Chiefs will ‘probably’ use franchise tag, GM Veach says. Here’s the likely candidate

General manager Brett Veach says the Kansas City Chiefs “anticipate probably using” the franchise tag this season to help the team.

Read further between the lines, and the potential target for that designation seems clear: cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.

“I think that’s certainly something that is a possibility, given Chris Jones’ tag (price) is enormous,” Veach said of tagging Sneed at the NFL Combine on Tuesday. “So we’ll work through that, and as I mentioned, we’ll try to see if we can get both of these guys done (with a contract). But I think that’s something (tagging Sneed) that is a possibility.”

Veach’s thoughts on potentially giving Sneed a franchise tag likely changed in the past week. That’s because the NFL announced the salary cap rose more than anticipated, growing more than $30 million to $255.4 million this season.

If they give Sneed the franchise tag, the Chiefs would offer to pay him the $19,802,000 amount set for cornerbacks. In addition, even if Sneed doesn’t sign the deal, the Chiefs must reserve that amount in their budget in case he does.

Obtaining additional salary-cap wiggle room, then, appears to have given the Chiefs extra flexibility to fit that $19 million into their budget while also still having funds to attack free agency, which opens in two weeks.

Veach admitted Tuesday that the cap number going up most helped teams for this upcoming season. There’s no guarantee the cap will rise the same amount next year, Veach said, so these additional funds have the most significant benefit for teams with franchise-tag decisions right now.

That, of course, includes the Chiefs.

Meanwhile, Jones would have a price tag of just over $32 million if he were to be tagged — an amount that is 120% of last year’s salary, which is the guarantee for a player when he is franchise-tagged two consecutive seasons.

Veach repeated a message from earlier this offseason Tuesday, saying the Chiefs’ top priorities would be re-signing Jones and Sneed.

“Certainly want to do what we can to keep both of those players,” Veach said. “That’s gonna be our goal and intent.”

Sneed’s circumstances with the Chiefs remain fascinating.

He seems a better fit in KC than some other places because defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo emphasizes both man coverage and physical play.

Then again, the Chiefs have built plenty of depth behind Sneed, too. Trent McDuffie earned All-Pro honors this season, while fellow second-year players Joshua Williams (26th) and Jaylen Watson (47th) also had impressive overall defensive rankings at Pro Football Focus among 132 corners with at least 250 snaps.

Remember this, too: Nazeeh Johnson was trending to be the Chiefs’ third corner this year behind Sneed and McDuffie before suffering a season-ending knee injury in training camp. He’s also entering his third season.

Two years ago, the Chiefs faced a similar case to Sneed’s with cornerback Charvarius Ward, who signed a three-year free-agent deal with San Francisco. KC let him walk while putting its eventual faith in Sneed and McDuffie — a belief that worked out even as Ward earned his own second-team All-Pro honor this season.

Sneed also could be a potential tag-and-trade candidate, with cornerback-needy teams likely to offer at least mid-round draft compensation in exchange for the opportunity to add and extend him with a long-term deal.

Like Jones, Sneed seems to have an affinity for KC. When asked on the “Up & Adams” show two weeks ago if he had a message for Veach, Sneed repeated two words with a smile: “Pay me.”

Like all other years at the combine, Veach said the plan would be to meet with player agents this week. That should include representation for both Jones and Sneed.

Ultimately, Veach said the Chiefs will hope for the best with those two players while also building contingency plans in case things don’t go as expected.

“Love Chris. Love LJ. And if we’re able to get those two players back, it’d be certainly a big win for us,” Veach said. “But we also know that nothing’s guaranteed.”