The Kansas City Chiefs have won five games in a row since that heartbreaking loss in their season opener.
And while Travis Kelce’s absence and the Detroit Lions’ gameplan had plenty to do with that loss, not having Chris Jones anchoring their defense was also a massive blow to their aspirations.
Fast forward to today, and it seems like HC Andy Reid holds no grudges towards his star DT/DE, as he lauded his versatility and how much he loves to move him around on the defense because of his athleticism.
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid on Chris Jones’ DT/DE versatility: “A player as good as he is, you have to move him around a little bit. . . because (offenses) know they have to slow him down. The best you can move him around, that helps him. . . He’s athletic enough to do that.”
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) October 18, 2023
According to Charles Goldman, Reid talked about the emphasis that rival offenses need to put on Jones to try and slow him down, assuming that’s even possible.
Notably, Reid has also stated that the show had to go on with or without Jones when they weren’t close to getting a contract extension.
The superstar DT threatened to hold out indefinitely and missed the entire training camp, the preseason, and the first game of the season.
He was coming off the best season of his career and is a perennial candidate to take home the Defensive Player of the Year, and he wanted to be paid as such.
Following that loss vs. the Lions, it became more than evident that the Chiefs needed to do spend big bucks to keep him satisfied and on board.
Simply put, they cannot afford to lose such a disruptive defender like him, especially now that they have a top-5 defense in the league.
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