Report: “no change” in Chris Jones’ contract situation

According to friend-of-the-site Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports, there has been no change in the status of negotiations between the Kansas City Chiefs and defensive tackle Chris Jones, who has one year remaining on his rookie contract.

Early in the year, it was reported that extending Jones’ contract would be a priority for the Chiefs. After a season in which he recorded 15.5 sacks, an interception, a pair of forced fumbles and 35 solo tackles, Jones’ contract is expected to be in the range of a five-year deal worth $100 million.

Jones did not report to the voluntary parts of the offseason program — which is not at all unusual for a player in the midst of contract negotiations — but also stayed away from the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp sessions in mid-June. This raised concerns that Jones might not report to training camp until a a deal is finalized.

That could be a possible scenario if Jones was already a vested veteran. But Jones needs another accrued season (as defined in the current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL players association) in order to be an unrestricted free agent when the 2019 season concludes. Even if he were to play every game in 2019 campaign, Jones will not accrue another season if he doesn’t report to the team at least 30 days before the first game of the regular season.

That means Jones — even if he decides to miss a few days of training camp to make a point — is almost guaranteed to report to camp by August 6. In addition, the Chiefs have said they will not conduct serious negotiations with Jones’ camp until he shows up.

We will keep you updated.