Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid joined “The Rich Eisen Show” on March 7, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for an update on superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones.
Earlier in the day on March 7, Jones posted the following cryptic message on X: “KC……”
Along with the two-letter sentence was the Super Bowl photo of Reid on top of Jones, but that was it. As usual, Jones caused a stir on social media, leaving Kansas City fans wanting more.
With no news of an extension ahead of the Eisen interview, Reid was asked if he’d seen the post.
“Well, that could be taken a couple of different ways with me on top of him,” the Chiefs HC joked, admitting that he does “like the dot-dots” that came after “KC.”
When Eisen pushed on if he thinks Jones is saying there’s “more to come” for his career in Kansas City, Reid just replied that he’s “hoping” that’s the case. “I can’t give you anything because I don’t have a whole lot,” the coach went on. “I’ve been doing all these media things so, maybe something’s going better than I think it is.”
Andy Reid’s Brief Update on Contract Talks Between Chiefs & Chris Jones
By shopping cornerback L’Jarius Sneed via trade, the Chiefs have made it clear that they intend to re-sign Jones ahead of free agency — compensating him at a rate he deems to be fair.
Having said that, Jones’ cryptic social media posts have been the only news out of either camp as both sides buckle down with just five and a half days remaining to work out a new contract. After that, Kansas City risks losing their defensive team leader to an obscene offer from another NFL suitor.
Reid provided an update on contract talks while speaking with Eisen — although it wasn’t much.
“Probably not a whole lot [to share],” Reid said. “We’d love to have him back. Brett Veach and his gang are working through that. Chris Shea works with our cap and does the contracts. So, they’re all working through this thing.”
The Chiefs HC did voice that Kansas City has “had great communication” with Jones and his representatives. Concluding in typical Andy Reid fashion: “We’ll just see where it goes from here.”
Andy Reid Tells Story Behind Super Bowl Moment With Chris Jones
Back to the photo Jones shared on X — which was captured during the 2024 Super Bowl celebrations — Reid had a one-liner for that special moment too.
“I just wanted to see if he could take the weight,” Big Red said with a smile.
After some laughs, Reid provided some context on the postgame interaction between himself and Jones.
“Well, I’ll tell you the whole story behind that was Chris Jones pushed himself past the point where I think he thought he could push himself,” the coach began, “and I was so proud of him for that.”
“When we went into overtime, he was exhausted,” Reid continued. “He had just worked so hard during the game and had a lot of snaps, but he took himself to the next level. He was on the sideline [before the third down stop], and he was bent over. And I said — ‘Hey, you have a minute and 52 seconds. Let’s go! You can do it for a minute and 52 seconds. You need to get out there.’ And he did, he dashed out there.”
As we know after the fact, Jones ended up retaking the field to pressure San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy into an errant pass that prevented a touchdown.
“[Jones] had a huge third-down play for us,” Reid expressed, finishing the story. “So, I saw him bend over in a catcher’s position in the end zone where I was going to do the media part of it, and so I pushed him over and jumped on his chest. And I didn’t break his shoestrings, which was amazing.”
“Listen, I was so happy for him,” he finally stated. “He’s a guy who has been here a long time. I’m close to the kid. And I was so proud of him for doing that.”
At this point, a Jones-KC reunion still feels likely, but that could change if contract negotiations drag into next week.