Tag: GM

Dan Quinn says being Falcons coach was ‘the privilege of a lifetime’

The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn following the team’s fifth loss of the season in Week 5.

The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn following the team’s fifth loss of the season in Week 5. While many fans felt it was time for a change, Quinn never made excuses and never lost the respect of his players in the locker room.

On Wednesday, the team’s Twitter account released a letter from Quinn addressed to the city of Atlanta in which he called coaching the Falcons “the privilege of a lifetime.” Read the full letter below.

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Could Chiefs GM Brett Veach make moves with NFL’s trade deadline approaching?

The trade deadline is a few weeks away. Could Brett Veach finally make a move at the deadline after three years of interest?

We’re less than a month away from the NFL trade deadline, which is set to take place on November 3rd. Rumors and reports already beginning to surface about players who could be available in trade.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been big players in the NFL trade market since Brett Veach’s coronation as general manager following the 2017 NFL Draft. While the Chiefs have often been reported to be buyers at the trade deadline in recent years, they’ve yet to pull the trigger on a deadline move. Most of their moves have come in August, ahead of the start of the NFL season.

Veach has previously mentioned that he had considered trading for players like Sammy Watkins and Anthony Hitchens, the year prior to signing them in free agency. Then in 2018, Veach was interested in Earl Thomas and had a deal developing to acquire him just days before he broke his leg with the Seahawks.

Last season, the team was rumored to be in on the trade markets for players like Jalen Ramsey (Jaguars to Rams) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (Dolphins to Steelers). Obviously, they didn’t need the help to reach their ultimate goal of winning Super Bowl LIV.

Could this be the year that the Chiefs’ front office finally makes a move at the deadline and acquires a piece to help the team?

Today, the New York Daily News and ESPN reported that RB Le’Veon Bell is among the players on the trade block for the winless New York Jets. Bell, of course, is in his second year with the Jets after signing a deal that pays him over $13 million annually. Kansas City obviously doesn’t have that kind of money to dish out to a running back, especially when they’re already projected to be well over the minimum salary cap number for 2021. It is worth noting that the Chiefs were reportedly among suitors the last time Bell was on the trade block in New York. If he could restructure his contract in a favorable way, it’s possible the Chiefs could remain interested.

Surely, there will be other players made available for trade and not for such a premium price. The Chiefs could scour the trade market for help at guard, linebacker, edge rusher or even cornerback as they attempt to run it back in 2020. They could also stand pat and hope that their mostly-veteran roster can get things done again this year.

Another possibility is that Veach trades away some pieces to acquire future draft capital. Time will tell us where the front office stands on the roster and their ability to get to and win Super Bowl LV.

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach explains lack of trade activity prior to roster cuts

Veach usually is one to make a trade ahead of the start of the season, but this year was different due to the canceled preseason.

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Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has a reputation ahead of the start of the season.

In each of his seasons as GM for the Chiefs, Veach has made at least one preseason trade, if not more, either trading for or trading away a player. Last year you had the player-for-player swap of Martinas Rankin and Carlos Hyde. The year prior, Veach added safety Jordan Lucas and current starting CB Charvarius Ward. When Veach was handed the keys to the Chiefs roster from John Dorsey, one of the first things that he did was go out and acquire Reggie Ragland and Cam Erving.

So what exactly happened this year? Why didn’t Veach make one of his signature preseason trades? In a COVID-19 altered preseason, Veach didn’t see the typical amount of communication from teams regarding potential trades.

“It was extremely unique,” Veach said. “I was talking to (Chicago Bears Head Coach) Matt Nagy last night on my drive home. The first two offseasons, I would say by two or three days before the cut-down day, I think I heard from 10, 12, to 14 teams. As of yesterday at cut-down day, I heard from one team and I think it’s just the lack of tape. Even if you think you know a guy, not seeing him for a whole calendar year, it’s very tough. Where is he at injury-wise? How is he playing? Did he regress or did he improve? It’s hard when you haven’t had these guys and there’s still that aspect of getting to know your young guys because you haven’t had them for the OTAs or the rookie camps. Again, just getting to a point where you feel comfortable in your roster and where you are. It’s a big unknown to potentially make a deal or a trade for someone you haven’t seen in over a year or you’re just basing it off of college tape. I think the fact that I got only one call was surprising but then when you look at the lack of trades and deals, I think every team was going through that same type of scenario. The unknown is just what we’re going through, the testing, and having to put guys in a two- or three-day hold were all big obstacles to overcome.”

