Chiefs GM prioritizing extension of All-Pro DT amid holdout

As the training-camp holdout of Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones drags on, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach keeps reiterating that he wants to reward him with a massive contract extension.

"He's a great player, and he wants a big contract. He deserves a big contract," Veach said Monday, via The Kansas City Star's Jesse Newell. "But there's just some hurdles we have to work through in regards to how we can keep this going short- and long-term. But we've never wavered on, 'This is a guy that we want to exhaust all effort to get done,' that's how much we think of him."

Jones enters the final year of his deal this season and will make a base salary of $19.5M. Yet Nate Taylor of The Athletic reported the DT wants a contract that makes him at least the league's second-highest-paid DT behind Los Angeles' Aaron Donald ($31.66M).

Per Spotrac, Kansas City ranks last in the NFL in cap room ($766K), making an extension for the DT more challenging. Last offseason, the organization faced a similar situation with wide receiver Tyreek Hill and traded him to Miami. However, Veach explained the franchise dealt Hill to make room for Jones.

"Hopefully, we get this resolved, but we have no intentions of making a trade," Veach said. "You have to keep in mind when we did make that deal with Tyreek, one of the determining factors was because of a Chris Jones deal."

Veach finding a way to pay Jones is the right move because he's an elite defensive player. In 17 games last season, the 29-year-old logged 15.5 sacks, fourth in the NFL. He also earned a first-team All-Pro nod.

The deadline to extend Jones is Week 1 of the regular season, so the Chiefs must strike a deal soon if they want to lock up a valuable piece that will help the defending champions in their effort to win more Super Bowls.