It was last Wednesday when Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported that the Kansas City Chiefs had placed their 2024 franchise tag on free-agent cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. We (along with many other outlets) picked up that news — and salary-cap sites Spotrac and OverTheCap dutifully subtracted the 2024’s $19.8 million cornerback franchise tag figure from Kansas City’s available cap space, which then fell to just $9.5 million.
It all made sense. The day before, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had reported that the Chiefs had “informed L’Jarius Sneed they are prepared to use the franchise tag,” and were willing to trade him if they couldn’t come to terms on a long-term deal.