Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Expected To Be Charged In Hit-And-Run Incident
APRIL 4: Rice’s lawyer confirmed (via the Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell) his client was involved in the crash. Rice was driving the Lamborghini SUV, not the Corvette, on Saturday. No charges have been filed, but Rice’s attorney (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s James Hartley) expects charges to come down soon.
Rice’s attorney, Texas state senator Royce West, declined to answer a question as to why the Chiefs wideout and others left the scene but indicated his client intends to take care of the injury- and damage-driven expenses incurred by the other crash victims.
APRIL 3: Rashee Rice met with Dallas police about his alleged role in the Saturday hit-and-run incident, a six-car crash believed to have been caused by two vehicles street racing.
The Chiefs wide receiver accepted “full responsibility” for his role in the accident, though the 23-year-old did not specify what that role was. A Corvette and a Lamborghini Urus were racing along a stretch of the North Central Expressway, and Rice now has ties to both vehicles. A police call sheet suspected Rice as the driver of the Corvette, and Kelli Smith of the Dallas Morning News reports the SMU alum rented the Lamborghini SUV in March.
The only person contractually allowed to drive the Urus while renting it, Rice rented the vehicle for more than $10K per month. He was expected to return it “sometime in June,” Smith adds. A text message reviewed by the Morning News indicated “Rashee” promised to pay for any damages. Rice said Wednesday he will continue to cooperate with authorities.
Both drivers lost control of their vehicles in the crash, causing a high-speed collision when the Lamborghini barreled into a center median wall just before 6:30pm Saturday. The two drivers fled the scene before providing any information. Three men were in the Lamborghini. Two other people involved in the accident suffered minor injuries and needed to be hospitalized. No arrest has been made.
More details on the wreck have since emerged. The two vehicles attempted to pass cars in the left lane, per Smith, who adds the cars collided with other vehicles across several lanes along the Dallas-area highway. At least three victims in this accident have brought in legal counsel; Rice did so on Sunday.
It remains uncertain which car Rice was driving in this accident — if, in fact, he was behind the wheel of either vehicle — but the 2023 second-round pick is closely tied to the wreck. It may be too early to suggest Rice is a clear candidate for an NFL suspension, but that would be on the radar if a charge is eventually filed.
Voters Reject Chiefs Stadium Measure
The Chiefs and Royals’ joint effort to secure separate goals did not succeed Tuesday night. Voters in Jackson County (Mo.) shot down the measure that would have produced funding for a Royals downtown stadium and greenlit the Chiefs an $800MM package to renovate Arrowhead Stadium.
A vote of 58-42 percent (78,352-56,606) represented the final tally against the two teams. To some degree, this situation differs from the developments that led the Chargers and Raiders out of their respective cities during the 2010s. Though, Clark Hunt and Chiefs president Mark Donovan both indicating the team would potentially explore options outside of Kansas City reminded of those that keyed half the AFC West to relocate years ago.
This vote brings about more of a long-range issue for the Chiefs, as they and the Royals are tied to leases with the Truman Sports Complex through Jan. 31, 2031. But some near-future questions figure to arise from Jackson County voters passing on the sales-tax extension put forth by western Missouri’s NFL and MLB franchises. Despite the Chiefs having renovated Arrowhead in 2010, Hunt cited the venue’s age — the team moved into its current digs in 1972 — as the reasoning for seeking another round of updates.
“We respect the process. We respect the decision of the Jackson County voters,” Donovan said in a statement Tuesday night. “We’re disappointed. We feel we put forth the best offer for Jackson County. We were ready to extend the longstanding partnership that the teams have enjoyed with this county. This is important. … We will do and look to do what is in the best interest of our fans and our organization as we move forward.”
The Chiefs have been in Kansas City since 1963, moving from Dallas months after their 1962 AFL championship win over the Oilers. Long-term stays have not proven to bind teams to their cities throughout NFL history. Ten of the NFL’s 32 franchises have left their original markets. This includes the Browns bolting Ohio after a 49-year stay (before the NFL handed Cleveland an expansion team in 1999) and the Rams leaving Los Angeles after 48 years (a move sandwiched between the team exiting Cleveland and then departing St. Louis). The Chargers camped in San Diego for 56 years. They left for L.A. in January 2017, moving just two months after the downtown stadium vote failed. Stadium issues drove the Raiders out of Oakland twice.
