Chris Jones is making friends with Chiefs enemies while KC drags feet on paying him
As Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is waiting for a new contract, he recently paired with a division rival in a fishing competition.
This NFL offseason, some of the top young defensive tackles in the game received lucrative contracts. Daron Payne earned a four-year, $90 million extension with the Washington Commanders, Javon Hargrave signed a four-year, $84 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers, and Jeffery Simmons received a four-year, $94 million extension with the Tennessee Titans.
There are still other interior defensive lineman who are in line to get a big pay raise, specifically Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season. As of this writing, there has been no real progress in contract discussions.
In the offseason, Jones did something that would have Chiefs fans doing a double take. On Saturday, Jones was one of nine NFL players competing in the Sports Fishing Championship “The Catch” Tournament. The players would split up into four teams, each of which included a captain/angler.
Jones’ partner was none other than Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Chris Jones teams up with rival Justin Herbert in fishing competition
This is the one time that a Chief and a Charger are playing on the same team.
As for how the duo did, they finished in second-place with 300 points.
The winning team was Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and New England Patriots defensive end Matt Judon, who scored 425 points. New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II finished third with 75 points, while Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins finished fourth with 50 points.
Back in 2020, the Chiefs and Jones agreed to terms on a four-year, $80 million contract after they placed the franchise tag on him. Now, with the market for interior defensive linemen increasing, Jones could cash in, and potentially get closer to Aaron Donald in terms of total contract value. While the market is high now, there is also the fact that Williams of the Jets and Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants are both entering the final year on their rookie contracts.
With the regular season not beginning until September, Chiefs fans will be waiting to see if the two sides can come to an agreement on a new contract.
