Chiefs

Impact of Chris Jones’ absence and bold predictions for the Chiefs’ season | Podcast

Kansas City Chiefs fans celebrate the national anthem before the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs fans celebrate the national anthem before the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Kansas City. ecuriel@kcstar.com

The Chiefs’ season has arrived, but not Chris Jones.

The Chiefs now face the hard reality of meeting the Detroit Lions in their season opener Thursday without their top defensive player, and the short- and possible long-term impacts of his absence are the focus of SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast.

Beat writer Jesse Newell joins columnists Sam McDowell and Vahe Gregorian in discussing where Jones and the Chiefs go from here. The defense is weakened, but by how much? Who steps up at the position, and who could take on an enhanced leadership role on that side of the ball?

Also, the eve of the season opener is projection time. We speculate on such topics as who might lead the Chiefs in receiving yards and which player from the most recent draft class will make the biggest contributions.

Story link:

Skyy Moore expects this Chiefs role in 2023: ’I’m excited to just show the world’

This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Impact of Chris Jones’ absence and bold predictions for the Chiefs’ season | Podcast."

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Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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