Hunt’s team making plans to leave a market after 60-plus years would bring new territory in terms of duration, and inroads toward such a move would still qualify as surprising. Regardless of team success in markets, NFL history certainly illustrates how these situations can deteriorate quickly.
The Chiefs were planning to contribute $300MM toward the $800MM for renovations, with a Royals departure for a downtown venue clearing out space for the NFL club. If the teams are to regroup on a Kansas City-based solution, some tweaks will need to be made. Hunt, however, previously said he did not have a Plan B if the sales-tax extension did not pass.
“The people of Kansas City and Jackson County love the Chiefs and the Royals. Today, they rejected plans and processes they found inadequate,” said Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, who had endorsed the tax extension. “Over the months ahead, I look forward to working with the Chiefs and Royals to build a stronger, more open, and collaborative process that will ensure the teams, their events and investments remain in Kansas City for generations to come.”
The Royals’ effort to move downtown relegated the Chiefs’ stadium situation to a secondary matter; the MLB club’s stadium switch would have brought major changes to a popular area in Kansas City. The Chiefs effectively attaching their renovation plan — which would not have taken effect until 2027, after the 2026 FIFA World Cup stops through Arrowhead — to the Royals’ potential move certainly hurt the NFL team’s chances Tuesday. Players like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and former World Series MVP Salvador Perez appeared on an ad endorsing the measure, along with Andy Reid. The efforts going for naught will introduce some uncertainty into the teams’ futures, though it is still a bit early to envision either leaving town.
Chiefs To Re-Sign RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Clyde Edwards-Helaire did not pan out as a Chiefs starter; the team found much better value in recent seventh-rounder Isiah Pacheco. But the two-time defending Super Bowl champions still have the 2020 first-round pick in their plans.
Despite losing his starting job midway through his rookie contract, Edwards-Helaire will stay with the Chiefs. The sides reached an agreement on a one-year deal Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This move comes at a rather interesting point, as J.K. Dobbins is in Kansas City for a visit today.
[RELATED: Chiefs To Sign QB Carson Wentz]
Pacheco became a pivotal investment for the Chiefs, and the Rutgers alum commandeered the starting running back job during his rookie season. The move helped the team cover for an apparent miss on Edwards-Helaire, whom it chose shortly after winning Super Bowl LIV four years ago. Edwards-Helaire still worked as Kansas City’s top backup RB last season, starting in place of Pacheco in three games. The LSU alum averaged only 3.2 yards per carry, however, finishing with 223 yards and a touchdown in 2023.
Viewed as a potential multipurpose weapon alongside Patrick Mahomes in 2020, Edwards-Helaire totaled 138 yards in his debut and then put together a 161-yard performance against the Bills five weeks later. But injuries and fumbling issues plagued the former SEC talent.
Edwards-Helaire, 25 next week, started in Super Bowl LV and entered the 2021 season as Kansas City’s top back. But the 5-foot-7 ball carrier saw Jerick McKinnon take over as the team’s top receiving back late in 2021 — as more injury trouble intervened for the younger player. McKinnon held that role over the following two seasons, and Edwards-Helaire — who totaled 453 receiving yards for LSU’s national championship-winning team in 2019 — has not eclipsed 200 through the air since 2020.
Pacheco and McKinnon became the Chiefs’ primary backs in 2022, as Edwards-Helaire played in only 10 games. CEH did not play during the 2022 playoffs. Despite being activated off IR for Super Bowl LVII, Edwards-Helaire was a healthy scratch against the Eagles. Edwards-Helaire played in all four Chiefs playoff games last season but only logged two carries combined between the AFC championship game and Super Bowl LVIII.
This signing would seem to impact Dobbins’ chances of catching on with the Chiefs, with McKinnon also unsigned. The veteran receiving back, who has stabilized his career in Missouri after missing two full seasons previously, has made a habit of re-signing with the Chiefs after the draft. McKinnon did miss six straight games before being activated for Super Bowl LVIII. The 2014 draftee would also be going into his age-32 season in 2024. It remains to be seen if McKinnon will be back, but Edwards-Helaire will vie for the Chiefs’ RB2 role soon.
