Steelers dodge expensive bullet with CB L’Jarius Sneed

One of the NFL players many fans and pundits targeted for the Pittsburgh Steelers was Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. The Chiefs made it no secret the talented cornerback was on the trading block due in large part to his contract demands as he was going to play on the franchise tag in 2024.

Thankfully, the Steelers didn’t want to be strapped with yet another huge contract on the most expensive defensive in the league and instead, the Tennessee Titans worked a deal for Sneed and are paying him big time.

The Titans sent a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL and will swap seventh-round picks in 2024 for Sneed. A more-than-fair trade. But it’s the contract that Tennessee is reportedly giving him that would have surely scared off the Steelers if they even had any interest. Four years and $55 million guaranteed with a total value of somewhere in the vicinity of $76 million is steep.

Pittsburgh didn’t sit around and do nothing. They traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson for cornerback Donte Jackson giving them a starting outside cornerback to pair up with Joey Porter Jr. and did it for far less investment.