Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was given permission to seek a trade earlier this offseason after the two-time defending Super Bowl champions placed the franchise tag on the star defensive back.
Sneed is set to play under the $19.8 million tag unless the Chiefs are able to find a trade partner for one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks.
As of right now, nothing has come to fruition on this end. There’s also reportedly a pretty good reason why. Sneed is apparently demanding a contract that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the entire NFL.
“The Chiefs are prepared, if they have to, to move forward with L’Jarius Sneed playing on a one-year deal. That’s not what he would like to do,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday. “He would like to land a contract that would conceivably make him the highest-paid cornerback in all of football.”
As of right now, Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers is the highest-paid corner in the NFL at $21 million annually. Cleveland Browns star Denzel Ward comes in second ($20.1 million) with Jalen Ramsey of the Miami Dolphins ($20 million) third.
Related: Updated NFL trade rumors, including L’Jarius Sneed
Teams in on potential L’Jarius Sneed trade
A report over the weekend indicated that the Indianapolis Colts were close to acquiring Sneed. That proved to be false with Schefter reporting on Monday that the two sides have not engaged in trade conversations.
Sneed, 27, has also been linked to the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions in trade rumors since he helped Kansas City to back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
The former fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech has been stellar during his four-year run in Kansas City. This past season saw Sneed record 14 passes defended and two interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks posted a 51% completion and 56.2 QB rating when targeting him.
Kansas City’s asking price is said to be at least a second-round pick. It remains to be seen if anything will come to fruition on this end moving forward on the offseason.