Chris Jones had long been the heartbeat of the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense, but he didn’t bring the same relentless intensity in the 2025 season, as the whole unit looked in shambles. That has raised questions about whether the veteran defensive tackle remains part of Andy Reid’s long-term plans. ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller believes his future could be uncertain.

“Chris Jones is getting older,” said Miller this week. “He could be on the trade market this season.”

Chris Jones has been with the Kansas City Chiefs since 2016, spending ten years at the franchise. However, the 2025 season was one of the least productive years of his career. Although he recorded 7 sacks, his overall performance was below the elite standard he usually maintained. There was a significant dip in his situational awareness and run defense consistency, besides his numbers.

In the 2024 season, when the Chiefs reached Super Bowl LIX, Jones recorded a total of 37 total tackles, but it dropped to 29 in the 2025 season despite featuring in two more games. Similarly, Jones led all the interior defenders with 88 total pressures in 2024, it saw a considerable fall in the 2025 season (63).

The 31-year-old’s declining past season had its fair share of bad games. For instance, in the Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones showed a lack of effort to engage with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who then escaped to secure a game-winning touchdown. Andy Reid didn’t hold back his criticism of the defensive tackle after the game.

In the Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills, Jones was nowhere to be seen. He registered only two tackles in the entire game and no sacks.

Statistically, the decline isn’t just in sacks. In 2025, the Chiefs’ defense fell to 16th in DVOA (Defense Adjusted Value Over Average), a sharp drop from their top 5 status during the 2023 championship run. Jones’ individual win rate against double teams also plummeted from 20% in 2024 to just 12.5% in 2025. For a player earning nearly $31 million+ in salary this year, those numbers are hard for GM Brett Veach to justify as the team looks to fix a unit that allowed 19.3 points per game during a disappointing 6-11 campaign.

While Jones’ potential exit is in discussion, his Chiefs contract runs until the 2028 season. In 2024, he signed a contract extension worth $158.75 million. Due to the humongous salary, if the Chiefs trade or release him, he would have a dead cap of about $64.25 million in 2026, and the cap hit would be approximately $44 million. The departure would mean the Chiefs would take a big financial hit due to this season’s cap hit.

In 2026, his $44.85 million cap hit is projected to consume nearly 15% of the Chiefs’ total salary cap, a figure typically reserved for elite quarterbacks. While the “dead cap” of $64.25 million makes a straight release almost impossible, a “Post-June 1” trade could theoretically spread that pain over two seasons.

During Jones’s last season, he also sent a cryptic message on social media amid his team’s struggle, suggesting there may have been a lingering tension between him and the Chiefs’ management. Either way, with the Chiefs looking to rebuild their squad, Jones’ age and performance dip make his future with the four-time Super Bowl champion uncertain, but he is not the only player who might be replaced. The running back Isiah Pacheco could also find the exit door from the Chiefs.

Isiah Pacheco’s uncertain future opens the door for Jeremiyah Love

Isiah Pacheco was the seventh-round pick from the 2022 draft. Despite being a late pick, he became the RB1 of the Kansas City Chiefs, playing a key role in lifting two Super Bowl trophies. However, his rookie contract ended after the 2025 season, and he is set to be an unrestricted free agent from March 2026.

Although a starter, the franchise is moving on from the 26-year-old for numerous reasons. He showed major regression in his performance, recording just 462 rushing yards and 1 touchdown in 13 games last season. That’s less than half of his peak season in 2023, when he had 935 rushing yards alongside 7 touchdowns.

While Pacheco averaged a healthy 4.9 yards per carry as a rookie, that efficiency dipped to 3.9 in 2025. More concerning for the Chiefs’ front office is the “success rate” metric; in 2025, Pacheco only recorded a successful run on 30.8% of his touches, ranking him in the bottom of the starting NFL backs.

Setting his performance aside, the biggest challenge he dealt with was the repeated injury setbacks. From the 2023 season, he has been injured multiple times. In the past three seasons, he missed 17 games after being sidelined due to injuries. His list of injuries included MCL sprain, concussion, fractured fibula, and shoulder issues.

The recurring injuries hampered his consistency, prompting the Chiefs to find a better replacement from the draft, which could be Jeremiyah Love, who is expected to be one of the top prospects of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Notre Dame star is coming from a brilliant college career, winning the Doak Walker award in 2025. In his final collegiate season, Love scored 1373 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns.

The Chiefs hold the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 draft. With Pacheco’s exit in free agency, Jeremiyah Love could be an ideal replacement as a running back. The 20-year-old’s dual-threat ability and safe hands could make him Patrick Mahomes’ most trusted target next season.