LAS VEGAS — Chris Jones’ season started in the suite.
It ends with the Super Bowl.
The question is whether this will be his last game as a Chief.
The defensive tackle watched Kansas City’s Week 1 loss to the Lions in his suite because he was still in a contract dispute with the team.
Jones wanted a new long-term contract. The Chiefs didn’t give it to him.
They ultimately agreed to a one-year deal with plenty of incentives for him to play this season. But that season ends on Sunday, win or lose.
When Jones becomes a free agent in March, he will be the No. 1 free agent in football.
Jones is now trying to focus on Sunday’s 2024 Super Bowl, but he admitted Wednesday that this may be the end of his time in a Chiefs uniform.
“I know this could be my last game with the Chiefs. I’m just going to take it all in,” Jones said. “We’ll let them do what they need to do in the offseason. I’m not really focusing on it. I’m not really worried about it. Once everything clears and the dust clears, we’ll know what situation we’re in. Sho.”
If the Chiefs don’t re-sign Jones, Jones’ market should be solid. He turns 30 in July, but he shows no signs of slowing down.
Jones ended his 51-day holdout and joined the Chiefs for Week 2’s game against the Jaguars.
He also had his second straight All-Pro season.
He ranked second among inside defensive linemen with 10.5 sacks and 75 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
Jones is expected to be on a contract worth more than $30 million a season, making him the only non-quarterback player in that range, along with Nick Bosa and Aaron Donald.
“Life is good,” Jones said Wednesday when asked about returning to the Super Bowl after the contract dispute.
Unlike previous Super Bowl appearances, this Chiefs team relied on its defense at times to defend, like in the AFC Championship game in Baltimore. The defense may have to take the lead again against an explosive 49ers offense, and Jones will undoubtedly be at the center of it all.
“There’s nothing Chris can’t do on the field,” Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay said. “He can play the run well. Me and Nick [Bolton] We always talk about it: Chris can make any play on the field. He’s a dominant guy, like an Aaron Donald-type dominant guy. I think he’s better. He’s a game changer. You’ll notice when he’s there. ”
The Chiefs certainly want to keep Jones, but paying everyone is difficult. This led to him trading Tyreek Hill in 2022. That also led to a contract stalemate with Jones in the offseason.
One wonders if there has been any change in the Chiefs’ willingness to pay Jones since August.
They could franchise him for $32 million, but it would be difficult to eat all that money within the salary cap.
A tag-and-trade is also an option to get back more than just a compensatory pick if Jones is lost in free agency.
For now, Jones isn’t worried about what happens next or his crazy 2023 season. He’s trying to win his third Super Bowl ring.
“I’m living in the moment and enjoying every moment as it comes,” he said. “Maybe after the season is over and we’ve won, we’ll think about it then. There’s no time to reflect now. It’s week-by-week and we have to prepare new games every week. You don’t really have time to sit back and take it all in.”
