Chiefs star Chris Jones enters minicamp motivated by first missed postseason
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chris Jones entered mandatory minicamp motivated after Kansas City missed the playoffs.
- After 2025, the Chiefs gutted their defense, losing veterans and adding draft picks.
- Jones said increasing sacks must be a priority for the upcoming season.
It took 10 years in the league for Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones to experience something no NFL player wants to go through.
Missing the playoffs.
Drafted by the Chiefs in 2016, Jones — who will be 32 years old when next season begins — had seen postseason football nine straight times before the team bottomed out in 2025, going 6-11 and packing up early.
It is something he hopes to never see again.
“I think it bothered everyone up here,” Jones said after Day 2 of mandatory minicamp Wednesday. “I don’t think we’re used to finishing the season that early. It was a first for me — not making the playoffs. AFC West, we didn’t win it. It’s a lot of motivational points that we can use for fuel going into training camp this year.”
While Jones is entering his 11th season in the league, he has also played an additional 22 playoff games. The silver lining of finally missing the playoffs has been an extended break, something he feels has energized him and the team.
During the extended break, the defense changed drastically.
In the defensive line room, Mike Danna, Derrick Nnadi, Charles Omenihu and Mike Pennel moved on. Elsewhere, Leo Chenal, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson all found new homes.
With such a vast exodus of players, Kansas City’s front office had to go defense-first this offseason, adding defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga in free agency and selecting cornerback Mansoor Delane and defensive tackle Peter Woods in the first round.
“He’s a big guy,” Jones said of Woods. “He’s strong. He’s a young bull, man — got so much potential, his skill set is still improving. It’s good to get that type of talent in the building. We can utilize him in a lot of ways. He plays nose, also played 3-tech, so that versatility we definitely can utilize in the schematics that we run with (Steve Spagnuolo’s) defense.”
New faces joining Delane in the defensive backfield include fourth-round cornerback Jadon Canady and veteran cornerback Kader Kohou. But neither can say they won a championship — or championships — with Jones.
That’s unlike L’Jarius Sneed, who won back-to-back Super Bowl titles with Jones in 2022 and 2023. The Chiefs brought Sneed back this week.
“I love that we brought Sneed back,” Jones said. “I hate that he left and got paid, but that’s the name of the game. He got his rewards for what he did, but I’m glad to have him back in the building. The physicality that he brings to the team — playing nickel, playing outside corner — I think he’s another guy that we can utilize in so many different areas on this defense, and I think he’s going to help us tremendously with our DBs.”
Still, Jones knows it all starts up front, and as a leader along the defensive line, he understands the production has to be better in 2026 than it was in 2025.
In 2023, Kansas City finished second in the league with 57 sacks. That team total dipped to 39 in 2024 and 35 in 2025.
“We’ve got to get more sacks,” he said. “Last year, we (finished) at the bottom (in) sacks, and I think it affected the defense tremendously. And if we want this defense to be a success — (under defensive line coach) Joe Cullen — I gotta get more sacks.”
Jones, who averages 9.6 sacks per year over his career, had just one sack through the first five games last year. He had six over his final 11.
He expects this season to be different.
“Last year, we didn’t have the year we wanted as a team, and especially individually, as me,” he said. “We can use that as motivation. We can use it as something we can linger on to and build off of in training camp.
“This year I plan to start high and go higher — so definitely that, going into training camp, we can use it as some fuel.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 4:43 PM.
