Time for the KC Chiefs to be honest about Chris Jones contract dispute

Even if Jones ends up playing with the KC Chiefs this year, it’s becoming apparent he won’t be for much longer.

On the field there are few questions about Jones’ ability. In four years he’s been a Second Team All-Pro, a Pro Bowler, and recently a Super Bowl champion.

With all his accomplishments, Jones has become convinced he deserves to get paid like fellow defensive tackle Aaron Donald, which means over 20 million dollars a year. While it’s absolutely fair to believe he could get that on the open market it’s completely unrealistic for the Chiefs to give him that.

Let’s just make the apple to apples comparison: in four years in the league, Chirs Jones has had 41 starts, 33 sacks, and as mentioned before, has been selected once as a Second-Team All-Pro. Aaron Donald, on the other hand, for his first four years before his extension had 58 starts, 39 sacks, was selected as a First-Team All-Pro three times, and was the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Now I know what some of you will say, “Watch the tape, Chris Jones makes a way bigger impact than the numbers say.”

I get it.

In the month he turns 26, Chris Jones is already an undisputed top three defensive tackle in the entire NFL and makes huge contributions we don’t alway notice. Aaron Donald, however, is an entirely different animal.

At 28 years old, he needs one more defensive player of the year award to tie J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor for the most all-time. He’s doing that at a position where it’s incredibly difficult to get big numbers.

Donald legitimately has a chance to go down as the greatest defensive tackle ever while through four seasons, Jones hasn’t even started more than 12 games a year. Is it not fair to get why Kansas City is at least a little tepid about handing out that kind of contract? Of course, that doesn’t excuse Kansas City’s actions in this situation.