Jaguars are an unlikely trade destination for Chiefs CB L'Jarius Sneed

Early in free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars seemed like a potential landing spot for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. After all, they had just released Darious Williams and had the ammo to make a deal. However, a trade for Sneed seems unlikely now. Nevertheless, Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus has the Jags pulling the trigger in his latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft.

Sikkema did a three-round mock draft and had the Jaguars taking Adonai Mitchell in the first round. That's not particularly surprising, as losing Calvin Ridley in free agency left a void in their wide receiver corps. What stood out is that Sikkema has Jacksonville trading their second-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for Sneed.

Kansas City was reportedly asking for a second-rounder in exchange for Sneed, so the trade would make sense, at least on paper. That said, the Jaguars would have to also give him a new contract, and he's tentatively looking for top-market money. That could scare away any potential suitors.

As a matter of fact, Sneed's contract demands are reportedly stopping a trade from taking place. The Indianapolis Colts have shown interest for a while and the Tennessee Titans are also making a run. However, neither team seems to be willing to give the fourth-year cornerback the kind of deal he wants.

Maybe Sneed will soon realize his salary expectations are halting a deal, and when he does, it will get quickly done. For the time being, he remains a Chief, and no trade is imminent.

L'Jarius Sneed is probably a hard pass for the Jaguars right now

While the Jags were reportedly interested in Sneed before free agency, they've made several moves since then that would prevent them from acquiring him. Besides signing Arik Armstead, they made other signings that weren't nearly as meaningful but will still eat up a considerable chunk of the team's cap space.

As of right now, Jacksonville has around $16 million in cap space, but that's without accounting for Armstead's deal and the Joey Slye and Trevis Gipson signings. The front office could get relief if they give Josh Allen a new contract — he's currently on the franchise tag — or if they restructure Cam Robinson's contract. Either way, they may not have the space to meet Sneed's contract demands at this moment.

It's true that a second-round pick seems like a reasonable price to pay in exchange for Sneed but Jacksonville may be better off taking a young cornerback in the draft. This year's crop will be loaded, and they will be in a position to take one of the top prospects at No. 17. But even if they want to wait until the second round, they will still be able to land a quality corner.

Add the fact that the Jags just signed Ronald Darby and it doesn't make sense to trade for Sneed. Granted, Sneed is a much better player and a proven commodity, unlike a draft prospect, but the front office already poured resources into other position groups, so the best course of action is probably to take a corner early in the draft.

In the end, L'Jarius Sneed is a fine player who can help several teams. But until he adjusts his contract demands, he may have a hard time finding a landing spot. It also goes without saying but the Jaguars won't probably be the team that ends up trading for him.

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