"Don't see the Chiefs going back to Super Bowl" - LeSean McCoy warns Patrick Mahomes' team on repercussions of Chris Jones holdout
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have a 6-foot-6, 310-lb problem three days before they begin their Super Bowl title defense, and its name is Chris Jones.
Ever since he came off the board as the No. 37 pick in 2016, Jones has been the Chiefs' main defensive weapon, terrorizing opposing offenses and stopping major plays before they happen.
He has also lately been wanting a new big-money contract that the likes of Dexter Lawrence and Quinnen Williams received during the offseason.
So he has held out, forcing the team to move him to the reserve list, and according to a former teammate, this will not end well.
LeSean McCoy: Kansas City Chiefs need Chris Jones if they want another Super Bowl
Former running back LeSean McCoy knows the Kansas City Chiefs well. He won Super Bowl LIV with them in 2019-20, and even in a limited playing capacity, he got to see their inner workings.
Based on that experience, he figured out that Chris Jones was as important an ingredient to their success as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
He said on Monday's episode of "SPEAK":
"I've been over there and just how important that Patrick Mahomes is to the teams at offense, Travis Kelce - Chris Jones is just as important. When I need a sack or need to tackle for loss, when I need a big play on defense, it's Chris Jones all the way."
But with Jones seemingly gone for the season, McCoy believes the Chiefs will run out of luck:
"When I look at the Chiefs, they are coached very, very well, and they have a quarterback that is so special. But without Chris Jones, the Chiefs are not the Chiefs. Chris Jones is a special player...
"And if they don't get Chris Jones this money and this contract, [if] he doesn't play, I don't see the Chiefs going back to the Super Bowl. He's that important."
The latest on Chris Jones' holdout
It is no secret that heading into the final year of his contract, Chris Jones wants an extension. But what is not known is exactly how much he had been seeking.
On Saturday, Mike Florio reported that the Chiefs had offered their star defensive tackle a three-year, $74-million contract that would replace the $19.5-million final year of his old one. Jones, however, wants at least $84 million over the same period.
When speaking about the holdout, general manager Brett Veach told the Kansas City Star:
"He's a great player, and he wants a big contract. He deserves a big contract, and I don't think there's any surprises in that regard. But there's just some hurdles we have to work through in regards to how we can keep this thing going for the short and long term.
"But we've never wavered on, 'This is a guy that we want to exhaust all of our efforts to get done,' because that's how much we think of him."
However, there seems to be some good news. Earlier today, Jones posted this cryptic tweet amidst his holdout:
Now, this does not necessarily mean that he and the front office have finally reached a compromise, but either way, the Chiefs will be hard-pressed to extend their defensive captain.