The Kansas City Chiefs‘ trade to send cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans is at long last official. While the trade was first reported last week, and Sneed passed his physical on Tuesday, both teams finally announced the news on Friday, March 29.
Kansas City’s goodbye message left Chiefs Kingdom reeling over his departure once more. The Chiefs posted on X, “Came in a rookie, left a two-time Super Bowl champion. It’s been a great run. Thank you for everything, @jay__sneed! 🏆.”
In exchange for Sneed, the Chiefs received a 2025 third-rounder, and in a 2024 seventh-round swap, the 221st overall pick, the highest of the Titans’ three seventh-rounders. The Titans posted, “Welcome to Nashville, @jay__sneed! 👋.” While Sneed “liked” the Chiefs’ message, he shared the Titans’ post on his timeline.
Titans general manager Ran Carthon was thrilled to land Sneed. “It’s a huge get,” Carthon said, per team reporter Jim Wyatt. Sneed signed a four-year, $76 million deal with Tennessee, which includes $55 million guaranteed.
Welcome to Nashville, @jay__sneed! 👋 pic.twitter.com/7FIpqnt8UB
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) March 29, 2024
Carthon is excited about what Sneed brings to their defense. “It gives you three top-flight corners in him and Chidobe (Awuzie) and Roger (McCreary) that can just flat-out cover people,” he added. “He matches Chido’s energy of being a physical, aggressive corner that can also play in run support.
“You see a lot of the way game is going with the toss crack, and forcing the corners to come up there and play more in run support, and we have guys who are willing to stick their face in there and tackle people.”
Sneed tallied 78 total tackles, 14 passes defensed, and 2 interceptions during the 2023 season. The 27-year-old didn’t allow a single touchdown in coverage.
Chiefs News: Titans GM Ran Carthon Offered Insight Into Why the L’Jarius Sneed Trade Took So Long
Ran Carthon
GettyTitans general manager Ran Carthon speaks at the NFL Combine on February 27, 2024.
While the trade compensation for Sneed wasn’t anything to celebrate, the added $19.8 million in cap space gives the Chiefs a huge boost. However, Kansas City couldn’t use that money until the trade became official.
“You just remain patient,” Carthon said. “You did your due diligence prior to them franchising him, and then when he was franchised, you kind of got a feel on where it could possibly go. And then (the Chiefs) got the deal done with Chris Jones.”
Kansas City re-signed the superstar defensive tackle to a five-year, $158.57 million extension on March 9, which made keeping Sneed ultimately impossible.
“You study other teams and try and figure out where they are, so it was one of those things where we used a patient and diligent approach,” Carthon continued. “And when the opportunity presented itself, we were in a position to do it, and we made it happen. And, it took effort from both teams to get it done.”
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Called L’Jarius Sneed ‘One of My All-Time Favorite Guys’
Everything you could ever ask for in a teammate. It's been real, @jay__sneed! pic.twitter.com/sA4FJ9rfg0
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 29, 2024
While attending the NFL’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid wished Sneed nothing but the best.
“One of my all-time favorite guys. Great human being,” Reid told NFL analyst Paul Kuharsky on March 25. “As great of a player as he is, he’s an even better human being and as tough as you would imagine. So, I’m his biggest fan.”
When asked if making the trade came down to economics, “You juggle the salary cap and it’s ridiculous what you have to go through,” Reid said. “Players you keep and can’t keep.”
One of the major reasons the Chiefs felt comfortable trading Sneed was because they already had a starting-caliber cornerback on the roster. Trent McDuffie is locked into his $13.9 million rookie contract for two more years. Kansas City also has strong depth at the position with Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams.
