Chiefs' Andy Reid Talks Chris Jones' Contract Holdout: 'Just a Business Decision'

Chris Jones ended his holdout from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday by agreeing to a new one-year contract, and head coach Andy Reid said the two remain on good terms despite him being away from the team to start the year.

"Chris Jones and I have talked, there wasn't any personal thing between us, it was just a business decision, that's part of this thing, I'm old, I've been through a lot of those and these things happen," Reid told reporters Wednesday.

When asked about Jones' status for Sunday's Week 2 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he responded, "I'm going to see how he is today. I presume he'll be out there playing, but we'll just see."

Jones also told reporters Wednesday that things were never personal between himself and the team.

"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 [Brett] 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 was originally slated to earn $19.5 million in base salary this season, minus both a $1.08 million game check for missing a Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions and fines racked up for missing training camp.

The 29-year-old's new deal is worth up to $25 million with incentives including playing time, number of sacks, a first-team All-Pro selection, a Super Bowl LVIII appearance, a Defensive Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl LVIII win.

"I kind of made that decision not to come to camp. I didn't want to be a distraction of holding-in," Jones said. "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' return to the lineup will be a significant boost to the Kansas City defense. While the defense played well against Detroit, it got pushed around by the Lions' offensive line late in the loss.

Jones, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion, is coming off the best season of his career in 2022 having posted 15.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 44 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 29 quarterback hits.

The Mississippi State product finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned a first-team All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowl nod.

While Jones' status against Jacksonville hasn't been confirmed, he said last week during a charity event that he has been staying in shape and should be ready to go when the time comes.

"I could play right now,'' Jones said last week, per ESPN's Adam Teicher. "I work out every day, twice a day, but in Miami with my team that I'd normally be with in my offseason. I'm staying at it.''

The Chiefs are looking to avoid going two games under .500 for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, and Jones will see to it that Kansas City improves to 1-1 instead of dropping to 0-2.