As expected, the Kansas City Chiefs placed the franchise tag on cornerback L'Jarius Sneed ahead of the March 5 deadline. It's also pretty clear he is available, since it's the non-exclusive franchise tag and a tag and trade scenario is in play. Kansas City's recent history of not paying big money to cornerbacks also says Sneed is available.
Of course if Sneed gets an offer under the non-exclusive tag the Chiefs can just match it. And they don't have to take any trade offers that come. They could just keep Sneed for $19.8 million in 2024, and go from there.
The signing of defensive tackle Chris Jones to a massive contract before free agency starts seems to be a sign the Chiefs will be open for business on Sneed. Two separate recent reports have pointed to the Lions being among teams interested in him, which is easily expected given their need for a legitimate No. 1 corner.
It's also not surprising so many teams have interest in Sneed.
Using the reports from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and USA TODAY's Tyler Dragon to make it very easy, here are 7 teams the Lions must outbid for Sneed.
7. Miami Dolphins
Fowler's report mentioned the Dolphins, alongside the Lions, as a team "worth keeping an eye on" for Sneed. They will officially part ways with Xavien Howard when the new league year starts, and they are set to lose defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency.
Miami's cap woes (still more than $23 million over before the March 13 deadline to be compliant as of Sunday afternoon, according to Over The Cap) make it patently unlikely they'll be serious players for Sneed. But if there's enough will, there could be a way to make it happen.