Getty Former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.
The biggest offseason move for the Kansas City Chiefs was trading away star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick and a swap of 2024 seventh-round picks. It was a move that made Sneed bitter toward the organization that drafted him four years prior.
“Yeah. Man, I didn’t talk to them. I was upset. Man, I was upset. Kansas [City], you know, that’s like my first love,” Sneed explained on the August 23 episode of “The Pivot” podcast. “So many ways, it showed me how to be a champion. Gave me two rings. And, you know, it’s just [that] I was bitter, you know, I was angry because I wanted to stay. And that environment around everybody I was used to. But, you know, it’s God’s plan.”
L’Jarius Sneed Was a Catalyst for Chiefs’ Super Bowl
Sneed’s bitterness stems from a very successful tenure with the Chiefs. The 27-year-old cornerback entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick for the Chiefs in 2020 and developed from a part-time player his rookie year into the lock-down corner that he is today.
During the 2023 season, Sneed was tasked with shadowing some of the NFL’s best receivers and succeeded in doing so. He kept Tyreek Hill (8-62 in Week 9, 5-62-1 in the AFC Wild-Card Round), Justin Jefferson (3-28 in Week 5), A.J. Brown (1-8 in Week 10), and Brandon Aiyuk (3-49 in the 2024 Super Bowl) in check during their respective matchups. It was arguably the best season-long performance by a CB in the NFL last season.
Despite the season-long effort, KC shipped away Sneed after playing a large role in the Chiefs’ back-to-back championships with the Chiefs. But his being traded to Tennessee had little to do with his fit in KC and everything to do with finances. The Chiefs, who have a strong recent history of developing young cornerbacks, had to move on from Sneed because they couldn’t afford him.
“The Chiefs weren’t set to pay Sneed long term,” CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin wrote in March. “One of the reasons the Chiefs have repeatedly returned to the title game is their willingness to make tough decisions and reset expensive positions around core pieces like Patrick Mahomes.”
After trading for him on March 29, the Titans gave Sneed a four-year, $76.4 million contract that included $44 million fully guaranteed. That’s a contract that was too large for the Chiefs to handle, as they had just given All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones a $158.7 million contract in September and also had center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton, among other prominent players, on expiring contracts at that time (since then KC has made Humphrey the highest-paid center in NFL history with a $72 million contract).
X Users Reacted to L’Jarius Sneed’s Interview
Users on X reacted to Sneed’s appearance on “The Pivot.”
“I’m glad you seen it was just business because the KC Chiefs fans didn’t want to see you go either,” one person wrote. “We know it’s all about money and winning games. KC Chiefs have one of the best teams around along w/coaches and owners. Who said you can’t come back?”
“I wish you the best @jay__sneed,” another person wrote. “It hurts to see you leave but the CAP tied [Brett Veach]’s hands.”
I don’t know how he could be bitter. If he wanted to stay in KC, he could have. It was all about the 💰 he could have taken a team friendly deal and stayed in KC, but no, when you chase after the $, you can’t get mad or upset with the team because they can’t pay it!