Rumors of the Kansas City Chiefs trading star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed have lingered from the moment he was handed the franchise tag. The Chiefs, realizing they had a player of value, but weren’t willing to pay him his salary demands, wanted to make sure they didn’t lose their starting cornerback for nothing at all.
They finally found a taker.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Tennesee Titans are trading for L’Jarius Sneed, sending a 2025 3rd-round pick while also swapping their 2024 7th-round pick with the Chiefs. Sneed will have to pass a physical before the trade becomes official, but he will also be signing a new long-term extension in Tennessee.
Sneed’s new contract averages $19 million per year across four seasons and includes $55M in guaranteed money.
The fact that the Chiefs were willing to let their starting cornerback go without getting any immediate value in return is a surprise. Not to mention, players like Sneed who sign massive contracts elsewhere help generate an additional draft pick via the compensatory pick formula. Yet, this must have been the best offer the Chiefs found.
- L’Jarius Sneed’s stats (2023): 78 tackles, 2 INT, 14 PD
Grading 42nd among cornerbacks per Pro Football Focus in 2023, Sneed has earned a big contract, but clearly his demands reached a point Kansas City wasn’t willing to pay, leaving a void in the reigning Super Bowl champions’ defense.
Sneed will join the recently signed Chidobe Awuzie in the Titans’ starting lineup, bolstering a secondary that recorded the fewest interceptions in the NFL last season. Sneed, 27, will bring valued experience to a group that never got the production they wanted from 2021 first-round pick Caleb Farley.
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