The Chiefs are expected to trade CB L’Jarius Sneed to the Titans.
Sneed is set to sign a new contract with Tennessee, and the Chiefs will receive a 2025 third-round pick in addition to a 2024 seventh-round pick swap, according to sources.
Sources told Schefter that Sneed and the Titans have been working on an agreement for days, and they have the skeleton of one. Sneed will become one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history if it is finalized when he passes his physical.
According to a source who spoke with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Sneed will sign a four-year contract.
Earlier this month, Sneed was assigned the nonexclusive franchise tag by the Chiefs. This gave him the opportunity to speak with other teams, enabling them to arrange a trade with the Chiefs.
At the beginning of free agency, the Titans signed veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a three-year, $36 million contract. The Titans will face quarterbacks C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, and Anthony Richardson in the AFC South, with Sneed and Awuzie starting as outside cornerbacks and Roger McCreary as nickel.
Sneed has joined a group of significant offseason additions for the Titans that includes linebacker Kenneth Murray. To strengthen the offensive line, general manager Ran Carthon added guard Saahdiq Charles and center Lloyd Cushenberry. Additionally, when Carthon signed running back Tony Pollard and wide receiver Calvin Ridley, the offense gained momentum.
By many accounts, Sneed’s 2023 season was his greatest since joining the Chiefs in 2020 as a fourth-round draft pick. NFL Next Gen Stats shows that he covered the opposing team’s best receiver on at least 65% of the snaps a league-high seven times in the regular season.
None of those receivers caught more than two receptions except for one time. In Week 12, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams caught five passes for 73 yards on seven targets against Sneed.
The 27-year-old Sneed was the closest defender in coverage and didn’t allow a touchdown grab all season until the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Sneed lined up against Zay Flowers twenty-one times in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens. Sneed made one of the game’s most important plays when he knocked the ball from Flowers just before he crossed the goal line. Flowers had one reception for 54 yards. The fumble in the end zone was recovered by the Chiefs.
Sneed has 40 passes defensed and 10 interceptions in 57 regular-season games. In 13 postseason games, he has one interception and seven passes defensed.
Sneed’s move to Tennessee upon trade completion will relieve $19.8 million from the Chiefs’ salary cap.