Tennessee Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was introduced to the media on Tuesday morning after being traded by the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Sneed spoke about his excitement to join his new teammates, his $76 million contract extension, and how his skillset will translate into Dennard Wilson's defense in Tennessee.
But of all the topics discussed, none were more important than his health. Sneed was asked about his lingering knee issues from his time in Kansas City and how it will need to be managed moving forward.
"Nothing is wrong with my knee. I'm fine," asserted the 27-year-old cornerback. "I played a whole season [in 2023] and years before that, I played as well. I had a couple problems and had a banged up knee before, but I'm good right now. Nothing is really wrong with my knee."
Sneed also shut down the idea that he would need to manage his knee as the season gets underway. Or at the very least, he believes that it will be a non-issue. "I know what to do with my knee. I'm coming out here to play ball," he said.
Sneed passed his physical with the Titans without a hitch. That's a process that I'd imagine the organization was taking seriously considering the $76 million contract they gave him. According to Ran Carthon, the only reason the Sneed took so long to get finalized was the logistics of having everyone together.
"The logistics. Because you get the trade and because he was franchise [tagged], it was the way you have to go about getting the contract executed and all those things," said Carthon when asked why making the deal official took so long. "We literally left the next day to go to the owners meetings. It was more of a logistical thing. It had nothing else to do with anything other than all of us not being in the same spot."
Why is that so significant? Because if Sneed is healthy, there's no reason he can't live up to his $76 million contract and be one of the top corners in the game for the Titans. An established, long-term CB1 can really set the tone for this defense and Sneed is good enough to take away an opponent's best offensive player.
$55 million of Sneed's contract is guaranteed. The Titans are putting a lot on this signing as they build the core of what they hope is a championship roster. For an organization that has been riddled by injuries and burned by large free agent contracts in the past, this one needs to work.
But Titans fans should be feeling better than ever about Sneed right now.
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