For most of Andy Reid‘s tenure, the Chiefs have not made cornerback a notable part of their budget. Rookie-contract players have staffed this position for the AFC West kingpins. This has led to a handful of Kansas City corner regulars finding their paydays elsewhere over the past several years.
The team is interested in making an exception for L’Jarius Sneed. Seeing the former fourth-round pick turn into a versatile performer during his rookie contract, the Chiefs have discussed an extension with the contract-year cover man, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.
This marks two defenders the Chiefs have talked an extension with this year. While the Chris Jones discussions memorably did not produce a post-2023 resolution, the All-Pro defensive tackle is still open to staying in Kansas City after his current contract expires. Though, the Chiefs will likely need to outbid opposition on the market. Jones cannot realistically be franchise-tagged, unless the Chiefs are willing to cuff him at a tag number north of $32MM (due to the team tagging him in 2020). That may well direct him to the market, where a windfall would await.
Sneed’s situation is a bit simpler, with the prospect of a franchise tag in play. Like the Jones talks, no contract agreement has emerged. The sides appear fine with the player finishing out the season on his rookie deal and reassessing from there, Fowler adds. The Chiefs have exclusive Sneed negotiating rights until the 2024 legal tampering period, but the team has made sacrifices at this position during most of Reid’s tenure. No team has tagged a corner since the Rams cuffed Trumaine Johnson in 2017.
Kansas City has used two first-round picks on corners under Reid, drafting Marcus Peters in 2015 and Trent McDuffie last year, but they have opted to allocate free agency and extension dollars to other positions. The Chiefs did give Sean Smith a three-year, $16.5MM contract in Reid’s first offseason. Since, the team has found low-cost corners. Kansas City traded Peters in 2018, and while they found a gem in Charvarius Ward in a late-summer trade that year, the team let him walk (to the 49ers) during the 2022 free agency period. That came after the Chiefs let Steven Nelson defect to the Steelers in 2019 and allowed Kendall Fuller — obtained in the 2018 Alex Smith trade — return to Washington in 2020.
The Chiefs have relied on the Jones-Patrick Mahomes–Travis Kelce trio as cornerstones for many years, but with Jones nearing…