Chris Jones says he's "super pleased" with outcome of holdout
Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is back in the fold after ending his holdout with an agreement on a new one-year deal.
Addressing the media before practice on Wednesday, Jones said he's "super pleased" with how the process turned out.
"I kind of made that decision not to come to camp. I didn't want to be a distraction of holding-in," Jones said in his press conference. "I'm excited to be back. Thankful for the organization, they were able to boost my salary up to make up for the fines and everything — I’m super grateful for that. And we’re focused on winning the next game."
Jones noted that he may have changed some things about his holdout, in part because it cost him practice time with new teammates.
"When you have a lot of new guys, it's just kind of tough to be away — especially in the D-line room, building that chemistry is important to be successful as a group," Jones said. "But, those are decisions you have to live with. I wouldn't probably change it. But I’m grateful for how it turned out. Thankful for the Hunt family and [G.M.] Brett Veach and coach [Andy] Reid working with my team closely to make sure that we ensure that we come up to terms that we both can agree on."
Jones noted that in his negotiations, things never got personal between him and the team — particularly with Veach and Reid.
"I think you as reporters and fans kind of [misconstrue] the contract thing. It’s never personal," Jones said. "I don’t think I’d start hating coach Reid or I'd start disliking Veach. I love Veach. He knows I love him. We had on-and-off conversations throughout it all. Coach Reid, I love him too."
Jones cited the three of them joking about a social media post in a group text as an example of their relationship still being strong despite the holdout.
"I don’t think our relationship was affected any about that," Jones said. "They know how much I love this organization, they know how much I love this team. And I don’t think that affected any part of our relationship."
Reid expressed much of the same sentiment in his own press conference on Wednesday.
"There wasn't any personal thing going on there between us or that," Reid said. "It was just, he made a business decision. So that’s part of this thing. I’m old so I’ve been through a lot of those and those things happen. So, I’m able to separate it. I think he separated it. And he's back in, got a good attitude ready to go."
While the Chiefs and Jones will presumably be back at the negotiating table after the season, Jones said that's not a disappointment to him. He still plans to play with Kansas City for the "long haul," as his contract situation didn't change that stance.
"That’s never disappointing when you’re able to get more money, right? So, no, it’s not disappointing, man," Jones said. "It’s more so of a respect thing. The Hunt family respected me enough to actually raise my salary up for me a little bit so I can make a little more money this year. And then next year, I can go back again.
"So, it’s definitely an exciting thing to have. But right now, I’m not even thinking about it."
