Chris Jones’ comments on holdout make one wonder how his Chiefs teammates feel about it
After weeks of limiting commentary on his holdout status to cryptic social media posts, Chiefs star defender Chris Jones at last spoke with the media on Wednesday — a day before he’ll be conspicuous by his absence on the field when the defending Super Bowl champions play host to the Detroit Lions in the NFL opener.
But while his appearance boosted a great cause, visiting with the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City that serves families of sick children, it was hard to see how he helped his own cause.
While I appreciated that Jones took questions for several minutes, it was no easier afterward to relate to what informs the stance that I believe increasingly is going against his own self-interests.
That includes in the fickle court of public opinion, to which he referred with a crass term — albeit smiling — for something everybody has “and they all stink, right?”
“You can’t make everybody happy, unfortunately,” he added. “As much as you try to do it — as much as you try to appease people — you’re not going to make everyone happy, unfortunately. I’m sorry. And I’m just asking for a raise.”
He referred to asking for a raise more than once, insinuating that it’s what anyone might seek. Trouble is, that sort of raise is unfathomable for most people.
And it rings hollow when you’re under contract for $19.5 million this season … and had been offered a raise that covers two additional seasons for $54.5 million, per reports.
Which leads to what puzzles me that Jones doesn’t seem to be considering — and the unspoken consequence that logically figures to loom over all this:
Just how is this going over in a room of players dedicated to repeating and establishing a dynasty, a pursuit Jones was the first to tout after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. He also began proclaiming that he wanted to be a Chief for life
How is it playing in a room where superstars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are cognizant of the salary cap and make less money than they could command, in great part to give the Chiefs financial flexibility to do things like … get Jones paid?
Look, Jones and his representatives should be negotiating to get all they can get. No teammate would begrudge him that aspect of this, and no one has publicly criticized Jones for holding out.
And, yes, he theoretically has more leverage this way. Or so his camp seems to think.
But if he wanted to conjure the idea of being part of something bigger than himself that could be substantial to his own legacy, a prevailing notion with Mahomes and Kelce, Jones could be with the team while negotiations continue.
That might come with its own risks, yes. But in a season that is one way or another pivotal to the very earnings future he is fighting for, sitting out is no golden ticket for the 29-year-old Jones.
When I asked him why he couldn’t be with the team while negotiating, Jones said, “I don’t want to be a distraction. I could have done a ‘hold-in,’ but that’s even more of a distraction. I’d be there holding in, while all the guys are there, you know what I mean? Just a bigger distraction.”
That may or may not reflect the strategy of his agents.
But it seems an odd message to teammates, not to mention his coaches, who would welcome that very distraction.
When he was asked if he had any concerns he was letting teammates down, Jones projected incredulousness.
“How? That’s what I’ve got to ask. How have I let them down?” he said. “It’s just like, when you’re at a job, and you ask for an extension, right?
“You ask for a raise, right? You’re not letting anyone down. Who are you letting down for asking your boss for a raise, right? When you take the personal feelings out of it, you kind of can get it. All I’m doing is asking for a raise.”
Even for a fan base that tends to want to love him, such sentiments have to be exasperating with the Chiefs on the verge of some special history in which Jones could play an essential role.
It’s an opportunity so special that you’d think he’d want to be part of it — both now and going forward.
How fans see it isn’t relevant to negotiations, of course, and it’s obviously subject to change the moment Jones rejoins the team.
It’s only a matter of conjecture how the length of his holdout will affect his stature among his teammates. But it seems something Jones ought not to take for granted when he could be there with them while he seeks his raise ... instead of on the outside looking in, by his own choice.