Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones’ absence from the team’s Super Bowl LVII ring ceremony wasn’t related to his current contract situation.
Yes, Jones skipped out on the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp, leaving himself open to nearly $100K in fines as he awaits a long-term contract extension. When he missed the team’s Super Bowl LVII ring ceremony on Thursday, fans began to assume the worst and that his absence was somehow related.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach told reporters that he “felt good” about contract negotiations, expressing that he’d be surprised if Jones didn’t attend the ring ceremony. Well, Jones didn’t attend, but as it turns out, the absence was entirely unrelated.
Jones responded to a fan on Twitter over the weekend, explaining that he couldn’t attend the ceremony because he was sick.
I was sick.
— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) June 19, 2023
Now this could be a convenient excuse, but Jones has no reason to mislead his fans. He has always maintained that he doesn’t want to play for another franchise. He wants to finish his career in Kansas City and continue competing for championships with his teammates.
The current expectation among coaches, executives and players in the building is that Jones and the Chiefs will strike a deal on an extension ahead of or right after the beginning of training camp. His current four-year deal with the Chiefs came right ahead of the deadline for teams to extend franchise-tag players. Given that Jones is under contract, there isn’t a hard deadline for an extension.