Veach felt the combination of the unknown due to canceled preseason games and the COVID-19 screening protocols was the reason why he only heard from a single team. NFL clubs reached a point of contentment with their rosters, mainly because they lack the information regarding players that is normally available.

Could this mean that we see more in-season trades occurring after the first few weeks to start the season once there is tape available? Perhaps more action will manifest around the NFL trade deadline? Anything is possible in the new NFL landscape altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach explains decision to release DE Breeland Speaks

The former 2018 NFL Draft pick was released during 53-man roster cuts.

The Kansas City Chiefs made the tough decision to part ways with former 2018 second-round draft pick Breeland Speaks during Saturday’s roster cuts.

Just three seasons after he’d been drafted by Kansas City with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Speaks found himself placed on waivers. He was the first pick that Brett Veach made as general manager of the Chiefs. So what exactly caused things to get to this point? Why did the team decide to move on from Speaks? Veach spoke on the subject during Sunday’s media availability. He started by crediting the defensive line group as the deepest position group on the 53-man roster in 2020.

“That was certainly a unique scenario where, of all the positions – I certainly think we have a very good roster, a very talented roster – that defensive line position is probably our deepest position,” Veach said. “With Breeland, a different scheme from when he got here. I, and our staff, thought in his rookie year he did some things that you can really lay a foundation on. And we all know that he came in a little out of shape the next year, and then he had the injury. So, I think when you get behind the eight ball in professional football, it’s tough. And then when you get behind the eight ball on a roster with a deep defensive line, it’s even tougher. I will say this – credit to the kid – he did come in in shape and worked hard to get that weight off. Again, he was just up against a very deep and talented defensive line class.”

There were a number of issues compounding Speaks’ early success in the league. He was playing in the 3-4 scheme and out of position to start in Kansas City. Then he showed up to training camp the following year and he was a bit overweight. The final issue with Speaks seemed to be in his recovery from his 2019 season-ending knee injury. He’s healthy, but still apparently working back to form after not playing football for an entire calendar year.

“I think, to your question, guys certainly handle rehab situations differently and how they come back,” Veach explained. “Everyone kind of progresses at different rates. And listen, without having any medical documentation in front me, I would say that bigger people – offensive linemen, defensive linemen – are probably a little bit slower to come back in regards to skill players, running backs, receivers, safeties, what have you. But again, you go back to the scenario in which we were in. He came into camp and had lost weight and was healthy and I think he was able to practice throughout the course of the preseason and he worked hard to put himself in that position, so when guys are ready to go, we defer to the medical expertise of our staff and we let them go out there and compete and see how everything shakes out. Again, it certainly did put him behind the eight ball in that regard. Not having a year of football is certainly going to be tough, and then when you throw in the factor of having (Frank) Clark and Tanoh (Kpassagnon) and (Alex) Okafor, Taco (Charlton) had a good camp, obviously he made the roster, and Mike Danna had a really good camp, so it was just one of those scenarios for him where having the year off, having to go through a lengthy rehab process and going out there competing against that deep defensive line was a tough ask. He competed his tail off and I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from this experience here and it will help him in the future.”

The depth the Chiefs acquired at the defensive end position allowed for a competitive training camp. Rather than holding onto a player for too long because of draft status, Veach and his staff chose to go with the best players. It’s a tried and true strategy for winning football teams.

“Our staff, both coaching and personnel staff, we’re always committed to doing what we feel is best for the team and playing the best players,” Veach said. “And the guys that are on our active roster, we felt that day-by-day and the way they graded out, they just performed better and they deserve to be on the team.”

Speaks was not claimed on waivers following his release from Kansas City. He wasn’t among those signed to the Chiefs’ practice squad and he’s yet to find another team.

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach explains strategy for player evaluation during 2020 offseason

How will Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach adjust without minicamp, OTAs and preseason?

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has his work cut out for him this offseason. He already navigated massive contract extensions for star players like Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce, but there are still challenges ahead related to the unique structure of the 2020 offseason.

