L’Jarius Sneed doesn’t sound worried about Tyreek trade or AFC West

If L’Jarius Sneed is representative of the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs, the team should still come out confident in 2022 despite recent changes.

There’s not a single member of Chiefs Kingdom who would have scripted the team’s offseason to play out as it has. In fact, most fans of the Kansas City Chiefs would likely have written something quite opposite of what the team has done. The end result has been a shaken confidence for many when it comes to discussing the team’s ability to maintain such dominance in the AFC West and chase another Super Bowl.

The cloud of confusion around the Chiefs’ chances in 2022 is understandable. After all, the team had feasted on opponents for years as an offensive juggernaut with three primary pillars, and the Chiefs traded one of those for a bevy of draft selections in the Tyreek Hill deal. Just like that, the team’s offensive identity was altered on a team where the defense lacks any identity at all.

Beyond that, the rest of the AFC West decided to go all-in in the very same offseason. The Denver Broncos found a quarterback. The Los Angeles Chargers spent big on defensive additions. Even the Las Vegas Raiders traded for arguably the game’s best wideout and signed one of the league’s best pass rushers.

Altogether, the confidence index in K.C. is not what it was just a few months ago. Just don’t tell that to Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.

Sneed recently appeared on Good Morning, Football on the NFL Network from his home in Dallas, Texas for a short interview that caught fans up on Sneed’s take on the Chiefs’ changes. Overall, Sneed sounded like a man who trusts the team’s leaders to do what is right and for the Chiefs to continue to do what they’ve been doing for years.

“That Tyreek and Patrick Mahomes connection was kind of special, but as you know, Andy Reid’s got something up his sleeves. I know Patrick Mahomes and the guy that they bring in is gonna get together and build the empire…,” said Sneed when asked about his thoughts on the deal with Miami. 

Even when pressed about the AFC West improvements, Sneed was still all smiles. He said, “Coach Spags, with the mentality he has, it ain’t gonna change nothing much. They can keep building and keep going. We’re gonna keep doing what we do on our end. Just handle our business. We’re not worried about the other side though.”

The Chiefs might be missing a perennial All-Pro via trade and missed out on nearly every impact free agent at positions of need, but Sneed is a believer in the central figures at work here: Mahomes and Andy Reid. He also knows that the offseason is far from over and that the final roster that will start the season is coming together over time. All Sneed can do is his best work on the field when it counts, and worrying about things out of his control won’t get him anywhere.

Besides, no matter what changes have been made, the Chiefs have won the division six straight years at this point, so they’ve been around this block before. In that way, Sneed sounds like a savvy veteran more than a promising young player only two years into his career.