Sportsnaut
The Kansas City Chiefs had a down year last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since before Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017. Yet, they hope that their 6-11 record in 2025 was just a blip on the radar rather than the start of a trend.
Which, if Mahomes can return to top form after tearing his ACL, if more playmakers emerge, and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense can still be a top-10 unit, the Chiefs might have no trouble returning to the postseason. Of course, those are a lot of ifs, but one player who will have a pivotal role may be entering the end of his days in Kansas City.
Last year, the Chiefs allowed the sixth-fewest points in the NFL. Their defense was a big reason why the team didn’t completely fall apart last season.
One player who was at the center of their group is three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. Yet, last year was the first time in the past three seasons that Jones didn’t earn First-Team All-Pro honors, even though he still recorded a respectable 7.5 sacks.
However, some think his ‘dip’ in play could be the start of a trend as the 32-year-old continues to age on the wrong side of 30. If Jones doesn’t bounce back in 2026, the Kansas City Star‘s Pete Sweeney believes that this could be Jones’ final season with the Chiefs. That is, unless he agrees to restructure his contract or even take a pay cut.
Jones already has a monstrous cap hit of $44 million in 2026. If he doesn’t perform at an elite level this season, there’s no way the Chiefs will keep him on the books for a $38 million cap hit in 2027, when Jones will be 33 years old. His contract is currently set to expire at the end of the 2028 season, for which he has an unmanageable $44.8 million cap hit in a year where he’ll be 34.
Related: 1 Breakout Candidate for All 32 NFL Teams in 2026
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