Travis Kelce Begs Chris Jones To End Contract Holdout

Travis Kelce has made an impassioned plea to his teammate Chris Jones as Jones continues his contract holdout less than a week before the Chiefs open the 2023 NFL season against the Lions. "Chris, can you please come back? You're really scaring me, man. I don't get it. You must know something that I don't know because I just don't get it. I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you. We need you bad, and I don't know what the situation is," Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on the podcast he hosts with his brother Jason. "He's just the best defensive player in the league right now. He's deserving of all the money in the world. Chris, I love you. Please come back now," he added.

Jones has not been with the team since the start of training camp due to a contract holdout. Jones, who had 44 tackles and 15.5 sacks in his 2022 campaign, has one year left on his current deal. According to prior reports, Jones is seeking a four-year, $80 million deal that the Chiefs are not currently interested in giving him. Furthermore, the Chiefs traded for Neil Farrell of the Raiders to fill the defensive vacancy left by Jones. Farrell had 12 tackles in nine games as a rookie in 2022.

Chiefs Refuse To Budge On Jones Stance

Despite Kelce's plea, it appears that the Chiefs are planning to wait out Jones. "Chris has chosen to go this route," head coach Andy Reid. "Some other guys have chosen to get their deals done and come in and play. I'm not here to criticize one way or the other. We've had a lot of success with the guys that we have and we go with it. Other than that, I take the distractions and throw them out the door and let's get on with what's real."

He continued. "Chris is a great player," Reid said. "We've got other good players. They'll have to step their game up to fill the role. … Everybody just has to play their best, and then you work through it. But to think that you're gonna fill in for Chris, that's not what you're doing."

[via]