Tennessee Titans put AFC South on notice with trade for elite cornerback

The Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs have finally worked out a deal to send disgruntled cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to the Titans in exchange for a pair of draft choices, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Sneed was tagged by the Chiefs with the non-exclusive franchise tag earlier this month and would have earned $19.8 million on a one-year deal, had he stayed in Kansas City. The non-exclusive franchise tag armed Sneed and his representatives with the right to negotiate a contract with other teams, who could then, after reaching a deal with Sneed, negotiate a trade value with the Chiefs.

Indianapolis was a player in the trade negotiations, but there was an apparent hang up over the contractual terms with Sneed's representatives and they could not reach and agreement, per Sports Illustrated.

One of the holdups of the trade, which has been talked about all week, was the Titans reaching a long-term accord with Sneed to secure his services under a 2024 cap friendly extension. Sneed will sign a four-year contract worth $76 million, with $55 million being fully guaranteed. Sneed will be one of the highest paid cornerbacks in NFL history with an annual average value of $19 million per season.

With the trade, Kansas City now has almost $27 million in cap space for the 2024 season, according to spotrac.

As compensation for Sneed, the Chiefs will receive Tennessee's third-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. The teams will also trade seventh-round selections in next month's NFL Draft. Tennessee wins this trade hands down as they have no loss until next season and get a player of Sneed's caliber right away.

Kansas City will have seven picks in next month's draft and they will need to draft a cornerback in the first two rounds to replace Sneed. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson will apparently start at corner for the Chiefs in 2024, but they are thin when they have to go to their nickel or dime packages.

Snead was originally drafted by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech where he played safety. He was converted to a slot cornerback by Andy Reid and defensive coordinator extraordinaire Steve Spagnuolo.

He was always assigned the task of covering the other team's best receiver. He shut down players such as Miami's Tyreek Hill, Minnesota's Justin Jefferson and Buffalo's Stefon Diggs in leading the Chiefs to another Super Bowl title last season.

Sneed, 27, didn't allow a touchdown catch as the nearest defender in coverage all season until the Chiefs' divisional-round playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.

In his four years in the league, he anchored a defensive secondary that won three world championships. He started 53 of the 57 games that he participated in and recorded 303 tackles to go with 10 interceptions. He also recorded six sacks.

Tennessee has had a very productive off season and has been very aggressive in adding various pieces through free agency. They have overhauled the offense with free agent running back Tony Pollard, center Lloyd Cushenberry and the centerpiece is wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

The Titans also feature a new defensive coordinator in Dennard Wilson. There was an emphasis placed on adding pieces to the secondary as the Titans defense finished in the bottom half of the league in 2023. They will look to silence the likes of Houston's C.J. Stroud, Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence and the Colts' Anthony Richardson in the tough AFC South.