This week, the Tennessee Titans traded starting cornerback Jarvis Brownlee to the New York Jets for essentially nothing. They gave up Brownlee and a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for…a 2026 sixth rounder. Seriously.
Brownlee started the first two games of the season, but missed Week 3 with an injury. He couldn’t have been hurt too badly if they traded him because no one trades for damaged goods. Although, maybe someone would consider it if it was for something as insignificant as a late-round pick swap.
So, does this mean the Titans are going to have a fire sale and just throw their collective hands up on the 2025 season?
“I don’t think so,” Callahan said, as though management would even tell him. “That was a one-off situation unique to what it was. Again, those conversations happen as they happen. There’s front offices around the league from now until the deadline that call everybody in football, and they are all looking for different things.”
Raise your hand if you understood a word of that.
Tennessee Titans definitely aren’t buyers
Whether or not it’s a mass sell-off or merely a trade that makes sense only to those on the inside of the Titans organization, it’s clear that Titans won’t be buyers at the trade deadline. They have gone 0-3 and look genuinely awful in doing so.
Callahan went on to explain the trade in an I-just-work-here manner.
“So I can’t say whether or not there’ll be something more or nothing more,” he continued. “It’s hard for me to make any predictions about that or stake any statements about it. I think that’s always what front offices around the league are doing is trying to figure out if there’s players to be had and if there’s draft capital to be had.”
Brownlee may have been headed towards a reduced role for the Tennessee Titans
Looking at Brownlee’s Pro Football Focus grades, it’s possible that the team wanted to move on from the second-year cornerback. In 2025, Brownlee ranks 25th in the NFL giving up a passer rating of 124.6. He’s also 103rd in the league allowing 7.4 yards per reception. That doesn’t sound like shutdown corner stuff.
Callahan was asked if there were plans for Brownlee to accept a lesser role on the defense (like a role on the Jets for example).
“Whether it’s a lesser role or not, I think the important part is we do have some players that we feel good about that are starting to play good football for us and getting ingrained in the system, starting to have a little bit more action,” Callahan said.
Brownlee didn’t play against the Colts, so he’s definitely not who wide receiver Michael Pittman was talking about when he said the Titans didn’t look like they wanted to play on Sunday. But, it makes you wonder if the Titans could be looking to clean out certain attitudes.
“Saw it on the pre-game intros,” Pittman said after that game. “They kinda looked a little sluggish, they were kinda walking around, nobody was really bouncing. Right then and there we all sat there and were like ‘They don’t want to play today.’”
That doesn’t speak highly of Callahan and his ability to get his team ready. And it doesn’t sound like Callahan is really in the loop on the Titans‘ plans, which could lead a reasonable person to wonder about his job security.
Tennessee Titans Aren’t Having a Fire Sale