L’Jarius Sneed Has Two-Word Message for KC Chiefs GM Brett Veach Ahead of Free Agency
The Kansas City Chiefs' defense helped land the team another Super Bowl championship, and the cornerback room was a significant reason why. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had plenty of talent to coach this season, especially in the cornerback room.
L'Jarius Sneed broke out in year No. 4 in Kansas City, working alongside Trent McDuffie to form perhaps the league's best one-two punch at the position. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, however, Sneed was in a contract year and is slated to hit free agency when the new NFL league year begins in mid-March.
Appearing on a Thursday edition of Up & Adams, the former fourth-round pick was asked what his message to general manager Brett Veach was. Sneed used just two important words to get his point across.
"Pay me," Sneed said. "Pay me, pay me. That's what I've got to say — pay me."
Should Kansas City indeed pay Sneed this offseason, they'd be quite justified in doing so. In 16 regular-season games, he recorded 78 tackles with a career-high 14 passes broken up and a pair of interceptions. Additionally, he surrendered the lowest completion percentage (51.0) and passer rating (56.2) of his career when targeted in coverage. That, combined with the difficulty of some of his assignments, made Sneed one of the better defensive backs in all of football this season. He helped slow down All-Pro and Pro Bowl talents like Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Stefon Diggs and more.
Estimates for Sneed's per-year value on the open market vary slightly. Spotrac's calculated market value of $16.3 million would be a good deal for the team, as would OverTheCap's injury-adjusted valuation of $15.7M. Elsewhere, Pro Football Focus' Brad Spielberger marks Sneed at earning an average annual value (AAV) of $17.5M on a three-year pact. All of those averages would put him outside the top five as far as AAV for current cornerback deals is concerned.
If a long-term contract isn't in the cards, the Chiefs could use the franchise tag on Sneed starting on Feb. 20. Not only would that keep him in Kansas City for one more season, but it'd also give them more time to iron out a multi-year contract before training camp. The projected value for that falls right around $18.8M for Sneed — far from the end of the world but still a sizable cap charge. Just a week ago, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said the tag "would make a lot of sense" for Sneed.
In either event, something has to give with the Chiefs and their veteran corner. As Sneed enters his age-27 season, he'll be in the prime of his career and figure to provide his team with top-shelf play in the secondary. Whether that team is Kansas City remains a question, but there's undoubtedly a great amount of respect between the player, his camp and the franchise. Sneed appears ready for a payday; it's on the Chiefs to figure out exactly what that looks like financially.
Editor’s note: All of our ongoing Chiefs coverage feels insignificant in the shadow of the horrific events at the team’s championship parade. We’re devastated for the victims, their friends and families, and Kansas City. If you can find any joy, hope, or relief by reading about your favorite team, we’ll have some of that for you here as we continue on. If you don’t have a desire for that distraction, I don’t blame you one bit. Take care of each other, and thank you for reading. — Joshua Brisco
