NFL Rumors: Chris Jones-Chiefs update, Raiders top QB priority, Broncos QB letdown

Chris Jones timeline on new contract with Chiefs

Chris Jones made it clear during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration that he wants to stay in Kansas City. That's easy to say when the drinks have been flowing, but harder to do when faced with the realities of the salary cap.

No doubt, the Chiefs would love to keep Jones in a perfect world. He is a game-changing defensive pass-rushing force, and it's easy to imagine a world in which the Chiefs don't win their third Super Bowl in the Chiefs era this year without Jones. Throughout the year as the Chiefs struggled to figure things out on offense, Jones and the defense were rock solid once he got back on the field after an early-season holdout.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter Sunday that the two sides (Chiefs and Jones's representation) expect to meet at the end of the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The combine ends March 4, so expect news on how talks have progressed to potentially come out early next month.

It's unclear how quickly this may tie up for the Chiefs. Notably, last year's discussions kept Jones out of training camp and resulted in him missing the first regular season game. Off a Super Bowl win and clearly motivated to get back, will he be willing to concede on some of his demands? Fowler points out that Jones is no less in demand now than he was last year, saying, "He's only 29 years old still, so somebody would gladly pay him $25-$30 million a year, some absurd number" (H/T BR).

On the Chiefs side, they got great news recently that could motivate them to pay up faster: The salary cap is ballooning by the most it ever has, up to $255.4 million. They emerge as one of the main winners of that inflation.

Free agency starts March 13. It seems like the Chiefs will have a 10-day or so head start on getting Jones back to KC.