Steelers Potential FA Target L’Jarius Sneed Hopes to Stay with Chiefs

Potential Steelers top free agent target L'Jarius Sneed is hopeful that he can stay in Kansas City with a new contract.

Nick Farabaugh |

Updated: Feb 11, 2024

Pittsburgh Steelers CB L'Jarius Sneed — Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (38) gets set on defense in the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Peter Aiken)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going into free agency this season and could make a big splash with enough cap space to make that move. At cornerback, two names would make sense for the team to look at in L’Jarius Sneed and Jaylon Johnson. Johnson stated that he wanted to get the biggest bag possible, but it seems like he is on a collision course with the franchise tag. But Sneed’s situation is less clear. The Chiefs could franchise tag, but they also may need to make room to extend star defensive lineman Chris Jones.

With the franchise tag for cornerback falling between $19 and $20 million this offseason, Sneed could be a prime candidate if things go south with Jones. But what does Sneed want to do? He caught up with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and stated that he wants to say in Kansas City.

“I would love to be back,” Sneed said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. It’s part of the business…I put my best foot forward the entire year. It’s all in the mind. Block it out, play ball.”

Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed has become one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks over the last two seasons, and now, he has a chance to hit free agency for a massive payday. Two weeks ago, Pro Football Focus named the Steelers as one of the top landing spot for Sneed.

“Sneed was a fixture out wide in 2023 after lining up primarily in the slot over his first three seasons, and he held up quite well in several tough matchups,” PFF wrote. “Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo asks a lot of his cornerbacks, and Sneed is sticky in coverage, getting into receivers’ hip pockets and becoming very hard to shake with lateral movement or in the air at the catch point.

They believe he will get $17.5 million a year to come in at around three years, $52.5 million with $35 million of that guaranteed. Sneed’s a talented player who could form a solid duo with Joey Porter Jr. on the other side. That could latch Pittsburgh into having an expensive secondary, but one that teams will have to contend with for years to come. Sneed is still a potential franchise tag player for the Chiefs, too. But his tape is as good as any cornerback on the market this season, and he has continued to perform at a high level for multiple years in Kansas City.