NASHVILLE – After over a month of being "week-to-week," Tennessee Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed is heading to Injured Reserve with a quad strain. 

The complicated injury has been difficult for the coaching staff to manage, but Brian Callahan announced to the media on Friday afternoon that Sneed would be placed on IR and miss at least four more contests.

It's frustrating for Sneed and devastating for the Titans. What once seemed like minor setback has snowballed into a major injury causing a significant absence. One of the team's primary offseason acquisitions is going to miss more games than he plays this season. But if there's any silver lining for Tennessee, it's the opportunity this has opened up for young cornerbacks Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Darrell Baker Jr. 

Because of the injuries to Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, Brownlee and Baker have both been forced into action and performed admirably. Both corners have been shouted out by Brian Callahan during recent press conferences for their play.

Brownlee is a 23-year-old rookie that was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was brought in to be a versatile backup capable of playing inside or outside with physicality, but has been forced into a starting role and started seven games while playing 479 defensive snaps through 11 weeks.

Often being matched up with the opposing number one wide receiver, Brownlee has allowed only one touchdown this season on 28 receptions. 

His physicality has led to a few more penalties than you'd like, but overall the Titans should be really impressed with where Brownlee is in his development. The more reps he gets, the more he will improve, and the rookie is already at a level worthy of a starting cornerback job in the NFL. An absolute steal in the fifth round. 

Then there's Darrell Baker Jr., who the Titans claimed off waivers from the division rival Indianapolis Colts back in late August. Baker signed with Indianapolis in 2022 as an undrafted free agent, but has really hit his stride with the Titans. 

'At first, I was coming in to be a special teams guy and learn as much as I can. When an opportunity opened up, I'm like 'okay, hold it down for the other guys when they return,' but then it turned into me having another mindset," said Baker. "I'm here to make plays at this point. Let's make it hard for anybody else in the league and now my only goal is to be the best corner in the league. "

Of all cornerbacks with 190+ coverage snaps played this season, Baker leads the league in yards allowed. He has given up just 10 catches for 83 yards in five starts with the Titans. 

Baker is another player who never would have had an opportunity to prove himself if it hadn't been for the injuries to Sneed and Awuzie. But he has turned heads within the Titans organization. It's wild to think about Baker being the "CB5" on the roster at this point.

Brian Callahan told me on Friday morning that more reps for Brownlee and Baker was "no doubt" a silver lining of Sneed going to IR. 

"We didn't think that Jarvis [Brownlee] was going to be starting at corner for us this year. We thought Jarvis would be an all three spot backup. But he's had a chance to show what he's all about and we've been really pleased with that. He has shown that he's a capable starting corner and he's only going to get better with the more reps he gets. He's got plenty of opportunity that's still left to perform and get better," Callahan told me. "Even with Baker, he was a claim at the start of the season. To have a guy like that, we signed to have some depth, he had played previously, and felt like he had some things that would be able to help us if we needed it. He's really played well, especially for the role that we envisioned initially. He's done a great job. Having those tow guys step up has been really encouraging."

Throughout the 2024 season, we have often heard Callahan refer to positives he believes are happening "beneath the surface," despite his team sitting with a 2-8 record. The development of young players is one of those positives that leaves Callahan encouraged. 

I'm really curious to see what the Titans do at cornerback in the future. Managing playing time with this group would be difficult with Sneed and Awuzie healthy. But I know for sure that having quality depth is never a bad thing.

The transparent reason behind L’Jarius Sneed’s ‘complicated’ injury that sends the Titans CB to Injured Reserve

Why Sneed is going to IR for Titans.