There are several possible ways that the ongoing holdout of Kansas City Chiefs’ superstar Chris Jones could end, but one of them doesn’t appear to be a trade.ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday: “Teams I’ve talked to believe the Chiefs do not want to trade Jones, no matter how ugly this gets.”As for whether a resolution might be on the horizon, Fowler added that “the sides are apart in negotiations.”
There are four possible outcomes to the current situation.One is that the two sides agree on a long-term extension, the best possibility for both the player and organization. Jones himself told reporters he’s just “asking for a raise.”
“I can’t really talk about it,” he added regarding negotiations. “Hopefully it gets worked out. It’s always been my goal to be a Kansas City Chief for life. I’ve said that multiple times on social media platforms, from interviews—and they know where my position is at. Hopefully we can get something worked out for the long term.”
Two is that the two sides don’t come to terms and the holdout continues indefinitely. Nobody wants that scenario.Three is that they don’t come to an agreement but Jones ends the holdout and returns to play, which feels as unlikely as a trade at this point.
And four is that the Chiefs decide they don’t want to give in to Jones’ demands, get fed up with the situation and choose to trade him. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that almost assuredly won’t happen, Jones, 29, is one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen in football. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler, two-time champion and was a first-team All-Pro selection last season after registering 15.5 sacks, 29 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus ranked Jones as the No. 2 player in the entire NFL last season, writing that “PFF’s Defensive Player of the Year only added to his spectacular season in the playoffs, where he added 20 total pressures to his tally and took over the game late in the AFC Championship to down the Cincinnati Bengals and their patchwork offensive line.”Keeping him is paramount to Kansas City’s Super Bowl hopes. So don’t expect a trade.
