All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones signed a new one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs and will now be available for the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Thursday, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo revealed how the team will play Jones on Sunday.

“Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo doesn't want to put a snap count on DT Chris Jones vs. Jags but said he's in great shape wanting every practice rep yesterday,” NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe tweeted Thursday. “Big thing will be conditioning. We don't want to put him in a situation where he will get hurt… We will be smart on gameday.”

Jones held out all of training camp and through the team’s first 2023 game, a 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions. After that L, the Chiefs and Chris Jones agreed on a new one-year, $19.5 million contract with incentives to get him back on the field ASAP.

As Spagnuolo says, though, the team does need to be careful with their star defender this week and probably the next week or two. Jones is 29 and has played seven NFL seasons. And while he’s surely been working out on his own during his holdout, there is no substitute for real NFL competition.

Going all in with the DT in the Chiefs' Week 2 game against the Jaguars would be a mistake, as an injury now that kept Jones out for any significant time would be just as bad as if he was still holding out.

The Chiefs D gave up 368 yards of offense last week to the Lions, and 118 yards on the ground. Getting Jones back should be huge for Spagnuolo’s unit as the team heads to Duval County to face Trevor Lawrence and company.