Travis Kelce doesn’t understand what Chris Jones is doing.
And now Kelce, the Chiefs’ superstar tight end, is starting to get seriously worried.
Jones, a four-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman who would be entering his eighth season with the Chiefs, is still holding out as he seeks a new contract with the start of the regular season less than a week away.
He was absent the entirety of training camp, racking up a plethora of fines.
With the regular season just days away, Jones’ holdout has clouded over the defending Super Bowl champions.
“Chris, can you please come back? You’re really scaring me,” Kelce said on the “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason, who plays for the Eagles. “I don’t get it. You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it.
“I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you. We need you bad.”
Likely the Chiefs’ best defensive player, and one of the best defensive players in the NFL, Jones is due to earn $19.5 million this season before he’d be set to become a free agent next offseason.
There are seven defensive tackles due to make more this year than Jones’ $19.5 million, per Spotrac.
Jones is not demanding more money than Aaron Donald ($30 million) or Quinnen Williams ($26 million), the top two highest-paid players at the position, according to Pro Football Talk, and is willing to accept a salary in between those two.
Jones has been pivotal to the Chiefs’ dynasty, and it came to the forefront this past season.
He recorded 15.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 29 quarterback hits in the regular season before adding two sacks, three tackles for loss and six quarterback hits in the playoffs.
Over the last five years, the Chiefs’ defense had an NFL-best 35 percent quarterback pressure rate with Jones on the field, according to ESPN Next Gen Stats.
That mark dropped all the way down to 27 percent — 28th in the league — without Jones on the field.
“He’s the best defensive player in the league right now,” Kelce said. “He’s deserving of all the money in the world. Chris, I love you, please come back. Now.”