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

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by notorious

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by TheGuardian

And anyone saying 5 million isn't enough to finish your life on doesn't know shit about money. Period. And I clear 2 million a year.

Well, of course $5MM is plenty to retire on for +98% of the people in this Country. Hell, the average retirement balance for Americans at age 65 is ~$500K.

That said, when you are accustomed to their lifestyle and don't want to surrender that entirely, $5MM isn't going to get it done. I'm guessing a fair number of those guys that are chasing big dollars could end up with $5MM or less due to their inability to manage their finances - especially after their careers come to an end. But, you don't have a chance unless you've bundled a pretty big sum over a short time span for NFL players (generally well <10 years). So, I completely understand their thinking of trying to maximize their value while they can.

[Mecca]

Jones is literally on the cusp of being in the HOF, that a lone may push him to take a smaller than he could get on open FA to come back.

I think odds are he is going to get in but if he's part of another championship team he could be 1st ballot.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Jones is literally on the cusp of being in the HOF, that a lone may push him to take a smaller than he could get on open FA to come back.

I think odds are he is going to get in but if he's part of another championship team he could be 1st ballot.

How is he not already in? He’s dominating. And won three super bowls. Dude is in when he hangs it up. Just like Pat, Kelce, and Buttkicker

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by TheGuardian

NFL players aren't generally creating thousands of jobs. Unless you can start to name all of them that I'm unaware of.

You don't think that the economic impact that the Chiefs have in KC... facilitated by the on field success of Mahomes, Kelce, etc. doesn't create jobs?

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by Hoover

How is he not already in? He’s dominating. And won three super bowls. Dude is in when he hangs it up. Just like Pat, Kelce, and Buttkicker

He's in... I'm not sure he's a first ballot. Kinda depends on the class.

[Iconic]

theoretically say you let cj go. does that money spent elsewhere make up for the impact cj brings? does it ensure 2-3 clutch plays in key moments of the biggest games of the season? i don't think it does.

just pay the man his money and be done with it. the guy has had a mahomes level impact on defense. it's what he does, when he does it, and the stage he does it on that i don't think you can ever replicate.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by Iconic

theoretically say you let cj go. does that money spent elsewhere make up for the impact cj brings? does it ensure 2-3 clutch plays in key moments of the biggest games of the season? i don't think it does.

just pay the man his money and be done with it. the guy has had a mahomes level impact on defense. it's what he does, when he does it, and the stage he does it on that i don't think you can ever replicate.

I love Jones but we just don't have the luxury of breaking the bank for an aging player.

We need a LT and 2 wide recievers on offense. I believe Sneed is more important to our D and is younger.

We just won 2 super bowls in our reloading and down year. Yes we want the 3 peat but I want to have enough fire power to win every year. Mahomes has literally won a Super Bowl 50% of the seasons he has played with us being smart with the cap.

[O.city]

But you're not gonna win one every year.

You have a chance to do something that's never been done. Not in the history of the league.

Go do that.

Say you play it safe, reload and end up winning a couple more down the line. Great. No one will remember that.

You win 3? Yeah.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

He's in... I'm not sure he's a first ballot. Kinda depends on the class.

I'm not as sure as you.

Pro-Football-reference has a nice chart of HOF odds. Jones now sits at 57.15 while the average HOF DT gets 102 total points. They factor in everything and atm the players above him that are under the 102 are guys like Suh(84.58), Fletcher Cox(78.38), Geno Atkins(76.33), Haloti Ngata(64.53), Heyward(62.95), Wilfork(60.35) and a few others.

Could and should all those guys get in? Maybe

Could Jones keep playing for several years to add on to his stats/career numbers? Sure

The problem is his stats are not really that mind blowing and those now 3 SBs help him a lot. Looks like his overall tackles hurt him the most and he will need to keep the sacks and SBs coming to make up for that!

I agree that if being selected into the Hall of Fame is important to him than he needs to ask himself how much monetary wise is the HOF to him? I'm sure a LOT of retired boarder line HOF guys would pay a lot to make it in.

$32M and much lower odds of making the Hall
VS
$28M and much higher odds of making the Hall

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Balto

I'm not as sure as you.


The problem is his stats are not really that mind blowing and those now 3 SBs help him a lot. Looks like his overall tackles hurt him the most and he will need to keep the sacks and SBs coming to make up for that!

Same, and I agree that the tackle stats are very unimpressive. But, what they don't measure is how absolutely disruptive he is to the other teams gameplan, and how his pressure disrupts what the other team can and can't do. He's a real MF'r to scheme around.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Balto

I'm not as sure as you.

