The Kansas City Chiefs had a bit of a holdout situation on their hands with Chris Jones during mandatory minicamp.
Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes commented on his absence during their press conferences on Thursday, both expressing confidence that Jones would show up for training camp in July. Chiefs GM Brett Veach echoed similar sentiments on Thursday evening.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the team’s Super Bowl LVII ceremony, Veach weighed in on Jones’ absence from mandatory minicamp as it relates to a new contract for the star defensive tackle.
“We’re in constant communication,” Veach said. “I’d be shocked if Chris (Jones) isn’t here, I mean this is his type of party right here. But we have great communication and we have a lot of time before (training) camp. So, I feel good about where we’re going to be with Chris and we’ll get to celebrate tonight and have a good time and then break tomorrow and I’m sure we’ll have great dialogue from now until the start of training camp. We look forward to Chris being here, not just for next year, but for a long time.”
Asked whether he has a timeline for getting a deal done, Veach didn’t expressly commit to a specific timeline. It’s clear, however, the team would like to get a deal done ahead of training camp and view that as a soft deadline.
“No, not really,” Veach said of a timeline. “Listen, we have a long history together. We have a great relationship with his agents, so I mean, these things usually get worked out right before, during the first, start of (training) camp.”
Veach must have been shocked because Jones didn’t appear to be in attendance for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII ceremony. It’s unclear what that might signal about negotiations and where they’re currently heading.
