Titans offseason investments that deserve the most long-term scrutiny
Some deals come with more risk than others
NASHVILLE — Wide-spread roster investment was the theme of the Tennessee Titans offseason. Spending over $300 million on available free agents at nearly every position was a necessary evil.
Not every player will prove to be worth those contracts, however.
L'Jarius Sneed situation worth monitoring
L'Jarius Sneed contract will have the most scrutiny
When Carthon traded a 2024 seventh and 2025 third-round draft choices to the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, the general manager knew the price point would be steep.
The Titans gave Sneed a four-year contract worth $76.4 million ($19.1 M AAV). Adding a two-time Super Bowl champion alongside free-agent acquisition Chidobe Awuzie (3yr, $36M) and incumbent nickel Roger McCreary would give Tennessee a secondary designed to play physical, press coverage in new coordinator Dennard Wilson's defense. Both moves make sense, based on the market at the position this year.
Cornerback play is incredibly volatile, though.
Awuzie comes with coach Brian Callahan from the Cincinnati Bengals, where he had a solid three-year stint. At 29, the former second-round pick is going to be relied upon immediately to start on the outside for the Titans. Sneed is coming off a season in Kansas City that was deserving of an All-Pro selection. He allowed a career-low percentage of receptions against him (52.0%) and forced a critical fumble in the AFC Championship against the Baltimore Ravens that would propel the Chiefs to last year's Super Bowl.
Tennessee bought high on Sneed.
Sneed and Awuzie do not need to be Pro Bowlers for the move to be successful. The Titans cornerback room has been marred by injury and inconsistency for four consecutive seasons. Sneed played a career-high 99% of the Chiefs defensive snaps in 2023 en-route to the team's second consecutive title. Awuzie appeared in 15 games after missing half of the 2022 season with a torn ACL.
Sneed has a knee situation that requires management of his practice schedule, but it was not cause for concern in KC last year.
"Yeah, it's a management thing," Callahan said during the team's offseason program where Sneed was rarely seen on the practice field. "They managed him in Kansas City. We'll manage him here. And so, he's working back from all the things he's got to work back from. But, it'll be a management thing throughout the course of training camp and into the season."
Titans assumption of risk
Risk comes standard with any multi-billion dollar industry, and the NFL is no different. Tennessee fans need look no further than March of 2023, when general manager Ran Carthon signed left tackle Andre Dillard to a three-year, $29 million deal. Dillard was an absolute disaster on the blindside of Titans quarterbacks, allowing 41 total pressures in only 12 games.
Carthon released Dillard this offseason before the team spent the No. 7 overall draft pick on left tackle JC Latham.
Sustaining anything close to that level of availability would make the contracts worth it. Easier said than done, when it comes to players health in Tennessee.
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