As for Dobbins, The Athletic’s Nate Taylor adds his productive visit may lead to a partnership later this offseason. But nothing is imminent as of now. Dobbins, who has been cleared for work after suffering an ACL tear in Week 1, has now visited the Chiefs and Chargers.
Chiefs To Host RB J.K. Dobbins
The Chargers recently hosted running back J.K. Dobbins on a free agent visit, but they are not the only AFC West team showing interest. The Chiefs will bring in Dobbins today, per his agency (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 
Dobbins entered the offseason as one of several notable running backs on the market. To little surprise, many other producers at the position quickly landed a deal while the former Ravens starter remains unsigned. Dobbins’ career has been defined by a pair of major ailments: the major knee injury suffered in the 2021 preseason which included an ACL tear and the Achilles tear which ended his 2023 campaign in Week 1.
When on the field, though, the 25-year-old has proven to be an effective rusher. Dobbins averaged six yards per carry in his rookie season, one in which he took over from Mark Ingram as Baltimore’s lead back midway through the campaign. That led to high expectations ahead of 2021, but the injury sidelined him well into the 2022 season. A cleanup procedure produced another absence, but upon return Dobbins proved to still be efficient (5.7 yards per carry in eight games).
The Ohio State product would represent a high-upside addition to Kansas City’s offense, a unit which has seen former first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire‘s rookie deal expire. The latter remains unsigned, as does veteran Jerick McKinnon. Kansas City still has Isiah Pacheco on the books for two more years, and he and Dobbins would comprise a low-cost backfield provided the former second-rounder was forced to sign a ‘prove-it’ deal in the wake of his availability issues.
The Ravens lost 2023 touchdown leader Gus Edwards to the Chargers, who have a familiar offensive coordinator in Greg Roman. Baltimore has added Derrick Henry, a move suggesting Dobbins could be forced to head elsewhere on his second contract. With multiple suitors now in play, it will be interesting to see how much of a market he is able to generate and if a deal is worked out before the upcoming draft. Pending the Carson Wentz agreement becoming official, Kansas City currently has $6.5MM in cap space.
Chiefs To Explore Options If Stadium Vote Fails
Normally, stadium situations are outside our purview. But the upcoming vote on Arrowhead Stadium renovations — a ballot measure that centers around the Royals’ hopes of securing public funding for a stadium in downtown Kansas City — does provide a bit more intrigue due to recent comments made by Chiefs president Mark Donovan.
While the Royals are the only team that would change venues if the measure — a sales-tax extension set to be voted on Tuesday in Jackson County (Missouri) — passes, the Chiefs have an $800MM renovation package on the ballot. Clark Hunt has said the team will contribute $300MM to this goal. Work would not begin until 2027, after the 2026 World Cup comes to Arrowhead Stadium.
A previous round of Arrowhead renovations wrapped before the 2010 season, but the Chiefs have sent their franchise centerpieces — Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce — out in support via a recent ad that also includes All-Star catcher Salvador Perez and other Royals stumping for the measure to pass. When asked what would happen if it failed, Donovan put the prospect of the Chiefs leaving Kansas City on the table.
“I think they would have to include leaving Kansas City,” Donovan said when asked (via KSHB’s Kevin Holmes) about the team’s future related to the vote. “But our goal here is, we want to stay here. And we’re willing to accept a deal for the county to actually stay here.”
The Chiefs’ Kansas City stay predates the Royals, an expansion team that began play in 1969. The Chiefs relocated from Dallas to Kansas City following the 1962 season, leaving Texas shortly after winning the AFL championship. Clark Hunt’s father, Lamar, founded the franchise and orchestrated the relocation. The Chiefs moved into Arrowhead Stadium in 1972.
Beginning as the Dallas Texans, the franchise rebranded as the Chiefs. While the Chiefs appeared in two Super Bowls in the 1960s, winning Super Bowl IV, they drifted well off the contender radar for most of the next two decades before a run of near-misses defined the team during the 1990s and the early part of this century. The Reid-Mahomes-Kelce trio changed the team’s fortunes, and the Chiefs recently joined only the Patriots and Cowboys as teams to win three Super Bowls in a five-year span.
