At this point, everyone probably already knows that Titans' longtime starting safety Kevin Byard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this week. 

While that trade caught many by surprise, the Titans and Eagles have exchanged players quite a few times. Back in 2016, the Titans traded embattled receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to the Eagles for Dennis Kelly. In 2022, AJ Brown was dealt in a widely-panned trade that has not worked out as the Titans had hoped. 

Now, let's take a look at the notable players who started with the Tennessee before going to the Eagles. So players like Dennis Kelly and DeMarco Murray will not be included, since they played for Philly first. 

S Blaine Bishop

Before becoming a mainstay on Nashville radio, Bishop was a 4-time Pro Bowler for the Titans. Bishop was with the Titans in Houston, Memphis, and Nashville from 1993 to 2001. The defensive back even earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2000. 

Bishop was a key part of the Titans' team that went to Super Bowl XXXIV. After the '01 season, Bishop signed a one-year deal with the Eagles. The '02 season would be Bishop's last, and he would return to the Nashville area where he has been ever since. 

DE Jevon Kearse

“The Freak,” as he’s affectionately called, Kearse dominated for the Titans in the late ’90s and early ’00’s. In 1999, Kearse won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, as well as a first-team All-Pro selection. Kearse still holds the NFL record for most sacks by a rookie with 14.5. 

Unfortunately, Kearse was unable to reach a contract extension with the Titans and instead signed a then-record contract for a defensive lineman with the Eagles. However, Kearse battled injuries in Philly and never lived up to his contract. The lineman was cut before the '08 season and spent 2008 and 2009 back in Nashville. 

LB Stephen Tulloch

Tulloch was a solid starting linebacker for the Titans from 2006 to 2010. During that period, the linebacker racked up 457 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and two interceptions. Tulloch was a fourth-round pick, so getting that level of consistent production from the player was great value. 

After 2010, Tulloch latched on with the Detroit Lions where he would remain a solid starter until 2016. For the 2016 season, Tulloch signed with the Eagles and Jim Schwartz, who was his defensive coordinator in Nashville. 

QB Vince Young

Widely considered one of the best college quarterbacks of all time, Young was not as successful in the NFL. Young starred for Texas, winning the 2005 BCS National Championship, being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and having his No. 10 jersey retired by the Longhorns. 

The Titans selected Young with the No. 3 pick of the 2006 NFL Draft, and early returns were promising. Young made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and compiled an 8-5 record as the starter. After 2007, however, Young only played in 10+ games once. The QB battled injuries and internal problems with the team and eventually signed with the Eagles.

Young started 3 games for the Eagles and compiled a 1-2 record with 4 TDs and 9 INTs. Young's career never recovered after that season in Philly, as he never got another NFL start. 

WR Dorial Green-Beckham

There are two wide receiver trades involving the Titans and Eagles- one the Titans won, and one the Eagles appear to have won. The DGB trade is the one the Titans won. 

Green-Beckham had off-the-field issues in college and couldn't learn the playbook in the NFL, per reports. This is why the Titans felt comfortable giving up on the receiver just one year after drafting him. DGB was flipped to the Eagles for swing tackle Dennis Kelly. 

Kelly wound up starting 32 games over five seasons in Nashville and was a key piece of the o-line during that time. Green-Beckham, meanwhile, was cut by the Eagles after one season and never played in the NFL again. 

WR A.J. Brown

During the 2022 NFL Draft, the Titans traded Brown to the Eagles. In return, the Titans got a first-round pick, which was used on Treylon Burks, and a third-round pick, which the Titans traded and ended up with Roger McCreary, Kyle Phillips, and Nicholas Petit-Frere. 

Since the trade, all of those players save for McCreary have been disappointments for the Titans, while Brown has been a top-five receiver in the league. It's easy to look at this trade as a big loss for the Titans. 

To put this in perspective- the Titans' entire receiver room has combined for 789 yards thus far in 2023. Brown has 809 yards by himself. 

LB Zach Cunningham

Cunningham played college at Vanderbilt and then spent his first five NFL seasons with the Houston Texans. The Texans waived the linebacker near the end of the 2021 season, and he was claimed by Tennessee. 

Cunningham spent the remained of 2021 and all of 2022 with the Titans before being released after the '22 season. Cunningham latched on with the Eagles just before the 2023 season and has proceeded to lead the team in tackles thus far in 2023. 

P Brett Kern

Kern is one of the most beloved Titans of all time. The three-time Pro Bowler spent 13 seasons in Nashville and solidified himself as one of the top punters in the league. 

However, before the 2022 season, UDFA Ryan Stonehouse impressed the Titans and won the job. Kern was released and spent the majority of the 2022 season jobless, but latched on with the Eagles in December. Kern remained with the Eagles for the rest of the season before announcing his retirement in June of 2023. 

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Featured image via © Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK