Chiefs master plan to keep L'Jarius Sneed still on track after Chris Jones extension

The Kansas City Chiefs finally locked up Chris Jones long term on Saturday, signing the All-Pro DT to a five-year contract worth $160 million ($95 million guaranteed). It was a long time coming, and Jones now owns the richest contract in NFL history at his position.

Now, all eyes turn to L'Jarius Sneed. The Chiefs used the franchise tag, worth $18.4 million, on the fourth-year CB, but that serves a purely logistical purpose. Odds are, Kansas City will either ink Sneed to a long-term deal or trade him. Bringing the 27-year-old into the season on an expiring contract would only serve as a distraction.

The common presumption has been that Kansas City, with their cap sheet already stretched thin, cannot afford both Jones and Sneed. The latter even relayed that concern to reporters. Sneed wants to stay with the Chiefs, though, and who wouldn't after three Super Bowl victories in four years? The Chiefs surely want to keep him. So, we cannot count out a reunion just yet.

Chiefs can still keep Chris Jones and L'Jarius Sneed long term

At face value, Jones' contract will cost roughly $32 million annually. The Chiefs already moved heaven and earth to open up the cap space necessary to retain Jones, releasing Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Sneed is expected to command a contract in the same ballpark as Jaylon Johnson's four-year, $76 million deal with the Chicago Bears. He is, again, currently on the books for a shade more than $18 million in 2024.

While the Chiefs can continue cutting players and working the simple addition-substraction game, there is only one way for Kansas City to actually re-sign Sneed on top of Jones' new deal. It involves a rather aggressive contract restructuring campaign.

As FanSided's Kinnu Singh points out, the Chiefs can technically clear $74 million in cap space by restructuring contracts. They won't go that far, of course, but QB Patrick Mahomes and OT Joe Thuney are prime candidates to rework their current deals. The Chiefs can create $7.4 million in space with Thuney and another $12.6 million by converting RT Jawaan Taylor's fully guaranteed contract into a signing bonus.

That said, there are long-term ramifications to such a strategy. Reworking Thuney's contract alleviates stress in the moment, for example, but he would suddenly carry a $34 million cap hit for next season. That is completely ludicrous for even the best offensive lineman. Keeping Sneed now would essentially guarantee that Kansas City loses more key pieces down the line.

It's a precarious balancing act for the Chiefs' front office. The goal is to win the Super Bowl right now. No team should be all-in more than Kansas City. That said, the Chiefs also have the potential for a historically long competitive window here. Mahomes is 28 and he is signed through 2031. The Chiefs cannot completely sacrifice the future, because that is still sacrificing part of Mahomes' prime.

So yes, Sneed staying in Kansas City is still a very real possibility. It's not a question of possibility — it's a question of value, short and long-term. Is keeping Sneed worth tanking the future and suffering more cap complications down the line? Or, will the Chiefs pivot, add younger DB talent through the draft or free agency, and maintain what little flexibility they can around the massive contracts of Mahomes and Jones?

Both options have merit, but right now, the common expectation is that Sneed is a trade-and-tag candidate. There is a world in which Sneed rides out the 2024 campaign on the franchise tag and revisits contract talks next offseason, when the Chiefs can get a clearer view of their future. That does not sound ideal, but all possibilities are on the table.

Just mentally prepare, Chiefs Kingdom, for Sneed to play in different threads next season. All avenues are available to Kansas City, and there's no concrete plan of action from the looks of it. The Chiefs and Sneed are taking this day by day.