Report: Chiefs willing to tag Sneed, open to trade

The Kansas City Chiefs told cornerback L'Jarius Sneed they are prepared to use the franchise tag on him, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

If the two sides cannot agree on a long-term extension, the Chiefs are reportedly open to trading the 27-year-old.

Sneed is agreeable to this situation, Fowler reports. The cornerback can begin negotiating with other clubs with the possibility of returning to the Chiefs if a trade does not surface.

The Louisiana Tech product is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens in mid-March. The Chiefs selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Sneed and star defensive tackle Chris Jones are the big names from the Chiefs' defense that are set to hit the open market. Jones was franchise tagged last year, so his 2024 tag price is much higher than the cornerback tag price of $19.8 million.

"You'd like to be able to tag all the guys and pay all the guys," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Tuesday, per Mark Puleo of The Athletic.

"It's tough because the more you win, the more you've got to pay players, and obviously when you have this amount of success, you're paying a lot of players a lot of money, and then it's equally as tough because you're drafting late."

Sneed has been a key contributor for the Chiefs in the last three years and is coming off his best season as a pro. He had 78 tackles and 14 passes defended in 16 regular-season starts and was one of the best cornerbacks in the league.

In 2019, the Chiefs traded defensive end Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick after placing the franchise tag on him.

Kansas City has $16.9 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.