Schefter: ‘I Don’t Think’ Chris Jones Will Leave Chiefs Ahead of 2024 Contract Talks

The Kansas City Chiefs have big questions to answer this offseason after winning their second straight Super Bowl on Sunday night.

One of the biggest revolves around the future of defensive tackle Chris Jones, who will be a free agent this offseason. Jones is due for a sizable contract, and the Chiefs will need to step up financially to bring him back.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show that he believes that Jones will be back in Kansas City next season barring any significantly higher offers from other teams.

“Chris Jones, by the way, I know he’ll want to get paid of course,” Schefter said. “But there’s certainly a bond there. You can see the way that he and Andy Reid were acting after the game. I don’t think he’s going to want to leave unless there’s some huge difference in offers between Kansas City and somewhere else. And the Chiefs value him, they want him back. To me, yeah they’re going to run it back with a lot of this team intact.”

Jones, 29, was an integral part of the Chiefs’ defense this season, racking up 30 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Keeping him around would be huge for Kansas City as it tries to go for a historic third-straight Super Bowl.

Before the start of the season, Jones made it clear he was looking for a big contract extension. He missed training camp and sat out the first game of the season while holding out for an extension. While he didn’t get the lofty extension he was seeking then, the Chiefs offered him a restructured one-year, $19.5 million deal with $18.4 million guaranteed.

Now having led the Chiefs’ defense to a third Super Bowl in five years, Jones is looking for a big extension this offseason. If the Chiefs want to bring back the core that helped them win on Sunday, reaching a deal with Jones would be huge.