KC Chiefs: Chris Jones has every right to sit out 2020 season

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Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

FUTURE

With the contract extension of Patrick Mahomes, retaining Jones becomes even more important to maintaining the improvement of the defense. An argument could be made that while he does not sport the green dot, Chris Jones is the quarterback of the defense.

He sets the tone on every play and the plays that he makes are often game changing, such as sacks that come at just the right time or passes batted down (see Super Bowl LIV) or just the tempo and tone that he brings with him every time he is on the field.

With Mahomes receiving his extension, we know that the offensive side of the ball is set in stone for at least the next ten years. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that same guarantee on the defensive side of the ball as well?

Not only is Jones a crucial piece of this team moving forward, but we also must be aware of the unique challenge that this season presents, not just for Jones but for all players as well. In the 2020 season, any player who puts on a helmet and pads and runs out onto the field, and all other athletes in other sports as well, will be putting themselves at risk of COVID-19.

I will not use this as a platform to preach, but I will say this. Athletes are not essential workers, they go out on the field or on the court for our entertainment. In this upcoming season, any athlete who plays his or her sport will be putting their health and possibly their lives at risk so that we might be entertained, so they should be paid and I apply that same logic to Chris Jones.

Like so many other athletes in his position, not only does Jones have a finite amount of time to make his money, which would be true of any athlete during any season, but this season especially he will be putting his health at risk just to do so.

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Football players, of course, accept a degree of danger in the chance that they could get injured. Knowing that your health will be at risk not just on the field, but in the locker room, in hotels, on air planes, practice facilities and anywhere else that player might go, makes it all the more essential that Jones receives his pay day, one which he would deserve anyway even without a worldwide pandemic.

Jones has done more then prove himself the last four years of his rookie contract. He has made himself an invaluable piece of the Chiefs rebuilding defense, a leader in the locker room and a stand out member of the league.

If the Chiefs plan to move forward with more Super Bowl victories and becoming the league’s next dynasty, Jones will have a huge role to play in those dreams coming to fruition.

During the 2018 offseason, Chiefs traded a first and third round pick for Frank Clark, and he then went on to sign a five-year 105.5 million contract with 63.5 million guaranteed.

Chiefs fans aren’t complaining about the signing of Clark, and he has more then proved to be worth every penny, but Jones is just as good as Clark and most certainly just as essential, so why not let him know how much he is appreciated for his continued production and how much he is needed for the future of the team with the contract extension that he deserves.

As a fan of the game and of the team, I don’t ever want to see a player sit out, and I will be strongly disappointed if Jones decides to do so, for it will be a blow to a Chiefs defense that is trending in the right direction. If he were to decide to do so, while it might not be a popular opinion, I will understand his reasons and support him doing so.

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I understand the extension of Patrick Mahomes changes the Kansas City Chiefs’ immediate financial future, I just hope that they factored in taking care of defensive star, fan favorite, and one of the keys to a rebuilding Chiefs defense in Chris Jones, and if they did not and he sits out because of it, then more power to him.

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