Brett Veach prioritizing re-signing Chris Jones, L'Jarius Sneed

[RunKC]

What some of us have been wondering...

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said he is aware of the challenge the organization faces in re-signing both defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed but said it would be an offseason priority to get both players under new contracts.

"Sometimes I look at our situation and I'm like, 'I don't know how we're going to do this,' but we usually work through things systematically and have a list of the priorities,'' Veach said as the Chiefs continued preparations for Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers. "Certainly, Chris and LJ are at the top of the list.

"It's extremely hard because you have two keystone players there.''

Jones, 29, has been one of the NFL's top pass-rushers for years. He had 10.5 sacks this season to tie for the team lead after missing training camp and the first regular-season game while holding out for a new contract.

He didn't get the extension he was looking for, but the Chiefs sweetened the final season of his existing contract.

"It was important for us to mend the fences with Chris because we love him and he's an iconic player here, not just here, but I mean of all time,'' Veach said. "That was important for us, and we'll continue to work hard and see if we can get something done, but it will be a priority for us.''

The Chiefs used Sneed, 27, this season to defend against the opponent's top receiver much of the time, and none had big games against him.

Jones and Sneed are key players for an improved Chiefs defense that allowed fewer points than all but one other team during the regular season and held the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens to 41 total points in the playoffs.

The Chiefs had defenses that were at times competitive since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018, but rarely were they consistently so. Veach and the Chiefs found the task of building a top defense difficult because the past few seasons they were carrying Mahomes' massive contract.

"I still remember in '17 and '18 just saying if we can just get them to punt just once we've got a shot,'' Veach said. "Now all of a sudden it's like all we've got to do is just score once and we're good.

"Going from where we were in '17 and '18 to having one of the best defenses, knowing the constraints we had of just paying [Mahomes] and probably drafting later [in rounds], I don't think I ever envisioned having a top one or two defense.''

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-ljarius-sneed

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Doesnt work that way. He did get Jones the direct TV ad along with Travis.

He needs to be the highest paid QB in the league. When he dropped to 7th/8th highest paid it probably didn't sit well with him. And the damn media wouldnt shut up about it, And that matters. He has to stand up there and ask questions about the difference in salary between him and obviously inferior QB's.

I think you misunderstood my original thought - I'm saying, can Pat include Chris in enough of his off-field deals to make CJ another $5m give or take, rendering other teams' better offers less meaningful

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Media are such Brady ball washers. He got praised for taking less for the team and Pat got slammed for it. Such hypocrisy.

What helped was that Manning who was considered his equal at the time wasn’t taking a lower contract.

[ForeverIowan]

Originally Posted by tredadda

We didn’t have a WR the caliber of Hill when he left, that is correct. But we had Mahomes. We have no Mahomes caliber player of defense to offset a loss of Jones.

I dunno man people continually say that but even if you tag and trade Jones there is still so much talent on that defense. Sneed, McDuffie and Bolton have all-pro capability. I think Karlaftis is on the verge of becoming a household name (guy is only 22 years old!!). Reid, Cook, Conner is a dang nice safety trio. FAU is a first round talent. Hit on another player or two in this draft.

Im all for bringing Jones back. The only way you get up shits creek with Mahomes at quarterback though is by dishing out enormous and lengthy contracts to aging players for past performance. Make Jones an offer that allows you to also keep Sneed. Chris - Do you want top dollar and more years or do you want a statue of yourself outside Arrowhead some day?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I think you misunderstood my original thought - I'm saying, can Pat include Chris in enough of his off-field deals to make CJ another $5m give or take, rendering other teams' better offers less meaningful

He has the personality to do commercials.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I mean seriously, how hard would it be for Pat to make up about $5m per year in endorsement money for Chris?

Cowherd said Patrick himself makes $45 million per off the field currently.

Wasn't about that. It was clearly about saying he was the highest paid DT

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Wasn't about that. It was clearly about saying he was the highest paid DT

Well if he wants that over everything, bye

I think that's what his agents want. I don't think Chris wants it above all anymore.

[ForeverIowan]

In the past 10 years...

How many defensive All-Pros were 30 or older?

How many DPOY were older than 30?

How many elite defensive players were having their best years of their career at 30 or older?

Love Chris but I mean facts are facts. It is a young mans game.

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by MAHOMO 4 LIFE!

1 of 3?? We have Kelce, Pat, Butker, Winchester, Nnadi…

And Pennel.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I think you misunderstood my original thought - I'm saying, can Pat include Chris in enough of his off-field deals to make CJ another $5m give or take, rendering other teams' better offers less meaningful

We just need to get the entire Chiefs team on State Farm commercials.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by ForeverIowan

In the past 10 years...

How many defensive All-Pros were 30 or older?

How many DPOY were older than 30?

How many elite defensive players were having their best years of their career at 30 or older?

Love Chris but I mean facts are facts. It is a young mans game.

But then again, how many times has Chris Jones been 30 or older ?

[MAHOMO 4 LIFE!]

Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger

And Pennel.

Pennel has 2, I forgot Hardman who also has 3

[Valiant]

Ideal world. Pay sneed as his top end is way cheaper than Jones.

Jones I would give him a 3 year deal, 60 million fully guaranteed. Then a whole bunch of incentive marks to get to 30 million to keep him hungry.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

For what it's worth, Jones ate 12.2% of the cap this year. If he had around the same percentage in '24, it'd be up around $30m.

So if they did execute a new deal, it would almost certainly be a lower cap % than the previous two seasons.

[ThyKingdomCome15]

It's all very simple. Ask yourself this question...

If the Chiefs keep their defense in tact and find one legit WR in FA are they a better team than last year? The answer is clearly yes. This doesn't even include the draft.

This is the easiest path to follow for a once in a lifetime three-peat opportunity. No reason for Veach to make this complicated and he won't.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

Jones is the leader of the D as far as I can tell. I was hoping Bolton would take over that role once the holdout happened but it's pretty clear Jones is the top dog.

That said, I think Bolton can fill that role if Jones leaves. Leadership is a skill that I believe can be taught to the right individual and I think Bolton has that ability. He may even be better at it than Jones is, as Jones comes off as a bit of a clown at times.



While that's true it also was a lot harder on QBs to play the position back then. Obviously I think Mahomes is better than Montana but let's not act like Mahomes wouldn't have gotten hit a hell of a lot more if he played back in 80s and early 90s. Who knows what Montana would be able to do if he played in this era.

So while Mahomes is better I don't think the gap is huge and we will see how Mahomes adapts as he gets older and loses some of the speed he has.

If you listen to what Spags says regarding Bolton, he is undeniably the leader of this defense and the cog that makes it all function. Jones is an emotional leader that is outspoken. Those are two completely different things. Bolton is the leader of the D. Jones is a leader on the TEAM.