Will Chiefs Be Willing To Let L’Jarius Sneed Walk In 2024?

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L’Jarius Sneed has been a successful bargain ever since he joined the Kansas City Chiefs. As a versatile cornerback, Sneed is perfectly built for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. He can play sticky in man coverage. He can blitz off the edge. And more importantly, L’Jarius Sneed can tackle in space and help in run support.

In the end, is his tremendous play going to net him a second contract with the Chiefs? Kansas City may have already given a hint at their negotiation plans, nonetheless. Simply put, will the Chiefs be willing to let L’Jarius Sneed walk in 2024? Let’s kick it off.

Younger Chiefs Cornerbacks Immediately Came Through As Rookies

In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Chiefs completely rebuilt their defense. That included adding a handful of defensive backs. And finally, Kansas City invested a premium asset in a top cornerback, Trent McDuffie. Despite missing a handful of weeks with an injury, McDuffie became an immediate shutdown corner for the Chiefs defense. His supposed lack of length had little to no impact on his ability to hang one-on-one.

Meanwhile, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams came through in numerous clutch moments. Watson came up with multiple interceptions in the fourth quarter during tight, crucial contests. And by the most important games of the season, Williams truly started to show signs of improvement and more comfort while out on an island.

Sneed May Have Priced Himself Out Of KC

Due to the aforementioned versatility of L’Jarius Sneed, he offers multiple items that some teams are longing for. His abilities can be slept on a bit. But when it comes to the finer details, Sneed can thrive in numerous settings. Other teams are still struggling to find that dynamic, do-it-all playmaker in the secondary.

With so many teams looking to change how they defend in the back seven, the play style of L’Jarius Sneed will likely be in high demand during 2024 free agency. The 2024 free agent cornerback class is mediocre, at best, to boot. Defenses are starting to want more math changers on their units. Of course, that is someone who forces opposing offenses to adjust a few different parts of their attack against just one defender. All told, L’Jarius Sneed is only continuing to get better and should get paid handsomely, wherever he goes.

On the flip side, other younger players could be higher on the priority list to receive contract extensions in Kansas City. The Chiefs are likely looking to lock up center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith soon, for example. Plus, you would assume that this KC team would prioritize the trenches, based on their history.

Kansas City Has Historically Not Extended Better Cornerbacks

It is not difficult to see that the Kansas City Chiefs have opted to build their cornerback room without a major monetary investment. Furthermore, this has extended for many years. That is especially true, when you consider some cornerbacks that took steps forward under this current Kansas City regime. At times, that has paid off, as the Chiefs have arguably maximized as much as they can out of unknown gambles. KC has also dealt with frustration when the bottom has completely dropped out at cornerback from time to time.

Thankfully for the Chiefs, L’Jarius Sneed has helped stabilize a cornerback room that continues to impress year after year. That has led to similar gambles on mostly late-round picks, as a result. But whether it was Charvarius Ward, Steven Nelson or Marcus Peters, the Chiefs were not willing to pay cornerbacks that made strides in their building. Certainly, the ends of those tenures in Kansas City were due to different circumstances for that trio. And quite frankly, L’Jarius Sneed has possibly had a steadier run while with the Chiefs so far. But as we have learned, that still may not be enough for a new contract extension, even if Sneed has earned it.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.