KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chris Jones is trying not to think about the upcoming offseason quite yet after the Kansas City Chiefs’ last offseason was dominated by uncertainty swirling around the All-Pro defensive tackle’s contract status, including a holdout that lasted into the regular season.
But with the NFL postseason’s arrival, Jones — who tied for the team lead with 10 1/2 sacks, the third-most in his eight-year career — knows the next game could be his last with Kansas City.
“I try not to think about it,” Jones said Wednesday as the Chiefs prepared to face the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in the Super Wild Card Round. “It could be my last game in Arrowhead. Who knows? But most importantly, we’ve got a game to play. We’re trying to make a deep run in these playoffs. If it is my last game, we’ve got to make it worthwhile.”
The Chiefs have won two of the last four Super Bowls and own three AFC titles in that span.
Jones has been a key piece to Kansas City’s championship puzzle, but his contract voids after the 2023 season and the team has a decision to make after failing to reach a long-term extension last summer.
Four years ago, the Chiefs used the franchise tag to keep Jones in the fold, but that might be prohibitively expensive in 2024, incurring a fully guaranteed salary-cap hit north of $32 million next season.
Jones and Kansas City worked out a four-year deal worth around $80 million in 2020 during that contract impasse, the final year of which was reworked in early September after he sat out a season-opening loss to Detroit.
Now, the Chiefs and their 2016 second-round pick, who ranks fifth in franchise history with 75 1/2 career sacks, face the looming specter of free agency once again.
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“It ain’t crossed my mind,” Jones said. “I’m just thinking about playing the Dolphins. If it is (my last game with the Chiefs), it is. If it’s not, it’s not. You can’t think about what-ifs; you can’t think about the future, because the future tends to change.”
Kansas City hasn’t enjoyed the same regular-season dominance this season as it did in the first five years with Patrick Mahomes as the starting quarterback, but the goal remains the same — add to the Chiefs’ collection of Lamar Hunt and Lombardi trophies.
Until that quest ends, whether it’s short of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas or with another championship parade, Jones isn’t worried about next season.
“We’ll figure this out at the end of the year, right?” Jones said.
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