Veach joined Mitch Holthus and Matt McMullen on “Training Camp Live” this morning. Veach was asked by Holthus about how the lack of minicamp, OTAs and the preseason will adjust the way the team plans to evaluate players this offseason. Not just players in Kansas City either, but those on rosters across the league.

“It’s challenging,” Veach began. “Everyone, obviously, is in the same predicament. We’ve done a really good job of scouring through so much preseason tape. You look at guys like Demone Harris or Charvarius Ward, Alex Brown — who was our active roster for the Super Bowl — Antonio Hamilton this year. All of these guys, we first caught wind of during their preseason tape. So it puts us at a little bit of a disadvantage, just because I feel our personnel staff, led by Mike Borgonzi and Tim Terry, they do such a good job of combing through the pro tape. It’s a little bit of a disadvantage for us, because I think we were really ahead of the game in that regard.”

Veach felt the Chiefs were ahead of the curve when it came to evaluating preseason tape and acquiring players during roster cuts. They traded for Charvarius Ward ahead of the 2018 season. They added guys like Alex Brown and Demone Harris during the 2019 season. But the tool that allowed those things to happen — preseason tape — isn’t an option this year. So what will be the adjustment that Veach and his staff make to account for this unique feature of the 2020 offseason? They’ll treat it a little bit more like they do the 2020 NFL Draft.

“Before the Combine, we have all that college prep,” Veach explained. “We watch all that college tape to get our draft board right. I almost feel like we’ll go through another wave of that before the cutdown date (Sept. 6). Since we don’t have pro preseason tape we’re going to have to go back and watch the 2019 college tape one more time to get our emergency board right. We’ll probably have to go back and watch some of these young guys in preseason a year or two years ago. So it will be a little bit different process, but I think we’ll work hard to get it right.”

Players that the Chiefs add to the practice squad after roster cuts, well, it could come down to their college tape and the evaluations the staff did on those players ahead of the draft. It might not reveal the same information as the team would get with pro tape from the preseason, but it’s better than blindly throwing darts. At the same time, the lack of preseason tape this year creates an advantage for the team when it comes to the 80-man offseason roster.

“One of the advantages this year, we do feel like we have a lot of talent on this roster,” Veach said. “We might not be able to keep all of that talent. You guys know how it works. There’s a lot of times we get to the third and forth preseason game and some of these young guys, maybe they struggled early on, maybe they didn’t do too much the first two weeks of preseason and then, ‘Boom.’ All of a sudden it all comes together in the fourth preseason game when your roster is kind of decided. Then you’re just hoping and praying that they’ll make it through the waiver wire. Now, on the plus side, the tape won’t be available and if it does happen, we’ll be able to sneak some guys through and continue to work and develop them.”

There’s a positive and a negative to the lack of the preseason. While the Chiefs might not be able to poach talent from other teams using preseason tape, the hope is that they’ll be able to retain several of their own players during roster cuts. Then those players can develop on the practice squad throughout the course of the season.

While the process will be different for Veach and his staff this year, the hope is that the end result is the same — finding young talent that can compete, create depth and grow with the team.

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What will an all-virtual 2020 NFL Draft look like for Chiefs?

Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke on some of the challenges and idiosyncrasies of an all-virtual NFL Draft.

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As the Kansas City Chiefs get prepared for the 2020 NFL Draft, they’re facing challenges they’ve never faced before. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the draft to an all-virtual format. For the first time in the history of the league, they’ll rely on technology to connect everyone together for the draft. What could possibly go wrong?

While things were fairly uncertain to start, general manager Brett Veach has found that he’s had plenty of time to adjust to the new format.

“When we got wind of an all-virtual draft, I think there were a lot of questions in how things were going to run,” Veach said during his pre-draft press conference. “But quite honestly the last two or three weeks everything has been virtual. Our ability to communicate with players, coaches, go through stats, go through certain situations throughout the draft it’s almost becoming commonplace now where we just wake up, come down and we have the ability to record all of the players that we interview. So there’s a lot of times where I’m jumping on these chats live and interacting and there’s a lot of times where I’m working through some video and I’m working through some other stuff where I can come back in the morning and just click on yesterday’s videos and watch that. There are certainly unique challenges, but those challenges are the same for all 32 teams and I think we’re prepared. And again, it’s almost the norm right now.”

