NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans got a jump on the NFL trade deadline when they made a pair of swaps Wednesday to begin stocking up on draft picks, essentially signaling a roster rebuild of some degree is in the works.
This season’s trade deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 5, and more moves are likely for the Titans, whose 1-5 start is the franchise’s worst since 2015, when Ken Whisenhunt was fired after going 1-6 to open his second season as Tennessee’s head coach.
The Titans, sitting at the bottom of the AFC South Division standings in Brian Callahan’s first season as an NFL head coach, face another big challenge this Sunday when they visit the Detroit Lions (5-1), who share first place in the NFC North with the rival Minnesota Vikings after handing them their first loss of the season last weekend.
Callahan couldn’t address the specific trades, which weren’t finalized when he talked with reporters at midday. However, he called these types of moves the reality of the business of pro football — and made clear this isn’t what the Titans expected after being among the league’s biggest spenders in free agency.
“That’s part of our life in the league,” Callahan said. “And when you get to these juncture points in the season and things like this happen, I mean, it’s usually because you’re in the spot we’re in.”
Callahan, 40, was an NFL assistant for a decade-plus — the past five seasons as offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals — before being hired by the Titans in January. He is also the son of Bill Callahan, a former NFL head coach who is currently Tennessee’s offensive line coach, so none of this is a novelty to him outside of dealing with it as a head coach for the first time.
News broke early Wednesday that the Titans had five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions who are atop the AFC West at 6-0 as the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team this season. Despite their good situation in the standings, the Chiefs are thin at receiver due to injuries.
A person familiar with the deal spoke to AP about the Kansas City-Tennessee deal on condition of anonymity because the teams had not announced the trade. Tennessee reportedly will be paying some of Hopkins’ salary — an important point for the Chiefs, who have very little salary cap space — with the conditional fifth-round selection becoming a fourth-round choice if the Chiefs make the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six seasons.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid declined to acknowledge the trade before practice Wednesday, saying only that general manager Brett Veach was “dealing with all of that.” When pressed about the trade, Reid said with a slight smile: “I know nothing.”
Later in the day, multiple reports indicated the Titans had traded their second-leading tackler, linebacker Ernest Jones Jr., to the Seattle Seahawks for linebacker Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick. A person familiar with the deal spoke to AP about the Seattle-Tennessee deal on condition of anonymity because the teams had not announced the trade
It will end a short stay in Nashville for Jones, who was traded by the Los Angeles Rams to the Titans in late August and is in the final year of his rookie contract. A third-round pick in 2021 who was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship as a rookie, Jones led the team in tackles last season, when he also called the on-field signals for the defense. Jones started five of his six games with Tennessee.
Despite the trade’s unofficial status, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald did comment on Jones, saying he will likely play middle linebacker in Seattle, with Tyrel Dodson shifting to the weakside spot. Macdonald expects Jones to be ready to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
“A guy that we’ve had respect for for a long time,” Macdonald said. “Just a really good football player all the way around. I remember seeing him making plays in the Super Bowl, that was probably the first time he kind of got on my map. Just excited to get him here and get him rolling.”
The trade nets the Titans a fourth-round pick in April and a sixth-rounder in 2026 along with Baker at the cost of a fifth-rounder in 2026. Baker, 27, has started 87 of his 99 games and signed a one-year deal for $7 million with Seattle in March.
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Hopkins, so he reached out to him via FaceTime. Jones was in a meeting for defensive players this morning but not at a walk-through session before practice.
“We lost two good players today,” Simmons said.
The current moves leave the Titans with eight selections in next April’s draft, and their win-loss record right now puts them on a path toward the franchise’s highest draft pick since 2017, when they made Corey Davis the first receiver taken that year at No. 5 overall.
Callahan said they’re working to win as many games as possible down the stretch in a season where he has made clear the Titans want to get a true evaluation of second-year pro Will Levis as the team’s starting quarterback. However, Callahan also said he is leaning toward scratching Levis for a second straight game to further heal the quarterback’s throwing shoulder.
Levis sprained his right AC joint Sept. 30, which forced him to early in a 31-12 road win against the Miami Dolphins as backup Mason Rudoph took over. Levis started the next game coming off the team’s open date, yet threw for only 95 yards in that outing against the Indianapolis Colts, a division rival. Rudolph started this past Sunday, when the Titans lost 34-10 at Buffalo.
Levis usually talks to reporters on Wednesday, but this week both Levis and Rudolph will talk on Thursday.
Other tradeable assets include 2021 Pro Bowl linebacker Harold Landry, who has four sacks through six starts with an out in his contract after this season.
The Titans are in the final week of assessing whether to add rookie linebacker Cedric Gray, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, to the active roster. The fourth-round pick out of North Carolina started the season on injured reserve and has remained there.
Also on the injury front, offensive tackle Jaelyn Duncan (hamstring), receiver Calvin Ridley (foot) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (quadriceps) did not practice Wednesday, when Levis was limited along with running back Tyjae Spears (hamstring).
Callahan said it’s the job of the front office, which is led by second-year general manager Ran Carthon, to look to the future.
For the coaches and players, winning is their only goal now.
“There’s still a whole locker room of guys out down here that are playing hard and playing for each other, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Callahan said. “So again, opportunities will arise, and guys (have) got to take advantage of them.”