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas has endorsed the measure, which Bloomberg.com notes calls for a tax that would raise nearly $2 billion in public funds. Should the Royals leave their Kauffman Stadium headquarters, located along Interstate 70 east of downtown Kansas City, the Chiefs would expand their footprint via these proposed renovations.
“We have a building that will be 60 years old at the end of the lease,” Hunt said, via KCTV5’s Mark Poulose. “We only have seven years left on our lease. Stadium projects take many years to develop. I think it goes without saying, we’ll have to evaluate our options, but at this point, we are very focused on Tuesday.”
The Chiefs and Royals’ lease at the Truman Sports Complex runs through 2031. Hunt and Donovan’s comments would affect a potential Kansas City departure in 2032. An early poll from the Remington Research Group (via KSHB) placed this vote as close, with a 47-46 advantage to the measure passing. Donovan said (via the Sports Business Journal’s Ben Fischer) he is cautiously optimistic the vote will go in the team’s favor.
This certainly could be posturing on the Chiefs’ part, but we have obviously seen these situations devolve into exits. Rumblings about the recent Rams, Raiders and Chargers’ relocations involved near-future moves. The Chargers bolted San Diego for Los Angeles not long after their vote to move into a downtown stadium failed. A potential Chiefs departure not coming to a head for more than five years makes it more of a back-burner issue, but this vote does bring intrigue — especially considering the franchise’s recent success — and will be worth monitoring Tuesday.
Police Searching For Chiefs WR Rashee Rice In Connection With Car Accident
APRIL 1: Rice retained legal counsel, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson. The wide receiver’s new legal representative said Monday (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins) his client is cooperating with local authorities.
MARCH 31: A car accident Saturday night has produced a police investigation centering around Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice. Police are searching for Rice in connection with the crash, Kelli Smith and R.J. Coyle of the Dallas Morning News report.
This “major accident” involving a vehicle believed to be registered or leased to Rice occurred around 6:20pm Saturday on a Dallas highway. A driver of a Chevrolet Corvette and a driver of a Lamborghini SUV were speeding on a stretch of the North Central Expressway, per Dallas police, causing the accident.
Both drivers lost control of their vehicles in the crash, causing a high-speed collision when the Lamborghini barreled into a center median wall in a six-car accident. The two drivers fled the scene before providing any information, according to the Morning News. The two vehicles were believed to be racing, per WFAA’s Pete Freedman and Rebecca Lopez. Three men were in the Lamborghini; Rice is believed to have been driving the Corvette.
Two others involved in the accident suffered minor injuries and needed to be hospitalized. No arrest has been made, but a police call sheet confirms Rice is at the center of a search, Smith and Coyle note. Rice will have some questions to answer ahead of his second NFL offseason, though WFAA notes Dallas police have not named the 23-year-old NFLer a suspect at this point.
The Chiefs chose Rice 55th overall out of SMU in last year’s draft. A year after the team chose Skyy Moore in the second round, Rice joined a squad in need at wide receiver. The Chiefs’ receiver trouble became well documented last season, as drops plagued the defending Super Bowl champions. The team’s uneven season at the position also featured backup wideout Justyn Ross landing on the commissioner’s exempt list and eventually receiving a six-game suspension.
Rice emerged as the team’s most dependable wideout and finished his rookie year with 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. Rice’s touchdown and yardage totals each ranked second for a rookie in Chiefs history. As the team could not coax steady production from its more experienced wide receivers throughout last season, its 6-foot-2 rookie — obtained after efforts to trade up for a receiver in last year’s first round did not produce a deal — came through.
Rice added an eight-reception, 130-yard showing in the Chiefs’ wild-card win over the Dolphins, and he caught six passes in the team’s Super Bowl LVIII win. He will be expected to be a key part of Kansas City’s 2024 receiving corps, which will also include Marquise Brown and perhaps another notable addition. But the results of this investigation could put Rice on the radar for an NFL suspension.
Draft Notes: Barton, ’30’ Visits, Wilson
The 2024 tackle class has drawn rave reviews in the lead-in to this month’s draft, but Graham Barton is among those expected to play on the inside upon entering the NFL. The Duke product has nevertheless helped his draft stock recently.
