By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Chiefs are adding a familiar veteran to their cornerback room, signing cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to a one year deal, reuniting the cornerback with the team that drafted him in 2020.
The one-year deal is worth up to $5 million, Sneed's agents, the Katz Brothers, told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Chiefs traded Sneed to the Tennessee Titans in 2024 after placing the franchise tag on him that year. But, the Titans released Sneed on March 13th of this year in a move that saved the team $11.4 million in salary cap space, paving the way for Sneed to return to Kansas City.
The 29 year old Sneed struggled to stay on the field appearing in just 12 games over two seasons for Tennessee. He had signed a four-year, $76 million contract after the Titans acquired him in the trade with the Chiefs. Starting the 2025 season on the physically unable to perform list as he recovered from a knee procedure in May and a lingering quad injury, Sneed played seven games last season and finished with 26 tackles and three passes defended. He suffered another quad injury in Week 7 against the New England Patriots and missed the final 10 games of the season after going on injured reserve.
Sneed was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020. He has 10 interceptions, 43 passes defended and 352 tackles in six NFL seasons. The Chiefs have revamped their cornerback depth chart this offseason after trading Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams, also seeing former starter Jaylen Watson leave in free agency, also to the Rams.
The Chiefs traded up in the 2026 draft to select Mansoor Delane and signed Kader Kohou and Kaiir Elam in free agency. Pending health, Sneed could easily slot in as one of the top corners on the team, alongside Delane, also competing with returners such as Chris Roland Wallace and Kristian Fulton.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.