Over this past weekend, Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, who will be a free agent this offseason, took to Instagram to post a picture of himself with a lone "eagle" emoji as the caption:
Naturally, that caused speculation among the fan based that Sneed could find himself in Philadelphia as a free agent.
A report surfaced on Tuesday from Sportskeeda's Tony Pauline that multiple Eagles who were teammates with Sneed at Louisiana Tech are recruiting him to join the Birds:
I’m told three of Sneed’s college teammates from Louisiana Tech, who are presently on the Eagles roster, are actively recruiting the cornerback to come to Philadelphia via text messages and other methods. Running back Boston Scott, defensive lineman Milton Williams and tight end Griffin Herbert all played with Sneed at Louisiana Tech and are pushing their former teammate to sign with the Eagles if he hits the open market. [Sportskeeda]
What gives that report immediate credence is that Williams himself reposted Pauline's report on X with an "eyes" emoji as a caption:
So, yeah, I'd say Williams is a part of the recruiting process.
I'm sure players always want their friends to join their teams, but how realistic is it that they could land Sneed?
The Eagles are expected to have $27 million in cap space this offseason. There are cost-cutting measures to be had, too, such as releasing safety Kevin Byard, which would save the team a little over $13 million.
How about their current cornerback situation?
Darius Slay will be back. James Bradberry, after falling off a cliff in the 2023 season, is a huge variable while being under contract at a hefty cost. Here's how PhillyVoice Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski assesses the Bradberry situation:
If the Eagles move on from Bradberry this season, they'll take a dead money hit of $15,238,000. They can push $10,903,000 of that hit into 2025 if they designate Bradberry as a June 1 release, with only $4,335,000 in dead money on the 2024 cap.
I've heard the sentiment that there's "a zero percent chance the Eagles cut Bradberry because his 2024 pay is guaranteed." That's nonsense. Bradberry's base salary in 2024 is only $1,210,000. The team previously converted the bulk of his base salaries in 2024 and 2025 into bonuses, and then spread that money into void years all the way out to 2029. Whether the Eagles and Bradberry part ways this offseason, next offseason, or in 2026 after the final year of his deal, the Eagles are going to have significant dead money on their cap left over regardless.
If you keep Bradberry, you're doing so with the intent to start him. Otherwise, he'd be a 31-year-old backup who doesn't play special teams who costs a young player a roster spot. There are times you just rip off the Band-Aid, take your lumps, and move on. This is one of them.
Howie Roseman — when asked about Bradberry at the NFL Combine on Tuesday — said, "Yeah, he's under contract, part of our plans."
OK. Would Sneed, 27, actually leave Kansas City and explore free agency?
Kansas City general manger Brett Veach said at the Combine on Tuesday that the team would franchise tag either Sneed or All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones if long-term contracts could not be reached with both. Sneed's franchise tag number as a cornerback would be about $18.8 million for the 2024 season. That makes this a big "what if," but if Eagles players are commenting on it, eyebrows will always be raised.
UPDATE [Tuesday, 4:31 p.m.]:
The Chiefs have reportedly informed Sneed that they intend to use the franchise tag on him, but the possibility of a tag-and-trade is on the table:
He could still be on the move...
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