Chris Jones discusses keeping Chiefs motivated amid historic pursuit

Defensive tackle Chris Jones is among members of the Kansas City Chiefs who have accumulated three Super Bowl rings and also have signed lucrative contracts with the organization amid its dynastic run.

Jones seemingly is embracing his role as a team leader tasked with keeping others focused as the Chiefs attempt to become the first team to three-peat as Super Bowl champions.

"I think the core values of the team," Jones said about the message he'd share with teammates early into training camp, according to Michael Baca of the NFL's website. "Be humble, stay hungry and I think that's the core value of every year. Coming in humble and hungry, you know, it's a new year and new beginning. We have a new team. Last year's team was successful in accomplishing the overall goal of winning a championship. This year it's all about new challenges. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of new challenges ahead of us and we are excited for it."

Kansas City stars such as tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have routinely offered similar comments about staying "hungry" coming off the Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers this past February. While Kelce and Mahomes were always only going to play for the 2024 Chiefs, there were questions about Jones' future before he inked a five-year, $158.75M deal to stay put in March.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid suggested that "peer pressure" from team leaders will have his club sharp and ready for the regular-season opener versus the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5. Jones made it known Sunday he's "chasing history" as a three-time champion.

"When a lot of players retire, they always say that they want to leave the game better than they started," Jones continued. "If we can get this three-peat and continue to adding legacy to the Kansas City Chiefs, I think that would be a huge accomplishment, not only for us but for the NFL."

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list the Chiefs as the betting favorites at +500 odds to win Super Bowl LIX. It's difficult to imagine Jones and other Kansas City players being distracted by such forecasts considering all that's occurred since February 2020.