his team’s run to the playoffs and eventually the Super Bowl. Some around the Chiefs worry Jones might not be as understanding if he enters camp on a one-year deal for the second straight season.