The Kansas City Chiefs traded star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans late last month, opening up a need at the position heading into 2024.
The Chiefs could try and address the hole in the NFL Draft in a few weeks, or they could attempt to sign a free agent.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine thinks Kansas City is a good fit for cornerback Xavien Howard, who was cut by the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason and remains available.
Howard, who played his collegiate football at Baylor, was selected by the Dolphins in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He spent the first eight years of his career in Miami, making four trips to the Pro Bowl while also earning a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Howard broke out in his third season, leading the league with seven interceptions to go along with 35 tackles, a fumble recovery and 12 passes defended.
Two years later, Howard led the NFL in picks yet again, this time racking up 10 of them in addition to posting 51 tackles, a forced fumble and a league-best 20 passes defended. That 2020 campaign represented Howard’s lone First-Team All-Pro nod.
The 30-year-old made three straight Pro Bowl appearances between 2020 and 2022, although he certainly began showing signs of decline in the latter campaign.
This past season, Howard played in 13 games and logged 45 tackles, an interception and 12 passes defended. The Dolphins cut him to open up some cap room.
The Chiefs have lost key defensive backs before and survived. They did it with corners Charvarius Ward and Kendall Fuller. They also did it with safety Tyrann Mathieu.
Fine drafting has certainly played a major role in Kansas City’s success.
But perhaps the Chiefs should hedge their bets and sign Howard in addition to also selecting a cornerback in the draft.
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