Titans CB Trade Looks Like a Mistake

The Tennessee Titans made a bold move last offseason by trading for Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.

The Titans needed a veteran cornerback, and opted to acquire Sneed and hand him a four-year contract worth $76.4 million. The deal didn't age well in his first season because Sneed only played in five games due to a quad injury.

Bleacher Report writer Kristopher Knox thinks Sneed has the ninth-worst contract in the NFL.

"It's easy to understand the rationale behind the Tennessee Titans' 2024 trade to acquire cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. Good cornerbacks are hard to find, and Sneed had excelled in Steve Spagnuolo's defense with the Kansas City Chiefs," Knox wrote.

"Still, it was odd to see Tennessee immediately give a 27-year-old corner who had never been to a Pro Bowl a deal worth $19.1 million annually—which has him as the league's 11th-highest-paid cornerback a year later.

"Players surrounded by talent in a championship-caliber defense don't always replicate their success in a new home, and that's how things are trending with Sneed. Pro Football Focus graded him 212th overall among 222 cornerbacks for the 2024 season, a campaign that was cut short after five games by a quad injury. He's missed time this offseason with a knee injury."

The only players higher on the "worst NFL contract" list are Miami Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn, Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Titans offensive lineman Dan Moore Jr., Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Sneed needs to get healthy for the Titans just to help them get better on the field, but the money attached to him is another reason why Tennessee needs him healthy.

The Titans are simply paying Sneed way too much money just to sit on the sidelines. He wasn't active in the team's offseason program, but there is hope that he will be healthy in time for training camp.