Veach credits the IT and Video department for making things so easy on coaching and scouting staff.

“I think when it first started there was that phase of two or three days where it didn’t feel like you were getting the production you wanted just because you were transitioning,” Veach said. “But really it goes back to Kevin Higgins and our IT department, Pat Brazil and our Video department. Once you work out the kinks after the first two or three days, it honestly felt like I was at the office. Instead of me talking to my guys right there, they were just on the video screen. The first two or three days, it was a little ‘this isn’t working,’ and ‘I’m getting a slow feed.’ I think it’s one of those deals that had the league just dropped it on us this week – virtual draft – that you’d be really worried about a lot of things, but I think the fact that we have so much time to work through all the issues that may come up, we’ve gone through different scenarios and we’ve had a little time now to work through some of the technical stuff, but like you said, the first few days, it was a little challenging. But again, everybody was on the same format and had the same issues, but really the last week and a half, two weeks, it’s been rather smooth…”

Some of those issues and worries that Veach spoke of came up during the virtual mock draft that took place on Monday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there was a technical glitch that held things up during the first pick of the draft.

From technical glitches to audio gaffes, the 2020 NFL Draft will have its fair share of hiccups. Thankfully, the NFL has implemented a system in which they can pause the draft in case of a technical malfunction.

The Chiefs coaching staff and scouting staff will all be relegated to their respective homes for the draft. They will have some extra muscle around if anything goes wrong on the technical side or in real life.

“The league allows an IT person to be present at your house and a security guy there just in case people don’t like your picks, they’re not knocking on your door or ringing the doorbell,” Veach said. “Every person is allowed a security person, an IT person.”

Veach went into detail about what his IT person might help him with during the course of the draft.

“I have a guy, Ryan Poles who has done a tremendous job at taking the lead on this,” Veach explained. “He’s been able to kind of like control who comes in and who comes out of the room, so if I say ‘Ryan, grab me Rick (Burkholder).’ He can bring Rick into a chatroom. If I say, ‘Ryan, grab me an area scout,’ he could bring one in. The things that I want to maintain is just that ability. I don’t want to be sitting there pulling people into the draft rooms, calling people. I think we have a plan where we have a computer dedicated to Clark and Mark (Donovan) and Andy and we can talk through some big picture stuff. And then Ryan Poles has the ability to bring in coordinators, bring in coaches, bring in medical very quickly.”

While Veach expects everything to go smoothly for the Chiefs, he’s a little concerned about communication effectiveness and specifically how that will impact trades.

“One thing that I think every team is most concerned about is just the flow and the effectiveness of communication,” Veach said. “If you’re on the clock and you’re working through your scenarios, then you finally come up with, ‘OK, we like this guy. We don’t like any of these trades. Or, we like this trade, and we want to do this trade.’ Be that as it may, I think the scenario that we’re all kind of playing through our mind is when you’re on the clock and you’re about to turn a card in and then with 45 seconds left, a team comes in and presents a really interesting trade. When you’re in the office, you can look to a guy. Just making sure that we don’t have a slow connection at 45 seconds. So, that’s a little bit of a concern, just that last-minute trade that you get the phone call on the clock. But again, the league has done a great job of just making sure that if anything crazy happens with technical difficulties, just call them and they’re going to be understanding. I don’t think they’re trying to have teams be in a compromised position where they’re losing picks or teams are jumping up ahead of them. So, I think that’s the big scenario. Just being on the clock with little time and a last-second trade comes in. We’re going to do some trials of that.”

The Chiefs are trying to mimic the process of a regular draft as best they can, but there’s only so much you can prepare for in what is sure to be an entirely new experience. In his final note on the all-virtual draft, Veach recognized and embraced the unknown that awaits.

“You really won’t know until the lights come on as to how that’s all going to work.”

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach wants to add picks in 2020 NFL Draft

Wheelin’ and dealin’ Brett Veach wants to add picks, but also won’t rule out a trade up for the Kansas City Chiefs.

