Kansas City Chiefs rookies, QBs, and injured players have arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri for the team’s 2023 training camp.
With veterans set to arrive over the weekend, attention has quickly turned to Chris Jones. The veteran defensive tackle sat out of offseason workouts to this point as he awaits a long-term contract extension. Reports have indicated that his holdout could extend into training camp if a deal were not reached by the Friday, July 21 report date.
Speaking to reporters during his media availability on Tuesday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed that the two sides have been communicating regarding a new deal. He didn’t know, however, if Jones would show up with the rest of the veteran players ahead of their first open practice on Sunday.
“I don’t know that,” Reid said. “We’ll have to just see how that goes. I mean there is communication going on, that’s the important part. Then, we just have to see.”
In an entirely different thought Reid emphasized that Jones is still a leader for the team and part of their plans as they begin their Super Bowl title defense in 2023.
“We’ll add Chris Jones in here somewhere as things go on,” Reid said. “He’ll be another one that helps step things up.”
Time is ticking for a deal to get done, but the team doesn’t appear to be worried about the timing of it. If it happens before the veteran report date, expect him to arrive on time. If it doesn’t, it’s possible that we could see him stay away from training camp. We could also see a “hold-in” situation with him reporting to camp, but not participating as the two sides work toward a contract extension.
