Chiefs keep $95 million superstar in blockbuster deal

Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs agree to contract

Chris Jones started the 2023 season with a contract dispute. Following a dominant season, the former third-round pick felt that he deserved a raise and missed the first game of the regular season. Eventually, the Chiefs and Jones agreed to a revamped deal that put him back on the field.

Now happy with his modified contract, Chris Jones returned to being his usual dominant self. Starting and appearing in the remaining 16 games, the interior lineman recorded 10.5 sacks, 30 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 29 quarterback hits. He was just as dominant in the postseason, notably providing the pressure which forced incompletions on would-be touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

Jones originally entered the league as a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Selected by the Kansas City Chiefs, the Mississippi State product began his career as a modest pass rusher, recording a combined 8.5 sacks through the first two years of his career.

After that solid start, Chris Jones stepped it up in a big way. Jones took the proverbial Year 3 leap in 2018, recording 15.5 sacks, 40 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss, and 29 quarterback hits while helping guide the team to the AFC Championship Game.

The defensive lineman proved that his elite performance wasn’t a one-year fluke in 2019. Appearing in 13 games, Chris Jones finished the season with nine sacks, 36 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, and 20 quarterback hits while earning the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. The Chiefs finished that season on a high note by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Jones’ best season likely came in 2022. Earning First-Team All-Pro honors, the Mississippi State product finished the season with 15.5 sacks, 44 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, and 29 quarterback hits.