Chris Jones has been the anchor of the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive line for the better part of a decade. Jones has won two Super Bowls with the team that drafted him in 2016, but the eight-year veteran might not be a Chief for much longer — a possibility he himself acknowledged while speaking to the media on Tuesday.
Jones is a free agent after the 2023 season ends, whenever that may be. The Chiefs host the Miami Dolphins to open the NFL playoffs on Saturday — and it very well could be Jones’ final game at Arrowhead Stadium as a member of the organization.
Jones vague on his NFL future
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Jones said Saturday “could be” his final game for the Chiefs — at Arrowhead, at least. As the #3 seed in the AFC, Kansas City is guaranteed only one home game in the playoffs and would need favorable results elsewhere to secure home-field advantage beyond Saturday.
Jones signed a new contract with the Chiefs in September, which ended a preseason holdout that carried over into the regular season. But that contract was not an extension — it merely added financial incentives to the final season of Jones’ existing deal with Kansas City. One of those incentives, a $1.25 million bonus, hit on Sunday, when Jones recorded his 10th sack of the season — the third time in his career he has reached double digits in the category.
Jones addresses Tyreek Hill’s return to Arrowhead
In addition to briefly discussing his NFL future beyond 2023, Jones on Tuesday also discussed the return of Tyreek Hill to Kansas City for the wild card round. Hill and Jones were both drafted in 2016 and were Chiefs teammates until 2022, when Hill was traded to the Dolphins. Saturday will mark his first game in Kansas City since the blockbuster trade.
Hill missed his chance to “get revenge” on his former team earlier this season, when the Dolphins lost to the Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany on Nov. 5. But his next chance — at his former stomping grounds, no less — could bring down the curtain on the Chiefs career of at least one of Kansas City’s longtime pillars.
