The Tennessee Titans are close to completing a trade to get cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for two draft picks, according to someone who knows about the talks. This person spoke anonymously because the deal still needs Sneed to pass a physical and sign a new contract.
The Chiefs recently put the $19.8 million non-exclusive franchise tag on Sneed but couldn’t agree on a long-term contract, leading to the trade. In this deal, Tennessee would give its third-round pick in the 2025 draft and also switch seventh-round picks with the Chiefs in the upcoming draft.
Sneed, who is 27 years old, has become one of the top cornerbacks in the league since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2020. He played a crucial role in the defense that helped the Kansas City Chiefs win consecutive Super Bowl titles.
Sneed often covered the best receivers on the field and was very good at stopping them.
He allowed a passer rating of just 55.9 on throws when he was covering in the regular season, which was the fifth-best among cornerbacks. Until the playoffs against Buffalo, he didn’t allow any touchdown passes.
Only Davante Adams from the Raiders had more than two catches in a game when Sneed was covering. Last season, Sneed got two interceptions and defended 14 passes in 16 games, making his total career interceptions to 10 and passes defended to 40.
The Titans also signed Cincinnati cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a three-year contract worth $36 million, with $23 million guaranteed at the beginning of free agency. The new defensive coordinator, Dennard Wilson, needs assistance with Caleb Farley, who was the team’s 22nd pick in 2021 but has only played 12 games due to injuries.
The Titans’ pass defense ranked 18th, allowing 227.4 yards per game, but they had the lowest interception rate with only six in the entire 2023 season. Tennessee plays in the AFC South, which has young and talented quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud in Houston, Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, and Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis.