Pro-Football-reference has a nice chart of HOF odds. Jones now sits at 57.15 while the average HOF DT gets 102 total points. They factor in everything and atm the players above him that are under the 102 are guys like Suh(84.58), Fletcher Cox(78.38), Geno Atkins(76.33), Haloti Ngata(64.53), Heyward(62.95), Wilfork(60.35) and a few others.

Could and should all those guys get in? Maybe

Could Jones keep playing for several years to add on to his stats/career numbers? Sure

The problem is his stats are not really that mind blowing and those now 3 SBs help him a lot. Looks like his overall tackles hurt him the most and he will need to keep the sacks and SBs coming to make up for that!

I agree that if being selected into the Hall of Fame is important to him than he needs to ask himself how much monetary wise is the HOF to him? I'm sure a LOT of retired boarder line HOF guys would pay a lot to make it in.

$32M and much lower odds of making the Hall
VS
$28M and much higher odds of making the Hall

At 75 career sacks, he's almost certainly going to hit 100 over the next 3 seasons. A 3-time champion (the lone throughput of the 2020s dynastic Chiefs) with 100 sacks from the interior line who's been very media friendly his entire career? That will sail into the HoF.

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by O.city

But you're not gonna win one every year.

You have a chance to do something that's never been done. Not in the history of the league.

Go do that.

Say you play it safe, reload and end up winning a couple more down the line. Great. No one will remember that.

You win 3? Yeah.

Winning a Super Bowl takes a lot of luck. Especially in the injury department.

We are already a dynasty. We are going to be remembered. I would take Mahomes winning 8 Super Bowls over a 3 peat.

[TheGuardian]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Shooting themselves in the head was hyperbole. If you believe players don't suffer from CTE, advanced/earlier arthritis, mental health issues due to the nature of their jobs than I don't know what to tell you But there's a boatload of evidence out there if you want to google. All or most of which could have a detrimental affect on both future earnings potential or cost of living.



I stated, quite clearly, I DON'T KNOW YOUR SAMPLE SIZE. You've apparently talked to 60 former players...congrats! That probably 0.01% of retired players in the Super Bowl era. Don't think that hits like you thought it did.



If your point is that it's possible to live on $5M for the rest of your life, then ok I guess. A lot of people could make that work. Does that mean these guys shouldn't try to maximize their earnings? Help their extended family and set up their kids? Live with luxuries and not want to worry about ever working again? They're the absolute best in the world at a job that maybe 1 in a million is talented enough to have. And here you are bitching that they shouldn't reap the benefit or try to leverage their talent and hard work into as much of a reward as they possibly can in the small timeframe that window is open. All while crossing their fingers they don't get an injury that knocks them out of the league 5 years earlier than they were hoping.



Again...no idea what you do. Don't give a shit. Hopefully its not in finance. High five for making so much money though. That's really cool and helped your argument.

You're arguing to argue and missed every point I've made.

I've been working with former NFL players for some time.
Most of them still train hard and have no debilitating injuries (this doesn't mean some don't, so don't make a strawman argument)
My sample size is large enough over a decade that I do know what I'm talking about

I am all for players getting their money, but the idea that it's their one big payout is ridiculous. Once a guy gets into the NFL he has every opportunity to do something with that to capitalize on it either during his time as an active player, or post career.

No one NEEDS 50+ million to live off of. And the argument that they have to support multiple generations is absurd when no one else does that or is responsible for the next generation of family

I am VERY AWARE of CTE and worked with a large company for years looking at various nutritional and supplemental approaches to help reduce CTE conditions.

If guys want to chase a bag I support it. I don't support the silly arguments as to why they should.

[DRM08]

Originally Posted by Balto

I'm not as sure as you.

Pro-Football-reference has a nice chart of HOF odds. Jones now sits at 57.15 while the average HOF DT gets 102 total points. They factor in everything and atm the players above him that are under the 102 are guys like Suh(84.58), Fletcher Cox(78.38), Geno Atkins(76.33), Haloti Ngata(64.53), Heyward(62.95), Wilfork(60.35) and a few others.

Could and should all those guys get in? Maybe

Could Jones keep playing for several years to add on to his stats/career numbers? Sure

The problem is his stats are not really that mind blowing and those now 3 SBs help him a lot. Looks like his overall tackles hurt him the most and he will need to keep the sacks and SBs coming to make up for that!

I agree that if being selected into the Hall of Fame is important to him than he needs to ask himself how much monetary wise is the HOF to him? I'm sure a LOT of retired boarder line HOF guys would pay a lot to make it in.

$32M and much lower odds of making the Hall
VS
$28M and much higher odds of making the Hall

Hall of Fame monitor seems pretty flawed in my view. Mahomes was listed at 93 at the end of the regular season. They only increased it to 95 after leading the team on a legendary run to win a 3rd championship. He is still listed below the stat padding chokers Matt Ryan and Phil Rivers. The list does not pass the smell test.