Titans Add Defensive Back in Trade

Desmond King, an All-Pro in 2018, can play safety or cornerback and contribute as a return man.

The Tennessee Titans are getting some help for their beleaguered defense.

They agreed to trade with the Los Angeles Chargers to acquire safety Desmond King, an All-Pro in 2018 who has four interceptions and four fumble recoveries in his career.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the move Monday. A subsequent report from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said the Titans will give up a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. They had three sixth-rounders, including one acquired from Jacksonville recently for linebacker Kamalei Correa.

Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed the acquisition, which came a day before the NFL’s trade deadline, during his regular Monday press briefing.

“He is a player that we felt like could help us, that could come in, has played (defensive back), has been disruptive, has been an effective blitzer and has done some things,” Vrabel said. “… We’ll see where he’s at when he gets here. … We won’t know much until much later on in the week.”

He added that, due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, King will be limited to virtual meetings throughout the week and likely would not be on the practice field before Saturday. That calls into question his potential availability for Sunday’s game against Chicago at Nissan Stadium.

King (5-foot-10, 200 pounds) does offer position versatility. He was a starter at safety for the Chargers in Week 1 but has been a backup since. In the last six games, he was credited with two starts at nickel back and has been on the field for 55 percent of the snaps for the Chargers’ defense this season.

He also has experience as a return man. He has averaged 8.9 yards and scored two touchdowns on 51 punt returns and has averaged 21.9 yards on 55 kickoff returns. He has returned just six punts this season.

“Everything that we’ve heard is [he is] a player that loves football,” Vrabel said. “He’s competitive, has played in a number of different spots. Has played in the kicking game.”

Desmond King has allowed just 0.3 yards per coverage snap this season, almost half the amount of any other slot CB this season (min. 60 coverage snaps).#Titans https://t.co/zbESbmZYCw

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 2, 2020

Tennessee has been without starting cornerback Adoreé Jackson all season because of a knee injury, and rookie Kristian Fulton, their second-round pick in this year’s draft, was placed on injured reserve last week, also because of a knee injury. Safety Dane Cruikshank, a versatile member of the secondary, missed the first five games of this season with an injury and did not play Sunday at Cincinnati after he came out of the Pittsburgh game worse for the wear.

The defense is last in the NFL in third-down defense, having allowed opponents to convert 61.9 percent of the time. That unit also is 27th in the NFL having allowed an average of 268.7 passing yards per game.

The Chargers selected King in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has played 53 games with 23 starts in his career. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the week twice in 2018, when he set a career-high with three interceptions.

“(The slot) is where he has played the majority of his career,” Vrabel said. “Once we get him here and are able to evaluate what he can handle within our defense and how quickly he can do that, that would give us a little better indication [of how to use him]. But I would say (the slot) is where he would start out.”