The Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones officially ended his holdout with the team as they have agreed to a one-year contract extension. The details surrounding the contract began to come out on Tuesday morning to see what exactly it took to get him back on the field after missing the opening game against the Detroit Lions on Tuesday.
Holdout over: The #Chiefs and DT Chris Jones have agreed to terms on a 1-year deal done by @KatzBrosSports. pic.twitter.com/w4pj888nJf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2023
Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network and NFL.com is reporting some of the details as he signed a one-year, $25 million contract. The base of the deal remains at $19.5 million, meaning he could earn $6.5 million in incentives throughout the season. While the incentives in the contract are not known at the time of writing, this has the potential to get him a lot of money with solid play.
While the contract extension still allows him to become a free agent after the season, the Chiefs hold a bit of leverage with the ability to place a franchise tag on him. It will be interesting to see if they can avoid another issue before getting to this point in a handful of months once again.
How much does Chris Jones mean to this Kansas City team?
Chris Jones is a four-time Pro Bowler getting added back to this Chiefs defensive line. In their opening game without Jones on the field against the Detroit Lions, the defense only recorded one sack and four tackles for loss. If he is on the field for Week 2, the offense has to account for him and focus on getting him blocked. If they double-team him as the best pass-rusher, that leaves an opening for another player to get into the backfield.
While Jones is an important cog and can get a little more money at the end of the day, the bigger need seems to be getting tight-end Travis Kelce healthy. With the Chiefs being 0-1 now and having some tough games on their schedule, adding a dominant defensive lineman will definitely help on that side of the ball.
Is the Super Bowl parade back on in Kansas City now?