5 Chiefs Leaving Kansas City in the New Year
By Joe Summers
The Chiefs have gone through a lot of changes this season and more are on the way as we approach the postseason.
Brett Veach has a huge task ahead of him this offseason, needing to bolster the roster while simultaneously starting contract negotiations for critical pieces. This team will not look the same in 2024 that it does now.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five Chiefs leaving Kansas City in the new year. Enjoy these players while you can, Chiefs Kingdom!
5 Chiefs Leaving Kansas City in 2024
1. Chris Jones - DT
Let's start with a heartbreaking one, shall we? The more time that passes, the more obvious it feels to me that this is Chris Jones' final year in Kansas City.
The writing has been on the wall all year. After a contentious holdout that resulted in a one-year deal, we've kind of all just ignored the elephant in the room. Jones sure sounds like a man who knows he'll be elsewhere in 2024, so we're likely entering the final games of an illustrious Chiefs career.
At the end of the game, Chris Jones had his pay me moment when he got a sack on 2nd down and then forced a bad ball on 3rd down. pic.twitter.com/tYd6XHVGbu
— mike (@bengals_sans) January 2, 2024
Jones is still his dominant self, compiling 9.5 sacks this year with a number of game-changing plays while helping his teammates by commanding double teams. Ironically, Jones' excellent season only reinforces the idea that he'll be too rich for Brett Veach's blood.
George Karlaftis is enjoying a breakout season, at least partially thanks to Jones' presence, though his stellar play only makes Jones expendable.
It just makes too much sense for Veach to use the money that would be committed to Jones to keep L'Jarius Sneed and players like Nick Bolton, Willie Gay Jr., Mike Danna, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, instead.
The Chiefs can't keep all of those guys, but they can keep more of them without Jones than with him. That'll be the deciding factor in my eyes, resetting the timeline around the younger players' windows.
Before our next Chief, start your year with a massive win thanks to FanDuel Sportsbook's $150 sign-up bonus! If you deposit at least $10 and bet $5 or more on the Chiefs vs. Chargers, you'll receive $150 in bonus bets win or lose. Sign up for FanDuel now!