L’Jarius Sneed: Andy Reid’s texts provided special motivation before Dolphins game
L’Jarius Sneed met with the media in Nashville on Tuesday for the first time since being traded from the Chiefs to the Titans.
One of the questions for Sneed was how he and the Chiefs stifled Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill in regular-season and postseason games. Hill was limited to 62 receiving yards during the Chiefs’ 21-14 win in Frankfurt, Germany, and he had a key fumble.
In the Chiefs’ 26-7 win in an AFC Wild Card game, Hill had a 53-yard touchdown catch. But his other four receptions went for a total of 9 yards.
Sneed said that while he doesn’t pay attention to what opponents say on social media, he heard plenty of smack talk before facing the Dolphins, thanks to Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
“Coach Reid, he was texting me all throughout the week,” Sneed said. “I think he was just trying to get me fired up. He was sending me all of the mess that they was talking, everything they were saying about me. You know, I used that as motivation.
“You know, I don’t be on the media looking at what people are saying about me, because I don’t get into that. But you know, coach Reid was sending it to me to get me fired up and I was taking it to the heart.”
It wasn’t clear which Dolphins game Sneed was talking about, but the the Chiefs put the clamps on Hill.
Before the regular-season meeting, Hill said he’d put up 250 receiving yards on the Chiefs. Hill didn’t put that number up in the two games combined, and in the playoff game, he was being physically dominated by Sneed.
There had been talk about Sneed’s knee possibly holding up a trade, but he told reporters that’s not an issue at all.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with my knee. I’m fine,” Sneed said. “You know, I played the whole season. And years before that I played as well. You know, I had a couple of problems, I had a banged-up knee before, but I’m good right now. Nothing’s really wrong with my knee.”
Sneed also spoke about his physical play and how wasn’t shy about putting his hands on receivers within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.
A reporter asked about how Sneed was penalized for pass interference at the second highest rate in the NFL during the 2023 season. He also was flagged for holding three times.
“I knew it was gonna come,” Sneed said. “Years prior before that the refs told me, ‘You’re a little too aggressive.’ And they would tell me before games they would come to tell me: ‘I’m watching you Sneed, I’m watching, I’m watching.’
“So even though I put my hands on guys, you know, even if it slipped and hit them in the chin, they flop and I still get a flag. It’s part of the business.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2024 at 9:51 AM.
