Another cryptic Chris Jones tweet has Chiefs preparing for life without him

The Kansas City Chiefs have one more preseason game remaining, and then their Super Bowl title defense tour officially begins. On Sept. 7, the Chiefs officially open up the 2023 season when they host the Detroit Lions. As that date approaches ever closer, there is one player who still hasn't reported to the team in training camp, and that's star defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Numerous defensive tackles received contract extensions this offseason, with Jeffery Simmons, Dexter Lawrence, Daron Payne, and Quinnen Williams all receiving $90 million-plus contract extensions from their respective teams. While Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has stressed patience and confidence that a deal would get done, Jones has yet to show up for training camp.

Throughout his holdout, Jones has sent out cryptic messages on Twitter that have worried Chiefs fans about his status with the team. On Tuesday, Jones sent out another one, this time with an image of a chalkboard that reads, "If it's out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind also."

Chris Jones hints at how long he could hold out from the Chiefs

This wasn't the only tweet that Jones sent out on Tuesday. The All-Pro defensive tackle also replied to some Twitter users' questions. One in particular asked when Jones would consider coming back to the team. The defensive tackle responded with "Week 8."

Another account responded to Jones' "Week 8" message and said, "That'd be a hefty tab." Jones responded with, "I can afford it."

When speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said that while he knows Jones is keeping himself in shape for the upcoming season, it is different than getting into football shape in training camp.

“I don’t think Chris is any different than any other player that misses the entire camp and has to play,” said Spagnuolo, h/t Arrowhead Pride. “It’s tough. You certainly can’t expect that particular person, as good as Chris is, to play every down, and then you worry about injuries, the body ready. Now Chris always keeps himself in good shape. But football shape’s different, so hopefully we can get him back and then when that happens, we’ll just have to figure out how to go about it.”

Jones is in the final year of his four-year, $80 million contract, and he will hit free agency at the end of this upcoming season. Last year, Jones finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting after recording 44 combined tackles (30 solo, 14 assisted), 29 quarterback hits, 15.5 sacks, four passes defended, and two forced fumbles.

With a new set of tweets, Chiefs fans are no doubt panicking about Jones' status with the team.