Titans Wave White Flag With Trades

The Tennessee Titans appear to not be as competitive for the season after trading two top players.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) celebrates his touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans have shocked the NFL, making two trades in a matter of hours that changed the course of their season.

Early Wednesday morning, the Titans finalized a trade that sent former All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fifth-round pick that could turn into a fourth-rounder. Then, just a few hours later, the Titans acquired an additional fourth-round pick from the Seattle Seahawks as linebackers Ernest Jones IV and Jerome Baker traded places.

With the two trades angling the Titans towards the future, it appears that their desire to compete for the current season has waned a bit.

While the Titans have yet to be eliminated from playoff contention, their 1-5 start has their end-of-season fate written on the wall. The Titans aren't projected to do well this season, and with other contending teams appearing on the schedule in the coming weeks, Tennessee is preparing for another year of rebuilding.

While this is painful for the Titans to do after coming into the season with such high hopes, it was ultimately the right decision to trade both Hopkins and Jones.

Hopkins was in and out of the lineup dealing with a knee injury he suffered at the beginning of training camp, and he never found a rhythm during the season. Given the team's receiver acquisitions over the offseason, the Titans could afford to trade Hopkins as Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd remain strong options for Will Levis in the offense.

As for Jones, who was acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Rams at the beginning of the year, he was about to hit free agency, much like Hopkins. Now, the team gets some value out of him before he had a chance to walk, and they get a potential replacement in Baker, who will audition for the starting linebacker role during the season.

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