The Chiefs’ defensive line may be the most disappointing unit on the team over the last few years. It’s something that sounds counterintuitive, as superstar Chris Jones is still, individually, one of, if not the most, dominant players at his position.
This past season, Jones, despite facing immense double teams, ranked as the number one defensive tackle with a 20 percent pass-rush win-rate, according to ESPN. That’s 5 percent more than the next player. Jones also accounted for 63 total quarterback pressures, third-most among d-tackles, with a 90.7 percent pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus, second-best in the NFL. All of this to say that Chris Jones is still absolutely elite, contrary to many Chiefs fans who think differently when they see raw sack totals of five and seven, as Jones achieved in each of the past two seasons. He needs some help.
The Chiefs' task this offseason will be finding creative ways to clear up their finances and add some cap space money, which currently ranks last in the league at $57 million over the ceiling. Jones’ contract may be a good place to start. He was signed to a gargantuan 5-year, $158.75 million contract early on in the 2024 season, which at the time was a sign that the Chiefs were all in on bringing Jones back to three-peat as Super Bowl champions. Of course, his play garnered that he was deserving of the investment. But fast forward to today, the Chiefs failed to three-peat, missed the playoffs the following season, and now the huge cap hits of that contract are kicking in, as Jones nears age 32.
Kansas City Needs to Figure Out What to Do With Chris Jones
As things stand, Jones has the highest 2026 cap hit of any defender at $44.8M. There are then two more years left on the deal with cap hits of $38.1M in 2027 and $44.8M in 2028. Whether you’d like to believe Jones will keep this elite play up into his mid-thirties, history tells us that he won’t. So what the heck are the Chiefs meant to do with such a large sum of money pumped into one player who will likely begin to decline over the lifetime of the deal? There are a few options on the table for general manager Brett Veach.
The first and perhaps most boring option would be to do nothing, because as we know, whatever you do today to the current contract affects what it will look like tomorrow. The Chiefs have other options they should address first to clear cap space before turning attention to Jones’ deal. Most notably, a significant restructuring of Patrick Mahomes' contract, and cutting bait with a few declining players. If Veach feels he can create enough space with these moves, without touching Jones’ contract, that’s probably the best option.
But let’s say Kansas City has other plans and decides to move some money around with Jones. A restructure would look something like this. The Chiefs convert Jones’ minimum base salary into a bonus, adding two void years. This would clear up roughly $14M for the Chiefs and bring Jones’ cap hit down to about $30.6M. It’s a sizable move, but not one that would absolutely hinder next year’s cap hit. The void years would be two years in 2029 and 2030, and the Chiefs would pay Jones a few million without him actually being on the team. Veach has scarcely used void years because, in a sense, you’re just pushing money down the road, and at some point, the bills are due, and you could be in big trouble. But in Jones’ case, they wouldn’t be big hits and might even be worth it.
Another option I see out there is that the Chiefs should trade Jones while he’s still elite and valuable enough to bring back good draft compensation. What many don’t understand, however, is that a trade does not simply mean his current contract would be forfeited and all is anew. By trading Jones, the Chiefs would still owe him over $29M in dead cap money. Yes, this move would create over $15M in cap space, but the Chiefs lose their best d-lineman and, in return, project to receive at most a high second-round pick, as the team acquiring Jones continues to pay his current contract.
Interest will be piqued this offseason for a multitude of moves the Chiefs are expected to make. But whatever decision Veach makes on Chris Jones will be most noteworthy, likely having a domino effect that shapes the defense for years to come.