If there has been one thing that has become synonymous with Brett Veach’s tenure as general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s a good old fashioned trade. Since his arrival in 2017, Veach has made 17 total trades, 14 of which involved some sort of transference of draft capital.

With the 2020 NFL Draft just around the corner, many Chiefs fans find themselves wondering if the team could make yet another trade to better position themselves. Veach commented on the possibility of some draft mobility in his Thursday conference call with the media.

“Obviously the more picks the more flexibility you have in every draft in regards to being able to position yourself for guys that you want,” Veach said, “I think that when you look at this draft, I would say that you never want to go into a draft and pigeonhole yourself in saying ‘We’re definitely moving down’ or ‘We’re definitely just going to stay there’. Like you mentioned only having five picks you want to add as much talent around Pat Mahomes on the offensive side and the Badger (S Tyrann Mathieu) and the crew on defense. Certainly, the more picks the better. We want to continue to add depth and to add talent. It would be unlikely that we would try to make a big bold move up there but wouldn’t want to rule it out. Certainly, I think that we’re going to assess the board and after we get closer to our pick there could be a scenario where there’s a guy that we just did not anticipate being there that we get excited about and there also could be scenarios where we have a pocket of players that we like and if teams fall in love with a player that they want at 32 we’ll certainly field phone calls and be open to all sorts of options.”

Right now, the Chiefs have just five selections in the draft. Compare that to the Miami Dolphins, who have a whopping 14 draft picks. It wouldn’t hurt for Kansas City to trade back and add some extra draft capital, especially if they can use it to surround Mahomes with more talent. That seems the most likely scenario in terms of making a trade and they’re well-positioned to do so at pick No. 32. There have been three trades of that pick in the last decade of the NFL Draft.

At the same time, perhaps shockingly, Veach wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the team might manufacture a trade up. He said it was unlikely that they’d pull off a big trade up like they did to acquire Patrick Mahomes. Keep in mind, Veach traded up in each of the last two drafts in order to select a player the Chiefs were excited about. It’s within the realm of possibility that they could do so again.

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Chiefs decisions on Sammy Watkins, Chris Jones contingent on new CBA

The salary cap situation is complicated for the Kansas City Chiefs due to new CBA negotiations.

As the Kansas City Chiefs look to ensure that star players like DT Chris Jones and WR Sammy Watkins remain with the team in 2020, they anxiously await an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

General Manager Brett Veach has meetings scheduled with representation for both Watkins and Jones. Watkins is under contract for the 2020 season, but his high salary cap hit is untenable. Jones is scheduled to become a free agent and he’s a player they’re working toward retaining.

“Sammy (Watkins) is a guy like Chris (Jones) that we’re going to have a dialogue with this week,” Veach said. “There are certainly different options and different scenarios that could play out with him. He’s a guy that we do want back. These are good problems to have because you win the Super Bowl, you obviously have a lot of good players and they make a lot of money. Sammy is a guy that, as you mentioned, he’s been critical to our playoff success. Just having a dialogue, again, we’ll meet with the Katz Brothers (Jones’ agents) and we’ll meet with Tory Dandy (Watkins’ agent). We have a good relationship with these guys and we’ll sit down and we’ll talk about the landscape, where we are and what makes sense.” 

Veach is confident that his personnel staff will be able to meet the challenge of retaining these players head-on. At the same time, the impasse currently holding things up is uncertainty surrounding a new CBA.

“Going back to my personnel staff, I also have a great cap staff,” Veach said. “Brandt Tilis and Chris Shea do a tremendous job. It’s challenging but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I think just working through the breakdowns and just the dispersals, a lot of this we just have to wait until the new CBA and see how that looks. It’s always a challenge. I think when you have guys as talented as Chris (Jones) and these other players, you’re going to turn over every scenario.” 

Dispersal’s and how the Chiefs’ front office structures contracts will differ, based on how the NFL’s salary cap rises each year in the new CBA. You can’t look at the salary cap in a vacuum, with just the 2020 season in mind. In the proposed CBA, there wouldn’t be much of a jump in the first year compared to current projections, but down the line, there could be more dramatic increases.

Right now, Tilis and Shea are using the information gained in the meetings with agents and working through all the hypothetical scenarios. Once a new CBA is agreed upon, they’ll be able to further narrow down a proper contract for Jones and an extension with a year one restructure for Watkins.

