The Kansas City Chiefs are set to open their season on Thursday Night Football against the Detroit Lions.
One player it looks like they will be without is star defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Jones has held out all of training camp and now he plans to carry that into the regular season.
The Chiefs are expecting to be without Jones for Week 1 and maybe even the first month of the year.
But as Jones continues to miss practices and games he will be fined for his absence.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Chris Jones and the team are not close to a deal.
#Chiefs star DT Chris Jones, who is still holding out, isn’t present and won’t be at today’s practice — considered a Wednesday practice of game week — with the two sides not close on a deal, sources say.
KC opens the season Thursday against the #Lions.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 3, 2023
According to Dov Kleiman, Jones has already racked up $2 million in fines and will get $1.083 million more for each game he misses.
Update: #Chiefs DT Chris Jones’s holdout remains and he’s missing team practice on Sunday, per @RapSheet
Jones, the most important player on KC’s defense has racked up about $2 million in fines already and is risking missing additional 1.083 million for each game missed, per… https://t.co/ibBzUT0kx2 pic.twitter.com/Y0SVGtxD8q
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 3, 2023
It seems as if Jones does not care about the fines he is receiving.
All he wants is to be paid what he deserves.
The fact that he is taking this holdout into the regular season just goes to show how serious he is.
Jones is coming off the best season of his career.
He recorded 15.5 sacks and was named first-team All-Pro.
He also finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year award voting.
Jones is the most important player on the Chiefs’ defense and not having Jones for Week 1 will cause problems for the Chiefs.
It will be interesting to see how they adjust to not having Jones.
If the Chiefs happen to get gashed by the Lions, you can bet they will increase their offer to Jones.