Barton was already gaining steam as a rising prospect before his Pro Day, as noted by ESPN’s Jordan Reid. He battled injuries during the 2023 season and was forced to miss the Senior Bowl as a result, but the two-time All-American managed to take part in the Blue Devils’ Pro Day last week. Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reports Barton’s performance was highly impressive, and it secured his status as a Day 1 prospect.
Following up on the strong workout, Reid notes Barton could now work his way into the top 15 come draft night. Many NFL teams view the first-team All-ACC selection as a center, but he could also see time at guard at the pro level. Wherever he lines up as a rookie, Barton will face high expectations and no doubt draw the attention of many teams near the top of the order in need of reinforcements up front.
Here are some other draft-related notes from around the NFL:
- Missouri’s Darius Robinson has also seen his stock rise in the wake of the Senior Bowl, and NFL teams are keeping an eye on him. The Steelers recently hosted him on a ’30’ visit, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He adds Robinson has 20 meetings with teams on the books, making him one of several potential first-rounders who will remain busy as the draft approaches. O-lineman Taliese Fuaga is among the prospects who also met with the Steelers, as noted by Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Staying in Pennsylvania, the Eagles hosted Laiatu Latu on a ’30’ visit, Geoff Mosher of Inside the Birds reports. The UCLA product is one of the best edge rushers in the 2024 class, having earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023. His college resume includes a medical retirement, however, so there will be risk involved in selecting him. Philadelphia and all other prospective suitors will no doubt have a vested interest in Latu’s medical examinations. The Eagles traded Haason Reddick to the Jets, creating the need for a new investment along the edge.
- The inside linebacker class is not believed to have a Day 1 prospect, but Edgerrin Cooper is among the top options teams will have to choose from. The Texas A&M product had a strong Pro Day showing, and he has a number of ’30’ visits lined up. Per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, the list of interested teams includes the Texans, Eagles, Cowboys, Panthers, Chargers and Buccaneers. Cooper was a consensus All-American in 2023 after racking up 84 tackles (including 17 for loss), eight sacks and a pair of forced fumbles.
- Pittsburgh, Dallas, Carolina and Tampa Bay are among the teams also set to host Western Kentucky wideout Malachi Corley, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes. Garafolo adds the Browns, Ravens, Seahawks and 49ers have also booked a visit with the small school standout. Corley is a member of a very deep receiver class, but his 180 catches, 2,279 yards and 22 touchdowns over the past two seasons along with a strong pre-draft process has put him firmly on the draft radar.
- Marshawn Kneeland has also drawn considerable pre-draft attention. The Western Michigan defensive end has either already met with (or plans to visit) the Eagles along with the Chiefs, Saints, Jaguars, Jets, Vikings, Colts and Commanders, per Pauline. Kneeland spent four years with the MAC program, totaling 12.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss while establishing himself as a power rusher and strong run defender.
- While a number of prospects have helped their stock recently, the opposite is of course true of others. Michigan receiver Roman Wilson appears to have fallen into the latter category, per ESPN’s Matt Miller. He notes Wilson is in danger of falling to the late second round or early in the third, something which could become increasingly possible if a run on the draft’s other pass-catchers takes place. Wilson averaged 16.4 yards per catch and scored 12 touchdowns on a run-heavy Wolverines offense last season, but his size (6-0, 180) and mediocre statistics from his three other campaigns could make him less appealing than other WR options.
Chiefs Sign Rugby Star Louis Rees-Zammit
The Chiefs are getting creative as they seek some additional offensive firepower. The team is set to sign rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
The 23-year-old worked out for the Chiefs earlier this week and impressed the staff. According to Schultz, Rees-Zammit attracted interest from around the NFL, as the rugby wing also visited with the Jets, Browns, and Broncos. Rees-Zammit previously announced that he’d be leaving Gloucester Rugby with the hopes of catching on with the NFL International Player Pathway Program.
In Kansas City, Rees-Zammit will be utilized in a running back/wide receiver hybrid role. The six-foot-three athlete will also be utilized in the return game, with Schultz noting that the NFL’s recent kickoff rule changes could make Rees-Zammit a “significant” addition. Per the new rule, only the kicker and returner can move before the ball hits the ground, a change that the NFL is hoping will reduce high-speed collisions.
