The Tennessee Titans tried to make a huge addition to their secondary a season ago, trading for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, who had been an outright baller during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Sneed played a massive role in the Chiefs winning back-to-back Super Bowls so it's no wonder the Titans thought he could be a game-changer for their secondary.
Unfortunately, Year 1 of Sneed in a Titans uniform did not go according to plan. He appeared in just five games and didn't look like the same guy he was in Kansas City whenever he was on the field. That's why it's not a shock whatsoever that Sneed was Dalton Wasserman of PFF's pick as Tennessee's make-or-break player for the 2025 season.
"Sneed’s first season in Tennessee certainly didn’t go as planned. He appeared in just five games and recorded a paltry 36.8 PFF coverage grade. However, his track record suggests that he is a far better player.
If he replicates the level of production he gave the Kansas City Chiefs in prior seasons, he will be a huge boon to a Titans cornerback unit that ranked 27th in PFF coverage grade last season. Otherwise, 2025 could be Sneed’s last season in Tennessee."
L’Jarius Sneed lands on PFF’s harsh list of Titans under pressure
Yeah, this isn't a shock. The Titans traded for Sneed with the hopes that he'd come in and shore up their secondary, as he did during his time in Kansas City. That's not what ended up happening.
The best ability in sports is availability and Sneed couldn't provide that for the Titans during his inaugural season with the franchise. He had been a reliable player for the Chiefs during his time there, appearing in double-digit games in his final three years in Kansas City but a quad injury kept him out for a large chunk of his first year in Nashville.
As Wasserman wrote, Sneed has to stay healthy, show up, and perform well this year. If he doesn't, his time with the Titans could be over and this will go down as one of the worst trades the team has made for sure. The Chiefs used the picks they acquired in this trade to move up and take Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 draft, a move that looks to be a solid one for them so far. That could make this trade look even worse in hindsight.
Hopefully, Sneed can prove why the Titans were right to trade for him and the 2024 season can be looked at as an anomaly.