Chiefs will use franchise tag on cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, 27, and owe him $19.8 million in 2024 -
The Kansas City Chiefs have reportedly placed the franchise tag on cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, which could cost a little over $19 million for the 2024 season, according to Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz.
Meanwhile, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs have given Sneed permission to seek a trade, which would allow Kansas City to save cap space while recouping some assets in exchange for one of the league's top corners.
The Chiefs had been weighing whether or not to use the tag on Sneed or All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who the defending Super Bowl champions hope to retain in 2024.
'You'd like to be able to tag all the guys and pay all the guys, and it's tough, because the more you win the more you have to pay players,' Chiefs GM Brett Veach said Monday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. 'And obviously, when you have this amount of success, you're paying players a lot of money.'
Jones would have been owed about $32 million, or a 20-percent bump from his 2023 salary cap number, and that proved prohibitive for a team expected to bump up against the cap. The deadline to use the franchise tag is March 5.
L’Jarius Sneed is seen speaking to the media ahead of the Chiefs' win in Super Bowl LVIII
Arguably the Chiefs best player in 2023, Chris Jones now faces uncertainty heading into 2024
The 27-year-old Sneed, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, has teamed with All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to form one of the most formidable secondary duos in the NFL. Sneed didn't allow a touchdown catch as the nearest defender in coverage during the regular season, and he helped to shut down the Ravens' Zay Flowers in the AFC championship game.
He has 10 picks and 40 passes defended in 57 regular-season games and one pick in 13 postseason games.
Sneed was also rumored to be a free-agent target of the Atlanta Falcons.
Meanwhile, Jones is coming off another season in which he rated among the best interior pass rushers in the league, earning his second All-Pro nod and his fifth Pro Bowl trip.
He had a half-sack in the wild-card round against Miami, and he had two QB hits on the 49ers' Brock Purdy, helping Kansas City rally for an overtime victory in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs also released receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on Wednesday, saving $12 million in cap space.
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