Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones isn’t pushing for a new contract this offseason, so there’s no reason to think that he’ll be missing when the team reports to training camp this summer.
Jones would like to borrow something from last year’s experience, however. Jones did not take part in training camp last summer and said he’s had conversations with head coach Andy Reid about dialing back his training camp participation in order to limit wear and tear on his body as he heads into his ninth NFL season.
“Listen man, I’ve already been talking to Andy about, ‘Let me skip out on training camp. I’m a little older, right?’” Jones said, via Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star. “I can feel it. I can feel when we have a day on training camp. Give me like two days off and one day on then, and we maybe can work something out, you know?”
Jones remained out of action through the first game of the regular season before returning on a revised deal for the 2023 campaign. Jones recorded 10.5 sacks on his way to an All-Pro nod and a second straight Super Bowl title, so the time off didn’t seem to hurt his readiness for action and it didn’t stop the Chiefs from signing him to a long-term deal earlier this year.
While that history might suggest the Chiefs would be open to limiting Jones’s on-field time, Jones said Reid “just looked at me” in response so we’ll have to wait a while to see how the team decides to handle things.