Chris Jones Seeking To Be No. 2 Highest-Paid DT

According to Nate Taylor, Chiefs DT Chris Jones is looking to become the NFL’s second-highest-paid defensive tackle on his next deal — at minimum. 

The current No. 2 spot is a tie between Giants DL Leonard Williams and Colts DT DeForest Buckner, both at $21 million a year. 

However, there’s a massive gulf between them and No. 1, which is Rams DT Aaron Donald at more than $32 million a year. 

Given Jones outproduced Donald this past season, he’ll likely want to be closer to the top end than the bottom of that range. He’s entering the final year of his deal and is set to count more than $28 million against the cap, so an extension is a major priority for the Chiefs this offseason. 

Jones, 28, is a former second-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2016 out of Mississippi State. He played out the final year of his four-year, $6.231 million contract and made a base salary of $1.19 million in the final year of the agreement.

The Chiefs franchised Jones before eventually signing him a four-year, $85M extension that included $60 million guaranteed last year. 

Jones is entering the final year of that deal and is set to make a base salary of $19.5 million in 2023. 

In 2022, Jones appeared in all 17 games for the Chiefs and recorded 44 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a recovery and four passes defended.

We’ll have more on the Chiefs and Jones as the news is available.