Chiefs Rumors: Andy Reid gives unsettling update on Chris Jones situation
"What happens, happens" is not what you want to hear about your team's star player. But it's what Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said in his most recent update on the Chris Jones contract saga.
Jones, who reportedly is looking for an extension that pays him $30 million a year, has held out of camp so far and may sit out for the 2023 season, too. His recent social media activity suggests he's willing and "can afford to" hold out until Week 8 of the regular season.
The star defensive tackle has one year left on his four-year, $80 million contract he signed back in 2020.
The coach-iest thing to say in a situation like this is, "The show goes on. The game goes on." And it does, especially for a talented Chiefs team that has every reason to make another Super Bowl run.
Without DPOY-caliber star Chris Jones, though, the show just may end a little earlier.
The Chiefs won't want any distractions as they enter their final preseason game on Saturday against the Browns and prepare for their season opener against the Lions on September 7. From the sounds of things, the Chris Jones saga is out of Reid's control. His lamentable words have an aura of finality to them.
The Chiefs and Jones aren't talking or communication any more. The walls are up, and each side could be ready to go their separate way.
Chiefs Rumors: Here we go again...Clyde Edwards-Helaire listed as a 2023 trade candidate
If there's anything predictable about Clyde Edwards-Helaire's career, it's that he will be named a trade chip for the rest of his years in Kansas City.
Given that the Chiefs declined to pick up his fifth-year option, 2023 is almost certainly his last -- unless Edwards-Helaire gets traded ahead of the season.
It's a nice thought, isn't it? The notion that the Chiefs could actually receive some valuable draft capital in return for their former first-round pick. A little idealistic, but why not stoke the flames of a CEH trade as pundits have been doing for the last few years?
CBS Sports recently listed Edwards-Helaire as one of the league's top trade chips before teams make final roster cuts, naming his potential suitors as the Bengals, Browns, and Rams.
All the evidence already points toward the Chiefs offloading Edwards-Helaire sooner rather than later. He's been injured in every season so far. He hasn't contributed much as a pass-catching threat. He was usurped as RB1 by then-rookie Isiah Pacheco last year, and he even skipped the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade.
With Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon ahead of him on the depth chart, Edwards-Helaire's stock is at an all-time low. If teams don't want to give up a first-rounder for Jonathan Taylor (they don't), maybe they'll give up a fifth- or sixth-rounder for an unused racehorse that needs a new stable.
Chiefs Rumors: Intriguing roster bubble picks in final week of preseason
Every NFL team has to go through the same pain of cutting nearly half its roster before the start of the regular season. Chiefs Wire's John Dillon gave his picks and analysis for which players may just barely miss the roster -- some players were surprising, others not so much.
For starters, undrafted running back Deneric Prince makes the list. The fan-favorite arguably got demoted below La'Mical Perine after the Chiefs' preseason game against the Cardinals, and he may never recover. It's a shame to see him outside the bubble.
A surprise cut might be linebacker Jack Cochrane, who was on the Super Bowl-winning squad this past February. Cochrane may stand out as the sixth and odd linebacker out despite his productive camp. Expect many teams to be eying him if he hits the waiver wire.
Two predictable roster bubble candidates are 2021 fourth-rounder Joshua Kaindoh and first-year wideout Ty Fryfogle. Dillon wrote that Kaindoh "never lived up to his potential" and his tenure with the team that drafted him will "likely come to an abrupt end." He'll no doubt serve as a valuable depth piece elsewhere.
For Fryfogle, Dillon noted that he could be a "hot commodity on the waiver wire" like Cochrane. The Chiefs simply have no place for him with Justyn Ross, Richie James, and others in better position to secure a backup wide receiver spot.
Kansas City's final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday should reveal clearer answers about who's in and who's out. These players will get one more chance to change their fates...
