The Kansas City Chiefs are without their best defensive player Thursday night.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones’ holdout officially trickled into the regular season.
Jones was spotted in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium to watch his teammates play as he sits out amid his ongoing contract dispute.
Jones, who is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million deal, is seeking a contract extension and has been holding out as he awaits a new deal. He has a base salary of $19.5 million this season.
The four-time Pro Bowler spoke about his holdout to reporters at a Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City charity event on Wednesday.
“Hopefully it gets worked out,” Jones said to reporters. “It's always been my goal to be a Kansas City Chief for life.
I've said that multiple time on social media platforms, from interviews, and they know where my position is at.”
Jones has already accrued more than $2 million in fines for missing mandatory minicamp and training camp. He’s now set to miss weekly game checks.
The absence of Jones is a big blow to the Chiefs. He’s the star on Kansas City’s defense and played an integral role on the team’s title two tile runs.