INDIANAPOLIS — Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has another week before deciding whether to use the franchise tag on pending free agents Chris Jones or L’Jarius Sneed. But on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Veach offered hints at his course of action when asked if Sneed would be the team’s likely target.
“I think we’ll see,” Veach said. “I think that is certainly something that is a possibility. I mean, given Chris Jones’ tag is enormous, so we’ll work through that. As I mentioned, we try to see if we can get both these guys done. But I think that’s something that, you know, it’s a possibility.”
ESPN reported Tuesday afternoon the Chiefs have informed Sneed they plan to use the franchise tag on him and are open to a trade if a long-term deal cannot be reached. Sneed is reportedly amenable to the plan, which would allow him to consider offers from the other clubs if necessary.
Veach acknowledged earlier Tuesday that tagging and trading Sneed was among his possible contingency plans for the offseason.
“You may have a backup plan, but those guys may get tagged and traded,” he said. “So it’s just a series of contingency plans but love Chris, love LJ (if) and we’re able to get those two players back it would be certainly a big win for us, but we also know that nothing is guaranteed.”
The math suggests that tagging Sneed is the easiest course of action, whether the intent is to retain Sneed or package him in a trade. According to salary cap tracking sites such as Spotrac and Over the Cap, the Chiefs have as much as $28.3 million in available cap space when the new league year begins on March 13. The one-year franchise tag tender offer for a cornerback such as Sneed carries a cost of $19.8 million.
Tagging Jones, however, would require the Chiefs to offer the All-Pro defensive tackle a one-year deal with 120% of his 2023 salary. That comes to $32.2 million, which would require the Chiefs to make some cap-saving moves to squeeze a franchise tag offer for Jones under the cap.
Even though Sneed is more likely to receive the franchise tag than Jones, Veach reiterated that his primary goal is to retain both core players.
“It’d be great to get Chris and LJ done,” Veach said. “That’s our goal and intention, but we also know that it’s not 100% and might not even be 75%. It might be 50%. And so we’ll have a backup plan to that. A lot of this has to do with it’s like a musical chair game where if you’re not able to bring both those guys back.”
Jones and Sneed aren’t the only homegrown Chiefs players eligible for free agency this offseason. Defensive end Mike Danna, linebacker Willie Gay and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire are among the players drafted by the team under their rookie contracts who are now eligible for unrestricted free agency, which officially opens March 13. Undrafted free agents such as punter Tommy Townsend and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton are also first-time eligible unrestricted free agents.
“We’re very fortunate to have a group of young guys that are eligible and are in that window because those are really good football players,” Veach said. “And those were guys that we’re gonna want to try to extend and keep her for a long time as well.”
Veach said it’s extremely tough making decisions on whether to retain players the club has drafted and developed — “It’s a series of never-ending good problems to have,” he said. But he reiterated sticking to his long-term blueprint by carefully navigating free agency and putting “our best foot forward with the guys that we want to take care of right now.”
That may mean allowing some players to test free agency and evaluate who remains on the market in the following waves of free agency signings, including after the NFL Draft.
“We’ll get through the draft and then after the draft, we’ll catch our breath and then look to the future and for the guys that are on our roster and deal with that after the draft,” Veach explained. “Because so much goes into you know what you’re able to get done this offseason and what the contract has looked like and what the cash flows look like so you get a better piece of the puzzle, better picture of the puzzle as you go on.”
