Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is 35 years old, has played 123 regular season games and suited up for 19 playoff games in his eight-year career and is feeling the wear of being a veteran in the NFL. Last offseason, amidst contract disputes, Jones held out through the preseason and the first game of the regular season. While he doesn't have any contract or team issues right now, he wants some of that down time from last year to carry into this offseason.
Jones missed the entirety of their 2023 training camp, but it didn't appear to impact his game during the season, as he finished with 10.5 sacks, which was in the top 20 in the league. He had eight combined tackles and six quarterback hits in the playoffs, as the Chiefs went on to defend their Super Bowl title.
The pass rusher said he's already spoke to head coach Andy Reid about limiting his training camp minutes to avoid injury.
"Listen man, I've already been talking to Andy about, 'Let me skip out on training camp. I'm a little older, right?'" Jones said, via the Kansas City Star. "I can feel it. I can feel when we have a day on training camp. Give me like two days off and one day on then, and we maybe can work something out, you know?"
Whether or not Reid will go for this plan remains to be seen, and Jones said the head coach "just looked at me" when he suggested time off.
As he heads into his ninth year, Jones has 273 combined tackles, 175 quarterback hits, 75.5 sacks and 2 interceptions in his career. He is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a two-time first-team All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler.
