Chiefs’ Chris Jones seems primed to play Sunday (but he hasn’t played since Super Bowl)
Hit the ground running?
That’s probably too much to ask of Chris Jones, who is back at practice this week after ending his holdout for a new contract.
But get on the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday? Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo believes Jones can — and he also believes that, if Jones indeed plays, he can make an impact.
After all, Jones recorded a career high-matching 15 1/2 sacks last season and made the All-Pro team for the first time in his seven seasons. Teammates and coaches alike are excited about his return.
“Chris has a lot of energy, he’s well-rested, he wanted to play every play,” Spagnuolo said after watching Jones during Wednesday’s practice. “We had to tone it down on him. He looked pretty good.”
Spagnuolo said he wouldn’t guess at a snap-count number for Jones, whose next play will be his first since helping the the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in February.
“We all know he hasn’t had a lot of work up to this point and (we) try to be smart about it,” Spagnulo said. “We’ll get through today and tomorrow and see where he is.
“I’ll be curious to talk to him about his condition. That’s the biggest thing. What we want to do as best we can is not put him in a situation where he gets hurt.”
When asked about his conditioning and whether he’ll see action this weekend, Jones, who is listed at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, played it coy.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll have to see.”
But Spagnuolo said he was confident Jones would be ready if called upon.
“We were saying this when he wasn’t here, the one thing we knew is he’d be in shape,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s not a big, fat guy. He’s the real deal. ... It looks like he’s in good shape.”
Jones missed organized team activities, training camp, the preseason and the Chiefs’ season opener while holding out for a new contract. He attended the Chiefs’ game last week when they lost to the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football at GEHA Field at Arrowhead.
The Chiefs’ defense — without Jones — played well in a 21-20 loss, allowing two touchdown drives. Detroit also scored on an interception return.
The Chiefs got a sack from Mike Danna and four quarterback pressures, including two from first-round draft selection Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Lee’s Summit native who starred at Kansas State..
“I was proud overall,” Spagnuolo said. “It was a group effort. As a unit, we talked about that. We knew we had to click on all cylinders.”
That task will be made easier by having a four-time Pro Bowler (Jones), as well as a 2022 All-Pro safety (Justin Reid), back in action.
“Chris is a special talent in this league,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “There will be some play-calls to highlight his ability to get in the backfield and get some sacks and make some (tackles for loss).”
This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 2:21 PM.