Chris Jones continues to be one of the most scrutinized defensive contract holdouts as the start of the 2023 NFL season is one week away.
Now, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has made his plea for the dominating sack artist to return as the defending Super Bowl champions officially kick their season off one week from now.
Travis Kelce Admits Chris Jones Situation Is ‘Scaring’ Him
Speaking with older brother Jason Kelce on the Thursday edition of their “New Heights” podcast, the Philadelphia Eagles center asked, “Is there any updates on Chris Jones? How he’s handling this situation?”
That’s when the perennial Pro Bowl tight end turned his answer into a plea for the versatile inside/outside rusher who’s produced four straight Pro Bowls to return to the team.
“Ah man, Chris, can you please come back? You’re really scaring me, man. I don’t get it,” Kelce said. “You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it.”
Kelce then used his platform to share this succinct yet strong sales pitch to recruit him back to the Chiefs.
“I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother,” Kelce said. “This is me begging you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs.”
Kelce ended with, “Please, we need you. We need you bad. And I don’t know what the situation is.”
Is There Any Hope a Deal Can Get Done?
In an offseason that’s been dominated by the state of running back values across the league, plus Nick Bosa and his pending situation with the San Francisco 49ers, Jones’ situation with the Chiefs has become the most watched defensive contract holdout in the AFC.
Jones has spent his entire seven-year career with the Chiefs, arriving in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. Since then, he’s compiled 65 career sacks, including two seasons of 15.5 (one of which came in 2022).
Jones’ disappearance from the Chiefs has hovered above a team pursuing the franchise’s first back-to-back Super Bowl wins. But general manager Brett Veach provided a promising update on the contract situation.
“We have been in communication, and actually, in just the last few days, we’ve been in more communication,” Veach told the Kansas City media on Wednesday. “So we’re going to continue to press on and work hard — a lot of respect on both sides of this thing.”
Veach adds that Jones is valued by the Chiefs. But how does he feel about the organization?
“It’s been, obviously, well-stated how we feel about Chris, and he feels the same way,” Veach said. “We’re just going to keep working on this thing. We’re looking forward to next Thursday, and hopefully, he’s in the lineup and he’s ready to go.”
While the Chiefs haven’t played their defensive starters for an entire game, the unit noticeably had their struggles against the New Orleans Saints in their first preseason game. The Saints opened the contest with five plays that ate up more than 10 yards and scored two touchdowns on their first three offensive possessions in the 26-24 win.