According to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor, there will not be a player vote on the new CBA today, but they’re expected to vote sooner than later. NFL owners have already voted to approve the new CBA agreement.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach expects either Matt Moore or Chad Henne to return in 2020

General manager Brett Veach expects that one of the backup QBs will be back with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach expects that at least one of two backup quarterbacks will be retained in 2020.

Both Matt Moore and Chad Henne are pending free agents, leaving the Chiefs in a predicament at the backup quarterback position. It was a position that was very important for Kansas City this season. They called upon Moore when Mahomes suffered a kneecap dislocation. Moore went 1-1 in two starts and closed out the game during which Mahomes was injured.

On Tuesday, Chiefs GM Brett Veach confirmed that he expects one of the two veteran backups to return for the 2020 season. They’ll hash out some of those details as they meet with representatives for both players at the combine.

“We’ve been blessed and fortunate to have two veteran guys that just did a tremendous job,” Veach said. “Chad (Henne) got hurt. And Matt (Moore) came out of retirement and played really good football for us in that Minnesota game that we won in the middle of the season. It was a big deal. We actually have two meetings scheduled with both their representatives this week as well. We’ll see how that goes, but I anticipate one of those guys being back and we’ll have to work through the dialogue with both their agents and see what makes sense for them and us.”

Henne might seem like a logical candidate to return. He’s been primary backup to Mahomes since he took over as the Chiefs’ starter, but Moore showed a lot of audacity coming out of retirement to play for this season. His risk of returning was worthwhile for both parties.

One thing is for certain, Veach and Reid still feel best having a veteran player in the quarterback room. They still have Kyle Shurmur under contract in 2020 and he should be in the mix if they decide to keep three quarterbacks. Don’t expect them to add a young and cheap quarterback to learn behind Mahomes via the draft.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach working toward bringing back DT Chris Jones

There still exist challenges ahead but Brett Veach wants Chris Jones to remain with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been consistent in their message: They want to keep pending free agent DT Chris Jones a member of the team.

General manager Brett Veach reiterated this notion to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday afternoon. He also added that the franchise tag is still on the table for Jones.

“Listen, it’s certainly a priority for us,” Veach said of re-signing Jones. “Sometimes these things take some time to work through. The franchise tag is something that we have the ability to use. We certainly would like to see if we could work something out with him. I think the tandem of Chris Jones and Frank Clark is something any team would want, and we’re going to work hard and see if we can get that done.”

Obviously, the Chiefs face some obstacles in adding Jones. They’re projected with just over $16 million in salary-cap space for the 2020 season. Signing Jones on a long-term contract is the preference over the franchise tag based on Veach’s comments above. Negotiations appear to be moving along with no significant impasse at this time.

“They have been ongoing,” Veach explained of discussions with Jones’ camp. “We actually have a meeting scheduled up here in the next couple of days. We had dialogue last offseason, we had dialogue prior to the seasons start. Chris (Jones) did a great job of blocking all that out and really just tackling the season. He handled it like a true pro and know we have the opportunity once this cycle comes back around to pick up where those conversations left off. Hopefully, we can make some headway and get something done.”

Jones, who is set to become a free agent at the start of the new league year, is expected to command a big contract, possibly exceeding the top contract for a defensive tackle. Jones has expressed interest in wanting to stay in Kansas City, especially following the Super Bowl 54 win. So far both sides have laid all their cards on the table according to Veach, making for a very tenable negotiation.

“All dialogue is good dialogue,” Veach explained. “The last thing you want is for something to go awry because there just wasn’t enough communication. You can’t have enough dialogue, and like I said they’ve been very open and honest with us. We’ve handled the situation in a very similar fashion. We’re looking forward to sitting down with his agents this week and continuing to pick up.”

The NFL recently delayed the franchise tag period by a few days. We should still know within the coming weeks whether Jones will remain in Kansas City and if it’ll be via long-term deal or the franchise tag. Right now, things are looking good but how the meetings go with Jones’ representatives this week will be key.

“What transpires in the next few weeks or months is to be determined,” Veach said. “But certainly our goal and intent is to keep [Chris Jones] in Kansas City.”