ST. JOSEPH, Mo. ā The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs held their first full-squad workout of training camp Sunday under a bright sunny sky and without All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Coach Andy Reid says heās not worried yet about the absence of his star lineman, who has yet to report for camp.
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āWeāll just see how things go here down the road,ā Reid said following Sundayās practice. āThere had been communication, weāll see where it goes from here and weāll take it. If youāre not here, we just keep moving, and thatās how we roll. We donāt worry a lot about that. We let it take care of itself and we got great people working on that.ā
Jones has yet to report to camp as he seeks a new contract. The 29-year-old is due to make $19.5 million in base salary this season and carries a salary cap hit of almost $28.3 million.
The Chiefs are also motivated to renegotiate his contract. The NFL Players Association public salary cap report Sunday showed the club with just more than $1 million in available cap space.
General manager Brett Veach prefers maintaining a balance of 5 to 10 million in cap space during this time of the year. Hashing out a new long-term extension with Jones would keep him in Kansas City beyond the 2023 season while providing the club with much-needed salary cap relief.
Jones is seeking a new deal that would make him the second-highest-paid player in the league at his position.
Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams currently leads defensive tackles with an annual average salary of $31.67 million. Thereās a big gap, however, between Donald and the No. 2 highest-paid tackle, Quinnen Williams. The New York Jets signed Williams to an extension earlier this month averaging $24 million per year.
That leaves a sizable target zone in which a new extension for Jones might fit. His absence from camp suggests the two sides remain far apart in negotiations, and Reid hinted at a change in tone when asked about his communication with the star defensive tackle.
āItās been good up to just a bit ago,ā Reid said. āTheyāre doing their thing, weāre doing our thing. And weāll just see where it goes from there.ā
While the Chiefs have handed out large contracts to superstars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Mahomes is currently the seventh-best-paid quarterback at $45 million per year and Kelce ranks No. 3 among tight ends at $14.3 million per season.
Club chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said Sunday heās not focused on where players rank in salary. He also trusts Veach to make the right decision.
āWe really donāt think about it in the context of whoās the highest-paid player in the league, we think about in the context of the Kansas City Chiefs, and whatās best for the organization, not only this year but as we go forward,ā Hunt said.
āOne of the challenges in the National Football League is the salary cap. And it makes it tough to keep a championship team together. Thatās something that Brett and his staff have really focused on. I think theyāve done a fantastic job.ā
Daniel Wise, who entered the NFL from Kansas as an undrafted free agent in 2019, stepped into Jonesā place Sunday with the teamās starting defense. Wise has never had a sack in 17 games in the NFL. Jones, meanwhile, has 65 sacks since 2016, trailing only Donald (83) among defensive tackles during that time.
Safety Justin Reid said heās excited to see young players such as Wise get an opportunity to showcase their skills. The absence of Jones isnāt a distraction, he added.
āHeās a professional, let him do his thing,ā Reid said. āIām focused on the guys here taking care of the (defensive back) room making sure that our young guys are ready to play.ā
Middle linebacker Nick Bolton said the leadership of Jones is one thing the team will miss in his absence during camp.
ā(Itās) most definitely one of the things I know he brings to the table,ā Bolton said. āBut again, at the same time, weāre working with the guys we got here, weāre going to come in every single day, put our best efforts forward. And when it gets here, weāll make sure everybodyās up to speed and competing with him.ā
NOTES: Wide receiver Kadarius Toney tweaked his knee returning a punt during warmups and was held out of the remainder of practice as a precaution. Rookie offensive tackle Wanya Morris suffered a hamstring strain Friday during the teamās rookie camp and did not practice Sunday. ... Starting running back Isiah Pacheco wore a yellow non-contact jersey Sunday as he returns from offseason surgeries on his shoulder and hand. He did not take part in the 11-on-11 scrimmage Sunday. āWeāll just see where heās at,ā Reid said. āAs he goes, heās got that, you got to kind of watch it, because heās got that personality, where heās 100 miles an hour on every play, thatās the reason we put the yellow jersey on him. So he doesnāt do anything crazy to himself, but yet, he wants to stay in football shape, especially for that position, that running back position."
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