The Kansas City Chiefs are running out of time to extend superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones ahead of NFL free agency.

The legal tampering period begins on March 11 — which is just two days from the time this article was written — and players can finalize contracts with new teams when the league year begins on March 13. Needless to say, this one could come down to the wire, and Jones appears to be getting impatient with the Kansas City front office.

On March 9, Jones posted one emoji on X, the half-full hourglass (⏳).

As always, Jones’ message was deliberately cryptic and could be interpreted in several ways.

Clock’s ticking. Time is running out. The wait is almost over. There’s still plenty of time. The countdown to free agency has begun. And so on.

This post came two days after Jones said: “KC……” With the photo of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on top of him during the 2024 Super Bowl celebration.

The Chiefs are still considered favorites to re-sign Jones, but until a deal is inked, nothing is set in stone. Kansas City chose to use the franchise tag on cornerback L’Jarius Sneed instead of the game-wrecking D-lineman, opening him up to the possibility of the open market.

Having said that, by shopping Sneed via trade, the Chiefs have practically declared their intentions to extend Jones. The only question that remains is will both sides agree on terms? And will said agreement occur before other franchises can get involved?

Chiefs HC Andy Reid Comments on Chris Jones’ KC Post
In case you missed it, Coach Reid joined “The Rich Eisen Show” on March 7, just after Jones sent out his first message to fans.

“Well, that could be taken a couple of different ways with me on top of him,” the long-time NFL head coach joked in reaction to the post, admitting that he does “like the dot-dots” that came after “KC.”

When Eisen pushed on if he thinks Jones is saying there’s still “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 Chiefs HC noted. “I’ve been doing all these media things so, maybe something’s going better than I think it is.”

With that, the conversation was over.

Chiefs, NFL Fans React to Latest Chris Jones Post
Chiefs Kingdom, as well as the rest of the NFL community, attempted to decipher Jones’ latest message on X.

Pro Football Network responded with a GIF of their own, relating it to time.

“Stay in KC Stone Cold,” one Chiefs fan pleaded. While a Cincinnati Bengals supporter suggested: “Go ahead come to cincy. Get with Trey [Hendrickson] and Sam [Hubbard]. Let’s wreck.”

“Do you want another vacation house or to make NFL history?” Another user asked.

And a fifth replied: “What does this mean? Times running out? There is plenty of time? Or are you clowning us? 🥹😢🤨”

Finally, one KC fan didn’t appear worried whatsoever. “Nobody does it better on X than @StoneColdJones getting #ChiefsKingdom all fired up!” He wrote. “I’ll see you on Opening Day at Arrowhead, Chris!!!”

We’ll continue to monitor Jones’ contract negotiations as NFL free agency approaches.