Chiefs GM Brett Veach makes stance on trading Chris Jones crystal clear
Chiefs GM Brett Veach is not even thinking of handling the Chris Jones contract situation the way the team dealt with Tyreek Hill.
The Chiefs got away with a bold move last year when they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins. Most teams would have offered a star like Hill a massive contract to stay put. Instead, Kansas City cut bait and went on to win a Super Bowl without him.
So naturally, there has been speculation about whether the Chiefs would be willing to trade star defensive tackle Chris Jones rather than hand him the new deal he’s holding out for.
General manager Brett Veach poured cold water on that idea on Monday by telling the Kansas City Star that team has “no intentions of making a trade.”
Brett Veach: Chiefs aren’t looking to trade Chris Jones
“You have to keep in mind that when we did make that move with Tyreek, one of the determining factors was because there was an expected Chris Jones deal,” Veach said. “And so, to do Tyreek, there was a concern of, ‘Would we be able to do Chris?’”
Well, the Chiefs are now on the clock with Jones but they haven’t been able to work out a deal to satisfy the player. He is currently incurring a fine of $50,000 per day of training camp he misses.
Jones is going to command a contract pushing $100 million. Quinnen Williams just signed a four-year deal with the Jets worth $96 million, the biggest contract at the position to date in terms of total money. Aaron Donald remains highest paid defensive tackle in terms of yearly averaged with his three-year, $95-million deal with the Rams paying him an average of $31 million a year.
The market has been set. The tricky part is figuring out where Jones’ deal will sit relative to Williams’ $24 million per year and Donald’s $31 million.