Kansas City Chiefs fans have been robbed of an opportunity to see DT Chris Jones in action on the offensive side of the ball, but it sounds like it was for all the right reasons.
The Chiefs have been recognized for their creativity in designing and naming trick plays over the years. There are some iconic ones from recent memory, such as "Corndog," "Snow Globe," and "Rose Bowl Right Parade." There are also some involving Dontari Poe that you might remember from pre-Patrick Mahomes, such as "Bloated Tebow Pass" and "Hungry Pig Right."
Speaking to Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on the latest episode of the "New Heights Show" podcast, Chiefs OC Matt Nagy revealed a trick play that was designed for Jones, installed, and promptly removed from the playbook.
Travis asked his OC: "Being with Coach Reid for so long, is there any play that's off the table in terms of creativity?"
"No, there's really not," Nagy said. "I will say, even to the point (Travis) Kelce, we put that one play in for Chris Jones, that we had him doing a little bit of a pass."
The Kelce brothers interrupted Nagy with laughter before Travis interjected.
"No, Jason, you have no idea," Travis said. "It was bad dude, Chris. I love Chris Jones to death, dog. I don't know what it was, but he needs to stay on the defensive side."
"Yeah, we put it in for him, and we had him doing a little throw," Nagy continued. "And it just, I mean, usually coach, we put it in the incubator, like with Dontari Poe, you know, the jump pass."
"Just let that thing simmer, baby," Travis said.
"You work it for a couple of weeks," Jason said.
"Yeah," Nagy responded. "This one was called 'Swinging D', and it wasn't working, man. That play wasn't working."
"Swinging D," Jason exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? That is amazing. Oh my gosh."
"It has the name, it has the reference," Travis said.
"It didn't work," Nagy laughed.
"We ran it (in practice)," Travis said. "He would check it. It was a throw to me. Every single throw was like five yards behind me, at my feet. I'm just like, Coach (Reid), I don't think this is gonna work."
"It got canned," Nagy said. "It lasted about two weeks, and 'Swinging D' went out, so no more of that. That was gone. But that's about the only one, you know, Coach (Reid), man."
Now, if you don't get the reference in the play name, you can do some light reading on Jones's wardrobe malfunction at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine. It's truly a shame that the team was unable to master this one because Jones has been lobbying for years to get some plays on offense. Perhaps they should focus on a trick play where he's a ball carrier, such as a designed QB run, fullback dive, or QB sneak, rather than one where he's throwing or catching a pass. I have to imagine that stopping a 6-foot-6 and 310-pound defensive lineman from getting a yard or two would be a challenging task for any team.
