3 Pittsburgh Steelers who won't be back if they trade for L'Jarius Sneed
By Mark Powell
The Pittsburgh Steelers are among the teams reportedly interested in Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, who was franchise tagged by the defending Super Bowl champs earlier this offseason. Sneed plays at a Pro Bowl-caliber level, and is just 27 years old.
From the Chiefs perspective, unloading Sneed would provide them more capital to re-sign Chris Jones, who expects a multiyear contract worth over $28 million per season, via Spotrac. Jones, along with perhaps a free-agent wide receiver to pair with Rashee Rice, will be expensive. Sneed is replaceable for Kansas City, as the emergence of former first-round pick Trent McDuffie suggests he can be a true No. 1 cornerback.
The asking price for Sneed is said to be a second-round pick. After acquiring the star cornerback, however, Pittsburgh would like to extend him as well. That could cost upwards of $20 million per season on a multiyear deal, and would eat up a huge chunk of the Steelers remaining cap space.
Cornerback is a need, but so is center and quarterback, among many others the Steelers hope to fill before next season. Sneed would be a huge addition. Unfortunately, he'd also limit Pittsburgh's options moving forward.
3. Steelers could lose Diontae Johnson if they trade for L'Jarius Sneed
Diontae Johnson could be an easy 1-for-1 trade option to send to the Chiefs, who are in need of a No. 1 receiver. I suggested as much in a column I wrote a few days ago regarding Pittsburgh's negotiations with KC:
"A combination of mid-to-late round draft picks plus Johnson could be enough to land the Steelers Sneed. Both players are in the final year of their contracts and fill a clear need, as the Chiefs receiving corps is lacking elite playmakers alongside Rashee Rice."
Johnson reportedly wants a new contract, and has telegraphed that he'd be open to a trade out of Pittsburgh. It's tough to blame him given the current quarterback climate with the Steelers, and Kenny Pickett won't help Johnson pad his stats in a contract year. Mark Kaboly backed that up on a radio spot in Pittsburgh.
"Yeah, I've heard some stuff here and there. It might be the Steelers are looking to see who's interested because potentially Diontae Johnson might not want to be here either. Hard to nail down now which angle it's coming from, but if I was a betting man, I would say that Diontae might be pushing this more than the Steelers," said Kaboly.
Trading Johnson for Sneed wouldn't mark a major sacrifice for the Steelers, who have George Pickens in tow and could draft another mid-round receiver this April, something they've proven successful at over the years.