By Nate Taylor
Mar 22, 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The framework for a trade was in place last week between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed as the centerpiece.
The trade never happened, though. The Titans couldn’t sign off on it because of the final major hurdle: agreeing to a multiyear contract with Sneed, on whom the Chiefs placed the non-exclusive franchise tag earlier this month.
Similar to most players in this situation, Sneed doesn’t want to play on the franchise tag, whether for the Chiefs or another team, according to league sources. And Sneed wants a new contract — a three- or four-year deal — that will make him at least one of the highest-paid players at his position, according to a different league source.
What happens next, however, is uncertain.
Sneed trade discussions have cooled this week, and several potential bidders have made other moves to strengthen their roster. Hours after their trade for Sneed fell apart, the Titans pivoted by acquiring a player Sneed has covered effectively: receiver Calvin Ridley, who signed a four-year deal worth $92 million. The Detroit Lions, a possible destination for Sneed, executed a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to acquire cornerback Carlton Davis. The New England Patriots, the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons have stopped engaging the Chiefs on Sneed.
Almost four weeks ago during the NFL combine, the Chiefs essentially notified every team that Sneed was available for a trade. General manager Brett Veach placed the franchise tag on Sneed to prevent him from becoming a first-time unrestricted free agent. At the time, the Chiefs were seeking at least a second-round pick for Sneed.
With the negotiations stuck in neutral, The Athletic’s Randy Mueller, a former NFL executive of the year, believes the next logical step for the Chiefs is to restart trade discussions next month, perhaps a week before the draft.
“I like his feistiness,” Mueller said Wednesday. “Although he’s a good player, there’s an undisciplined factor when you watch him (as he was called for 17 penalties last season).
“The closer we get to the draft, a team will say, ‘Hey, I can get this player for a second-round pick and he’s better than anything we can get (in the draft).’ Teams right now are honing on the draft board. But it still comes down to you’ve got to be willing to pay $20 million. That’s the hard part.”
Sneed, a four-year veteran, was one of the Chiefs’ best defenders last season. Starting in 16 games, he finished with two interceptions, 14 pass breakups and didn’t allow a touchdown while in coverage.
Sneed is set to play the 2024 season on a one-year salary of $19.8 million. If he is traded, the team that acquires him will understand that he wants a contract extension that would pay him an average annual salary of at least $20 million, which would make him the league’s third-highest-paid cornerback behind the Green Bay Packers’ Jaire Alexander ($21 million) and the Cleveland Browns’ Denzel Ward ($20.1 million).
“The conversations are going to continue,” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini said during Monday’s episode of “The Athletic Football Show.” She added: “I do think if there’s more movement, we’re going to see it a little bit closer to the draft. I think the (Indianapolis) Colts are probably the frontrunner on it.”
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The Colts own the Nos. 46, 82 and 117 picks in the draft. If the Chiefs can’t secure a second-round pick for Sneed, they would want two picks, including a third-rounder.
In 2019, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on outside linebacker Dee Ford and traded him to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick. Ford then signed a five-year contract worth $85.5 million with the 49ers.
Trading Sneed could be considered necessary for another reason, too: to create salary-cap space. Entering Thursday, the Chiefs were projected to have just $7.65 million in cap space, ranking 26th in the league, according to Over the Cap. Trading Sneed would create $19.8 million in cap space, helping the Chiefs pursue needs at left tackle, defensive end, receiver and running back.
One reason the Chiefs are willing to trade Sneed is because of their success in identifying talented cornerbacks and selecting them in the draft. Without Sneed, the Chiefs would still have three starting-caliber players in Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson.
“In the Super Bowl, he was really important,” Cody Alexander, the creator of “MatchQuarters” and the author of six books on defense, said Wednesday. “But I think going forward, with a guy like McDuffie, who can be a Swiss Army knife that you need, if you can find somebody else who can … play decent enough in man (coverage), you can let (Sneed) walk. They don’t play enough man (coverage), with as much Cover 2 and zone that they play.”
During training camp last summer, Sneed told defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo he wanted to be the Chiefs’ shadow cornerback — the defender who covers the opponent’s best receiver — because he knew McDuffie could excel as the nickel defender. Sneed was correct. As the nearest defender in coverage on 90 targets in the regular season, Sneed didn’t surrender a touchdown. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 27.7 percent of their passes with 10 or more air yards when targeting the receiver who was defended by Sneed, the lowest percentage in the league, according to Next Gen Stats.
At 27, Sneed understands this could be his best opportunity to maximize his earning potential.
“People talk about running backs, but nobody ever talks about corners just falling off at around 30,” Alexander said. “Timing is everything. If he was 25, it’s no-brainer. You just put him on the tag, you work it out and work a way that you can get him a four-year contract that’s team-friendly but gives him the guaranteed money that he needs and then you’re releasing him at 29. Now, you’re doing the same thing, but he’s two years older. At corner, it is a big deal.”
When the offseason began five weeks ago, Sneed appeared on “Up & Adams” with host Kay Adams, voicing a clear message for Veach.
“Man, pay me,” a smiling Sneed said, doing his best Rod Tidwell impression from the movie “Jerry Maguire.” Sneed repeated himself: “Pay me! Pay! Me!”
While the Chiefs have attempted to trade him, Sneed has doubled down on his desire to continue playing for the Chiefs, which he voiced several times in the past two years.
Attending a Big Brothers Big Sisters event in Kansas City last week, Sneed acknowledged that he could play this year on the franchise tag.
“My life is fun, but it’s very stressful right now, too,” he said. “I don’t get sleep at night. I have a newborn and I’ve got free agency. It’s a lot going on. Hopefully, I’m with the Chiefs. Hopefully I’m still here and hopefully we got back (to the Super Bowl). I pray I get to do a three-peat.”
If Sneed is still on the Chiefs’ roster after the draft, he and the team will still have several weeks to agree to an extension before July 15 at 3 p.m. CT, the league’s deadline for franchise-tagged players. Based on Sneed’s age and the inherent risk of playing on the franchise tag, Mueller anticipates that the player could be interested in a three-year deal — with close to $40 million guaranteed — with the Chiefs, a transaction that would help create salary-cap space ahead of training camp.
“What’s a million or two to stay in the system you know and you’ve already succeeded in?” Mueller said. “At some point, that becomes good business sense. If you take a little less, you don’t have a period of adjustment, you don’t have to move anything and guess what: You’re probably going to win another Super Bowl or two.”
— The Athletic’s Dianna Russini contributed to this report.