Rees-Zammit posted a 4.43-second 40-yard dash time during his pro day last week. He also recorded a 9’7″ broad jump and 29″ vertical jump, per Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report. The rookie certainly possesses the physical attributes to contribute in both the receiving and running game, and he could earn a roster spot on an uncertain Kansas City depth chart.
The Chiefs brought in Marquise Brown to partly solve their WR woes, adding him to a grouping that already includes holdovers like Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Kadarius Toney. Rees-Zammit might have an easier path to playing time at the RB position, where the team still hasn’t re-signed Jerick McKinnon. That opens up a third-down role behind Isiah Pacheco, where Rees-Zammit could compete with the likes of La’Mical Perine, Deneric Prince, and Keaontay Ingram.
Chiefs To Trade CB L’Jarius Sneed To Titans
MARCH 26: Sneed will end up with a bit more on his second contract, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport noting it will be a $76.4MM deal for the former Chiefs standout. The $19.1MM AAV will place Sneed sixth among cornerbacks. A $20MM signing bonus will comprise part of Sneed’s guarantee package; the Titans can spread that figure over the life of the contract.
MARCH 22: Despite recent reports that a previous trade agreement fell through after the Titans were unable to reach an extension agreement for Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the deal will come to pass.
Tennessee is finalizing a trade that will send Kansas City a 2025 third-round pick and will swap the teams’ seventh-round picks in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft in order to acquire the 27-year-old defender. 
The Chiefs had applied the franchise tag to Sneed in order to avoid him hitting unrestricted free agency following the expiration of his rookie deal. Despite the move to keep him under contract, Kansas City didn’t display much of a desire to keep Sneed on the roster in 2024. The team is extremely familiar with the tag-and-trade maneuver having used it to send Dee Ford to San Francisco and acquiring Frank Clark from Seattle under similar circumstances.
Kansas City was unwilling to meet the salary desires that Sneed had for an extension, so it made it clear to the rest of the league that its star cornerback was available for the right price. The Vikings, Colts, Patriots, Lions, Falcons, Jaguars, and Dolphins were all reported as teams to show an initial interest, though several sought other options or simply opted to cease communication with the Chiefs about a deal.
Tennessee took advantage of having the third-most salary cap space in the league, signing Sneed to what Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report reports will be a four-year, $76MM extension. If those terms are correct, his new deal would match recently extended Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson‘s in length and overall value. The main difference that Schultz gives us is that while Johnson’s deal included $51.4MM of guarantees, Sneed’s will have $55MM of guaranteed money.
The Titans were reportedly the only team that got close enough, reaching a point at which a deal was essentially ready to go last week, but without being able to reach an agreement on an extended contract from Sneed, the deal seemingly fell through. Following their failed efforts to acquire Sneed, the Titans pivoted, signing free agent cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and using the money set aside for a Sneed extension to sign wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
Sneed comes to Tennessee as the obvious new starter alongside Roger McCreary and Awuzie, replacing Sean Murphy-Bunting, who signed a three-year, $25.5MM deal that sent him to Arizona. The Titans also lost their other outside cornerback when Kristian Fulton signed a one-year contract with the Chargers. Sneed and Awuzie should take over roles as the main outside corners, allowing McCreary to continue to excel in the slot.
As for the Chiefs, while they’ll certainly miss having a playmaker like Sneed in their secondary, they have to feel pretty good about their position moving forward. Once the trade goes through, the totality of Sneed’s $19.8MM franchise tag salary will come of their salary cap, granting much needed cap space to a team that ranked 28th in the NFL before the deal.
As for the draft capital return, in addition to the seventh-round swap, the team will be gauging the success of their trade on how poorly Tennessee performs in 2024. The 2025 third-rounder will obviously come before the late-third-round compensatory pick that Sneed was likely to return as an unrestricted free agent. If the Titans have a poor showing next season, though, they could return an early-third-round pick as a result of today’s deal.
Without Sneed, Kansas City still has to feel pretty good about its talent at cornerback. Three third-year players will return to lead the position room in 2024. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie in the first round, Fayetteville State cornerback Joshua Williams in the fourth round, and Washington State cornerback Jaylen Watson in the seventh. Today, it views all three as starting-caliber players in their third year.
