Arrowhead Pride
On Monday afternoon, reports surfaced that the Kansas City Chiefs had signed cornerback L’Jarius Sneed — who spent his first four NFL seasons with the team and won two Super Bowls — to the approval of many across Chiefs Kingdom.
The signing occurred just before the team’s mandatory minicamp, which spanned from Tuesday to Thursday. Sneed was out on the field with his new (and original) team, and it was a welcome sight for many of the mainstays in the Chiefs’ locker room.
On Thursday morning, head coach Andy Reid got his first chance to speak about the signing and assured spectators that it was a happy reunion for those who have been in Kansas City for more than a couple of years.
“I’m a big L’Jarius fan,” Reid said to reporters. “He’s a good football player. He says he feels healthy… I think he’s in a good place there. He’s a good person and a good player. It was kind of neat to see the guys welcome him back in that know him.”
“There’s so much change that goes on in this league,“ Reid explained. ”But you can really tell the guys that played with him were very excited to have him back in the building here.“
One of the only players who can claim to have been a part of the defense since before Sneed arrived via fourth-round pick in 2020, defensive tackle Chris Jones did not mince words about his feelings on the return.
“I love that we brought Sneed back,” Jones told reporters on Wednesday during his own press conference. “I’m glad to have him back in the building. The physicality he brings to the team, playing Nickel, playing outside corner, he is another guy we can utilize in so many different areas in this defense, and I think he’s going to help us tremendously with our defensive backs.”
While the veteran pass rusher gets excited about the team’s coverage potentially improving, the room full of young defensive backs — or newcomers to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system — may feel some relief from the addition of Sneed, who excelled as thoroughly as any defensive back Kansas City has had in the tenure of Spagnuolo.
Second-year cornerback Nohl Williams was coming up through the college ranks when Sneed was at his peak. He has fond memories of his new teammate.
“I’ve watched him throughout my college career,” Williams said during his press conference on Tuesday. “He’s a good cornerback addition to our defense, to our [defensive back] room. I haven’t talked to him yet, but I’m looking forward to meeting him, learning from him. He knows what it looks like, he knows how to be a championship DB on a championship team.”
Williams’ last point was one that Jones hammered home when speaking about the signing of Sneed, along with other improvements to the team, like the return of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or the signing of Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker.
“I think...
