Superstar's Departure a Sign of Jaguars' AFC Rival Unraveling?

The Tennessee Titans just made it easier for the Jacksonville Jaguars by trading away wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Does it point to team spiraling?

Sep 30, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) warms up prior to the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans might have made it easier on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On Wednesday, the Titans traded away All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs for a conditional fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-rounder. They will also eat some of Hopkins' remaining contract.

The move comes as no surprise, given the turmoil in the Titans organization with quarterback Will Levis' struggles and Hopkins' own comments he made after Sunday's loss. He said he does as he is told and nothing more, seemingly distancing himself from the team and putting the onus on head coach Brian Callahan.

Callahan seems to be striking out on multiple fronts right now, including how he is handling Levis' poor play.

He seemed to shade his own quarterback not long ago, perceptively blaming the 2023 second-round pick for the team's overly conservative play-calling that might be one of the key reasons for their stagnant offense.

"You've got to throw the ball in the NFL to win," Callahan had said. "You can run the ball really well and we do. But we've got to find ways when the game is tight and throw it to make enough plays to give us a chance to win the game."

Now, throwing the ball will be a bit more difficult without a star wide receiver like Hopkins.

It is all to the benefit of the already dominant, though injury-riddled, 6-0 Chiefs.

"In addition to [Marquise] Brown and [Rashee] Rice, the Chiefs also saw reserve JuJu Smith-Schuster, who reunited with the team earlier this season, leave the lineup Sunday with an aggravated hamstring injury," CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin wrote. "That left rookie Xavier Worthy to headline the pass-catching corps alongside backups Justin Watson and Skyy Moore.

"Hopkins has battled injuries of his own, including an MCL issue this year, but has remained a productive possession target when on the field. The former Houston Texans star eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards as the Titans' top receiver in 2023, and previously logged six 1,000-yard campaigns between the Texans and Arizona Cardinals."

The Jaguars are facing their own share of struggles and might become trade deadline sellers too, but the offense's problems are fixable. All the Jaguars need to do is draft offensive linemen. The Titans have a massive quarterback conundrum on their hands, and it precedes to make things worse.

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