Report: KC Chiefs 'Prepared' to Tag L'Jarius Sneed, 'Open' to Trade if No Long-Term Deal

Just hours after Brett Veach spoke about Sneed's contract situation, a report provides new context to developments with KC's star cornerback.

The NFL offseason is heating up, with this week providing an opportunity for teams to address the media for the first time in a while. For the Kansas City Chiefs, head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach spoke from the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Topics covered by Veach included contract negotiations for defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. Just a handful of hours later, fresh context is provided on the Sneed situation.

According to a report from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Chiefs told Sneed they are "prepared" to use the franchise tag on Sneed and the team is "open" to a trade if a multi-year deal isn't struck. Nate Taylor of The Athletic confirms Fowler's report.

"#Chiefs have informed L’Jarius Sneed they are prepared to use the franchise tag and are open to consummate a trade off it if no long-term deal is reached, per source," Fowler wrote. "Sneed is agreeable to the scenario, giving him chance to talk with other teams while K.C. remains in play."

#Chiefs have informed L’Jarius Sneed they are prepared to use the franchise tag and are open to consummate a trade off it if no long-term deal is reached, per source.

Sneed is agreeable to the scenario, giving him chance to talk with other teams while K.C. remains in play pic.twitter.com/JayTzcAW0Y

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 27, 2024

Sneed, 27, is coming off his best season. Capping off his rookie contract with a bang, the former fourth-round pick posted career-best numbers in coverage and oftentimes had one of the highest degrees of matchup difficulty in all of football. He was originally set to hit free agency when the new league year begins on March 13 but in the event of a tag, the Chiefs would be buying some additional time to negotiate with him. This year's post-salary cap spike tag amount for Sneed is projected to be $19.8 million. 

On Tuesday afternoon in Indianapolis, Veach acknowledged that a tag application made good sense:

"There's challenges," Veach said. "We'll go through them and we'll always put our best foot forward. We certainly want to do what we can to try to keep both of those players, and that's going to be our goal and intent. Hopefully we're able to figure something out, but every free agency is different, unique and crazy. We do have one tag, and I anticipate probably using it to help us, but I think our goal is to try to get both of those players done and then work down the rest of our roster."

As Taylor mentioned, the Chiefs are no strangers to being in this position. In 2019, they franchise-tagged defensive end Dee Ford and ended up trading him to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick. That, combined with the organization's pattern of not paying high-dollar deals to cornerbacks under Veach, leaves plenty of room to reason with a possible trade making sense. 

Kansas City would love to keep Sneed but if the price isn't right — Sneed is adamant about getting paid — then something would have to give. Of course, the potential tag and subsequent negotiations take precedence here. Fowler's report doesn't imply that the team wants to swap Sneed, is having trouble finding a price point or is eager to learn his market value. At the very least, though, it sends a message that both sides appear focused on finding a resolution prior to the 2024 NFL Draft.

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