Tajaé Sharpe Keeps Moving to Keep Playing

The wide receiver has played for more NFL teams than any other member of the Tennessee Titans' 2016 draft class. He added another this week.

Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports

Jon Robinson’s first draft class as Tennessee Titans general manager remains one of his best in terms of identifying NFL talent, although the majority of the 10 players selected in 2016 have moved on.

None has moved more often than Tajaé Sharpe.

The wide receiver, selected in the fifth round that year, is now with his fifth team – the fourth in just over two years – after he signed with the Chicago Bears on Thursday. The 27-year-old was one of two veterans the Bears added at the position this week (Dante Pettis, a second-round pick by San Francisco in 2018 is the other).

Sharpe got his career back on track last season when he appeared in 15 games (seven starts) with the Atlanta Falcons and their coach, former Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He caught 25 passes – the same number as in his final season with Tennessee (2019) – for 230 yards with no touchdowns.

He joined the Falcons last May on a one-year contract after having spent the last few weeks of the 2020 season on Kansas City’s practice squad and the first part of the 2021 offseason with the Chiefs. He spent the majority of 2020 with Minnesota but had no catches in four appearances before he was released.

Sharpe is one of five players Tennessee drafted in 2016 who remain active in the league. Derrick Henry, the last of three second-round choices, and safety Kevin Byard (third round) remain with the Titans, are integral parts of the offense and defense, respectively, and are considered to be among the best at their positions.

First-round choice Jack Conklin signed with Cleveland in 2020 and remains with that team. He has been an All-Pro once each for the Titans (2016) and the Browns.

Defensive lineman Austin Johnson, picked two spots ahead of Henry, signed with his third team, the Los Angeles Chargers, this offseason.

Among all wide receivers selected in 2016, Sharpe is eighth with 117 career receptions and 1,397 receiving yards, and he is tied for eighth with eight career touchdown catches.