During the 2020 NFL combine, Brett Veach made it clear that it would be a priority to extend Chris Jones this offseason along with Patrick Mahomes. He said it publicly when talking with the press and privately behind closed doors with Jones’ agents the Katz brothers.
After Jones was franchise-tagged, one option discussed often by fans was the possibility of a trade of the star defensive tackle. It wasn’t long ago that the Chiefs franchise-tagged and traded Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers. As the franchise tag deadline approached with no long-term deal for Jones, many thought a trade to be an increasing possibility, but that wasn’t the plan. Veach would ultimately sign Jones to a four-year extension worth up to $85 million dollars.
“I go back to just being able to express our commitment to Chris [Jones] and just getting through the free agency period and the pandemic, while also understanding that we’re navigating Patrick Mahomes’ contract,” Veach said during Monday’s press conference. “They trusted us and believed that once we had all of the information that we needed and got some things in order, that we were going to address Chris Jones. One of the things that got taken the wrong way was our commitment and appreciation for Chris Jones and how the Chiefs feel, and this and that. But the whole time, Chris and his agents knew how much we loved him and that we were going to do absolutely everything we could to keep him here.”
Trading Jones was never truly an option for Kansas City because all along Veach was set on keeping him. If we’ve learned anything since Veach has been in charge, he has a way about getting the players he wants. Veach believes Jones is one of the best players in the NFL and knows he played a big part in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory over the 49ers. It’s one reason why Veach did everything in his power to keep Jones around for the next couple of seasons.
“He’s unblockable,” Veach said of Jones. “As an interior pass rusher, with his size, his athleticism, his quickness, you know, it takes two guys to block him. All you have to do see what he did in the Super Bowl against a very good 49er team.”
Jones is a rare breed of NFL player, from his unique athleticism for the defensive tackle position to his energy-giving demeanor on the field.
“There are very few all-around defensive linemen that come out every year,” Veach said. “Everyone obviously puts a premium on pass rushers. It’s a little bit easier to find some pluggers and big body guys in the middle. But to find a guy like Chris Jones, is very hard to do. We were going through this exercise the last couple of years and when we really dialed it down this offseason. If you are lucky enough to find someone with the ability of Chris Jones, you’re going to be picking in the top five or top ten because these guys just don’t fall, or very rarely I should say. They’re just hard to find, there aren’t a lot of them. They get picked up rather quickly. We knew the talent we had in Chris and we knew how important he was to our success, so we knew there was really no doubt in our mind that we were going to make this work with him and his agents.”
It’s a positive sign to see the Chiefs’ general manager exercise such creativity to keep his talented players around in a year of uncertainty and little cap space. Kansas City should be confident that the team will be able to keep core players around with Veach and his front office leading the way.
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