Good MOVE:” He is an asset”Chiefs GM prioritizing re-signing Chr…

Henderson, Nevada General manager of the Kansas City Chiefs Brett Veach acknowledged the difficulty the team will have in re-signing defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, but he stated that getting new contracts for both players would be a top priority in the summer.

As the Chiefs began getting ready for Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers, Veach remarked, “Sometimes I look at our situation and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do this.’ But we usually work through things systematically and have a list of the priorities.” “Chris and LJ are undoubtedly at the top of the list.

The fact that there are two keystone players makes it very difficult.

For several years, Jones, 29, has been among the best pass-rushers in the NFL. He missed training camp and the opening game of the regular season while waiting for a new deal, but he tied for the team lead with 10.5 sacks this season.

The Chiefs sweetened the last season of his current contract, but he didn’t get the extension he wanted.

“We love Chris and he’s an iconic player here, not just here, but of all time, so it was important for us to mend the fences with him,” Veach remarked. “We’ll prioritise that, but it was important to us, and we’ll keep working hard to see if we can accomplish something.”

This season, the Chiefs have mostly deployed 27-year-old Sneed to cover the best receiver on the opposing team; none of them have had very successful games against him.

The Chiefs defence, which limited the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Baltimore Ravens to a combined 41 points in the postseason, allowed less points than all but one other team during the regular season. Jones and Sneed are important members of this defence.

After Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback in 2018, the Chiefs’ defences were occasionally competitive, but they weren’t always so. Because of Mahomes’ enormous deal, Veach and the Chiefs had a difficult time assembling a strong defence during the previous several seasons.

“I still recall saying in 2017 and 2018 that if we can just get them to punt once we’ve got a shot, that would be great,” Veach said. “Suddenly, it seems like all we need to do to win is score once.

“Knowing the limitations we had of just paying [Mahomes] and probably drafting later [in rounds], going from where we were in ’17 and ’18 to having one of the best defences, I don’t think I ever envisioned having a top one or two defence.”