LAS VEGAS — Chris Jones’ season began in a suite.
It is ending at the Super Bowl.
The question is whether this will be his final game as a Chief.
The defensive tackle watched Kansas City’s Week 1 loss to the Lions in a suite because he was still engaged in a contract standoff with the team.
Jones wanted a new long-term deal. The Chiefs did not give him one.
They ended up agreeing on a one-year, incentive-heavy deal for him to play this season. But that season ends on Sunday, win or lose.
If Jones becomes a free agent in March, he will be the No. 1 free agent in football.
Jones is trying to keep his focus Super Bowl 2024 on Sunday right now, but he acknowledged Wednesday this could be it for him in a Chiefs uniform.
“I know there’s a possibility this could be my last game with the Chiefs. You just take it all in,” Jones said. “I’ll let the offseason do its thing. I don’t really focus on it. I’m not too worried about it. After everything is settled and the dust clears, we’ll see where we’re at.”
There should be a robust market for Jones if the Chiefs do not re-sign him. He turns 30 in July but has shown no signs of a drop-off.
Jones ended his 51-day holdout in time to join the Chiefs for their Week 2 game against the Jaguars.
He had another All-Pro season, his second straight.
He had 10.5 sacks, which ranked second among interior defensive linemen and had 75 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
Jones is in line for a contract that would pay him more than $30 million a season, joining Nick Bosa and Aaron Donald as the only non-quarterbacks in that range.
“Life is good,” Jones said Wednesday when asked about making it back to the Super Bowl after his contract dispute.
Unlike their previous trips to the Super Bowl, this Chiefs team has leaned on its defense to carry it at times, such as the AFC Championship game in Baltimore. The defense may have to lead the way again against an explosive 49ers offense, and Jones will surely be in the middle of the action.
“There’s nothing Chris can’t do on the field,” Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay said. “He can play the run well. Me and Nick [Bolton] talk about it all the time: Chris could make any play on the field. He’s that dominant, like Aaron Donald-type dominant. I think he’s better. He’s a game-changer. When he’s out there, you notice.”
The Chiefs surely would love to keep Jones, but it is hard to pay everyone. That led to them trading Tyreek Hill in 2022. It also led to Jones’ contract standoff in the offseason.
You wonder if anything has changed since August in the Chiefs’ willingness to pay Jones.
They could franchise tag him for $32 million, but it will be tough for them to eat all of that money on the salary cap.
A tag-and-trade is also an option, to recoup something more than a compensatory pick should they lose Jones in free agency.
For the moment, Jones is not worrying about what comes next or his crazy 2023 season. He is trying to earn his third Super Bowl ring.
“I’m living in the moment and enjoying the moments as they come,” he said. “Maybe after the season ends and we get a victory, I’ll reflect then. Right now, there’s no time to reflect. It’s week-to-week, and every week you have a new game to prepare for. You don’t really get time to sit back and take it all in.”