4 L'Jarius Sneed replacements the Chiefs can have without breaking the bank

3. Sign veteran Stephon Gilmore

Of course, another option for the Chiefs to replace L'Jarius Sneed would be to explore the free agency market. By all accounts, it looks as if it's going to be him and Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson at the top of the market for cornerbacks, meaning that both players will command a big payday wherever they end up signing. Nipping at their heels would be a guy like Kendall Fuller.

The sneaky part of free agency as we look into the offseason, though, is that there is a notable drop off in the cornerback market after Fuller. Sure, there are still good, useful players, but those top three all check the boxes for age, performance, and future outlook. Some other players instead are lacking in one of those areas or more.

But that's something that the Chiefs could ultimately take advantage of with a player like Stephon Gilmore.

At 33 years old, there isn't a team in their right mind that would hand out a long-term contract to Gilmore. His overall best years are certainly behind him and we could see his performance decline somewhat soon. However, if the Chiefs were to want to put a band-aid on the cornerback hole created by losing Sneed, Gilmore could make some sense.

Projected by Spotrac to only command a one-year, $11.1 million deal on the open market this offseason, that's half (or even less) the price of the AAV that Sneed will be getting. And despite his age, Gilmore still performed like a top-third corner in the league last season with the Dallas Cowboys. That could all allow Kansas City to bring him in as a stopgap option before further maneuvering in 2025.