Even the mere mention of teammate Travis Kelce discussing retirement recently made Chris Jones shudder.
Jones, the All-Pro defensive lineman, spoke to the media Wednesday -- one day after Kelce did -- and was asked about his teammate since 2016 openly discussing the end of his career. Granted, Kelce said he'll play “until the wheels come off” and gave no indication that 2024 would be his final season in the NFL, but Jones wasn't even willing to go that far.
"Once you begin to think about things like that, you're getting to feed the mind those types of thoughts," Jones told reporters on Wednesday. "I don't even want my mind to even go that far to the 'R' word."
Jones, 29, signed a new five-year extension to remain with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason and has no plans on being anywhere else during that span. He even encouraged Kelce to stick around through the end of Jones' current deal.
"He's got like four or five more years (left), and what is he talking about, right?" Jones said. "We can't let TK go. … We've got to retire together. Give me at least six, four years, then we'll talk about it."
Four more years for Kelce might be pushing it. Six more would push him past the age of 40. But if the Chiefs keep winning, who knows?
Jones has the luxury of time, as he's nearly five years younger than Kelce, and he still has plenty of team and individual goals left, even after three Super Bowl championships and five All-Pro mentions. This coming season, Jones is shooting for 20 sacks and a third straight Super Bowl title, which has never been done before.
"It's (going to be) tough as hell," Jones said, "but I'm going to do it."
Twice Jones has reached 15.5 sacks in a season, once in 16 games and once in 17 games. Last season, he had 10.5 sacks in spite of missing the Week 1 loss to the Lions while holding out for a new contract.
After reporting to the team the following week, Jones racked up one-plus sack in each of his first five games, had a two-sack game against the Eagles and finished the season with sacks in each of his final three regular-season games.
When asked what it might take to hit the 20-sack plateau, Jones said: "Everything, everything. God, luck, some unselfish teammates and "Sack Nation,'" which is his nickname for a Chiefs pass-rush unit that ranked second in the NFL in sacks a year ago.
It might also take all those things for Jones and Kelce to team up for five more years, but the Chiefs look like Super Bowl contenders for however long their run together continues.
