Regardless of his squad having won the biggest of big games, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach doesn't have the luxury of basking in the offseason afterglow of a Super Bowl championship.
Fresh off the 2023 NFL Draft, Veach's checklist has plenty of to-dos and one high atop the agenda is working out a new deal with defensive lineman extraordinaire Chris Jones.
"Well, until you get a deal done, I don't know in this league if you're ever confident with anything," Veach said Monday, via team transcript, when asked if he was confident a deal with Jones would be done prior to training camp. "But, I think that's on the list of things to do and you know we get into the offseason and you know you're into combine meetings and then you're into free agency and then you're into the draft and then after the draft let the dust settle and start working on the future and things we can get accomplished in the spring. We'll spend time and obviously we have a great relationship with Chris and his staff. So, we'll get to work and see what we can do."
Having inked a four-year, $85 million pact ahead of the 2020 season, Jones is approaching the final year of his current deal. The best defensive player on two Chiefs Super Bowl-winning teams, Jones' current deal still stands at seventh in total value and seventh in average annual value ($20 million), so his next contract is going to be a massive one, as well.
The 28-year-old is coming off his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl campaign and earned his first All-Pro nod after he matched a career-high 15.5 sacks. Per PFF, Jones was the best interior defender in the NFL, drawing a 92.3 overall grade as another lofty bullet point on his bio when it comes to negotiations.
Jones has made it known he wants to spend his career in Kansas City and locking him up beyond 2023 should be the priority of the spring and early summer for Veach and Co.
"Those things usually take a little bit of time here, so we have a little bit of a runway now until the start of training camp," said Veach, whose Chiefs kick off camp on July 27, "to hopefully get something done."