Specializing in the slot, McDuffie ranked as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-best cornerback in the NFL in 2023. Williams wasn’t far behind as the 26th-best, and Watson graded out at 46th. Including those three and Sneed, the team touts an impressive record evaluating draft-eligible cornerbacks. If they feel the need to add bodies to the room, look to the draft as the likely source of their next great cornerback.
Titans’ Trade For CB L’Jarius Sneed Falls Through; League Interest Cooling
Two weeks ago, we went into some detail on the list of teams interested in trading for Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. The Titans were one of those teams, and it appears the team was all but set to trade for Kansas City’s top cornerback before one detail sank the deal. According to Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the inability of Tennessee to reach an agreement on a multi-year extension for Sneed kept the trade from going through. 
The Chiefs avoided allowing Sneed to test unrestricted free agency by applying the franchise tag on him earlier this month. While every now and then, a franchise tag application can be the end of the story, keeping a key player under contract for one additional, high-paying year, often times, the tag is meant to buy time as the player continues to seek a long-term contract. With Sneed, that meant two options: seeking a long-term contract with Kansas City or getting traded to another team that may be more open to giving him the deal he desires.
The Chiefs are very familiar with the tag-and-trade maneuver. They have utilized it themselves to send Dee Ford to the 49ers while also taking advantage of it to bring Frank Clark from Seattle. Right now, it appears that Kansas City is unwilling to meet Sneed where he’s wanting to be in terms of a contract extension. As a result, they have essentially informed every team in the NFL that Sneed is available for a trade.
With the Chiefs hearing offers on Sneed, a number of teams reached out to express interest. We noted the Vikings, Colts, Titans, Patriots, Lions, Falcons, Jaguars, and Dolphins as teams looking to acquire the 27-year-old. While all these teams showed initial interest, it was never clear how many had the intentions of trading for Sneed then extending him.
Sneed has made it clear that he is seeking a three- or four-year contract with an average annual value of at least $20MM, a salary that would make him the league’s third-highest-paid cornerback. While Tennessee was ready to part ways with whatever Kansas City wanted in exchange for Sneed, the Titans were apparently not ready to hand Sneed a new contract. Without a new contract, Sneed is set to play with a one-year salary of $19.8MM on the franchise tag, with every penny counting towards his team’s cap space. This provides incentive for the Chiefs or whatever team trades for him to use a new deal to lessen his salary cap impact.
The Titans apparently pivoted from the Sneed-trade to sign cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and use the extra money to sign wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The Lions traded instead for cornerback Carlton Davis. Additionally, Taylor informs that the Patriots, Vikings, and Falcons have ceased engagements with Kansas City concerning Sneed. So who else is left to vie for his services?
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini names Indianapolis as the most likely destination for Sneed at this time. The Chiefs will be wanting at least a second-round pick for Sneed, but if they can’t reach that value, they’re going to want two picks, with one of them being a third-rounder. She identifies the Colts‘ 46th, 82nd, and 117th overall picks as the ones that could entice Kansas City. On the Pat McAfee Show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter disputed Russini’s opinion, claiming that “the Colts and the Chiefs haven’t had any conversations” about a trade taking place. Stephen Holder of ESPN delved deeper claiming that, after contemplating the idea of a Sneed-trade, Indianapolis instead opted to re-sign its own players, like cornerback Kenny Moore.
As for the Chiefs, the relative inactivity around Sneed could allow them to lower Sneed’s asking price on a new deal. Sneed has expressed interest in remaining with the Chiefs multiple times. He doesn’t seem too eager to give a hometown discount, as he realizes that this is likely his best opportunity to maximize on his value, but he likes the idea of a Super Bowl three-peat and enjoyed his role as the team’s shadow corner.
Kansas City is in no rush to overpay, though. They are currently ranked 28th in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com, and they are confident in their ability to identify cornerback talent through the draft. Without Sneed, the Chiefs will return Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, and Jaylen Watson, three players they believe to be starting-caliber.
As the draft inches closer and closer, it’s starting to seem like one of two things will need to happen: either Kansas City is going to need to lower their asking price for Sneed in order to move him, or Sneed will need to lower his asking price for a new extension. It doesn’t sound like the Chiefs are interested in keeping Sneed on the roster in 2024, but someone will need to bend in order for him to move. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, for one, expects the team to move on from Sneed before the draft.