The Kansas City Chiefs will be more potent heading into Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars following their agreement with All-Pro Chris Jones to return to the team. The new one-year deal raised a lot of eyebrows following months of negotiations. A long-term contract extension still has yet to materialize.
The lengthy hold-out throughout training camp and the entire preseason cast doubt around the front office on their relationship with Jones during this process. General manager Brett Veach has consistently maintained to the public that he communicates with the multiple-time Pro Bowler. However, as weeks went on, he was still waiting for results. During Wednesday’s press conference, Jones addressed his relationship with Veach and head coach Andy Reid.
Buy Chiefs Tickets“I think reporters and fans kind of misdrew the contract thing. It’s never personal.” said Jones, “I don’t think I’ve started hating (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, or disliking (General Manager Brett) Veach. I love Veach you know, he knows I love him, we had on-and-off conversation throughout it all. Coach Reid, I love him too, with him still calling (and) texting. We actually have a group text.
“Veach said that I retweeted a picture where it said ‘Chris Jones after season (compared to), Chris Jones offseason’ where I was big with no neck, and we actually had a little joke about that through the midst of it, so I don’t think our relationship was affected any by that, they know how much I love this organization, they know how much I love this team. I don’t think that (the holdout) affected any part of our relationship.”
Jones ended 2022 as one of the elite pass rushers in the league and was known for closing out several games for the Chiefs. His presence will be welcomed as the team visits Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
