Will Chiefs’ Chris Jones be a full-go for the Super Bowl? ‘1,000%,’ he says
Chiefs coach Andy Reid indicated earlier in the week that he felt defensive tackle Chris Jones would be fine for Super Bowl 54.
Days later, Jones declared himself more than ready to resume his full role on defense when the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers with a league championship on the line.
“One-thousand percent, man,” Jones said. “I just truly believe that (head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder) and his staff how they’ve been handling this.
“They’re some of the best in the business. He’s been in the business a long time and whatever Rick tells me to do, I try to do as much to the best of my ability. I completely trust those guys to make sure that they have me ready for game time.”
Jones injured his right calf during practice days before the AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Houston Texans. He attempted to warm up before the game, but couldn’t push off. The Chiefs erred on the side of caution and declared him inactive.
The Pro Bowl defensive tackle returned against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game, but was in a rotational role to start.
As the game progressed, however, the Chiefs felt comfortable to give him more playing time. Jones eventually played on 28 of the team’s 66 defensive snaps and totaled two tackles and a quarterback hit in the 35-24 win.
The extra week in Kansas City before the Chiefs fly to Miami over the weekend gives Jones, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice, more time to get healthier.
“This is great,” Jones said of the lull in action. “I was thinking about this last week. Everybody was like, ‘The bye week is not good.’
“The bye week is great. It’s like Week 20, Week 21 of the season, you know it’s long. So, it’s very, very fortunate we’re able to get this bye week and take advantage of it, rest and get our bodies right and our mental capacity of the game right.”
And at this point, that is what truly matters before the next time the Chiefs take the field with one of their key defensive members ready to roll without limitations.
“I’m feeling better,” Jones said. “Just taking advantage of this week off, getting healthy, getting into the playbook, studying the 49ers.”
