Patrick Mahomes never wants to see Chris Jones leave the Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes is all-aboard the Chris Jones is only going to play for the Kansas City Chiefs for life train.

While Patrick Mahomes is the unquestioned face of the Kansas City Chiefs offense, Chris Jones has emerged as the undisputed leader of the team’s defense.

As with Mahomes, Jones has only played for the Chiefs since turning pro. Though not as widely celebrated as the Kansas City signal-caller (who is?), Jones has a great opportunity to play for one team and one team only in the NFL. In a day and age where players rarely spend their entire professional careers with one team, Mahomes is hoping Jones will be a Chief for life like he will be.

Here is Mahomes reacting Twitter to Jones wanting to be a Chief for life.

https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes/status/1508841058276450305

And here is Jones reacting to Mahomes’ reaction of the tweet in question.

https://twitter.com/StoneColdJones/status/1508841188954148873

Patrick Mahomes wants Chris Jones to be a Kansas City Chief for life, too

Jones is coming off his third-straight Pro Bowl season with the Chiefs. The 2022 NFL season will be his age-28 campaign out of Mississippi State. Though he has plenty of years left in the tank, the shelf life for a defensive lineman is much shorter than that of a star quarterback. While Mahomes could play into his 40s if he takes care of himself, Jones will be lucky to make it to 35.

The question remains if Jones has another seven years or so as an NFL player. More importantly, will those seven seasons by mostly productive ones? If Jones wants to call it a carer well before his 35th birthday, it makes things easier for him to be a Chief for life. Should he want to have tremendous staying power in the hopes of being an all-timer, that is precisely what it will take.

Three more seasons on par with what Jones has accomplished since 2019 probably gets him eventual Canton enshrinement. These next three years or so are so critical, as they will give him a longer runway to keep playing for the Chiefs after he exits his prime. Keep in mind Jones is under contract for the next two seasons and would be hitting NFL free agency once again in 2024.

Look for Jones to play out at least the rest of his 20s as a member of the Chiefs organization.