Should Titans Have Waited to Trade Jarvis Brownlee Jr.?

The Tennessee Titans made a shocking move earlier this week when they traded away their 2024 fifth-round pick Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to the New York Jets in exchange for a late-round pick swap.

On the surface, the move doesn't make a lot of sense for the Titans. Brownlee came in as a rookie and played over 900 snaps, and played pretty well all things considered. He was off to a good start to the 2025 season, too, allowing 59 total yards in the first two games. Sure, he had some penalty problems, but it wasn't anything they couldn't coach out of him.

A rebuilding team needs good, young players, and that's exactly what Brownlee was. Obviously, there are things that go on behind the scenes that we don't know about, but unless it was something drastic and under no circumstances could he stay on the team, the Titans should've waited to trade him.

The trade deadline would've been a perfect time to deal Brownlee. There are always teams buying at the deadline, and cornerback is a premium position. One of the contenders - Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, Philadelphia or anyone else in the playoff picture - is going to be looking for a cornerback at the deadline, so instead of just giving him away, the Titans could have had multiple teams bidding for his talents.

Tennessee Titans, CB, Jarvis Brownlee — Tennessee Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (29) signs a football after the game with the Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here's ESPN's Seth Walder's take on the trade:

"I don't get why the Titans would want to deal Brownlee for so little right now. Rebuilding teams should acknowledge who they are and deal veterans for draft capital -- but that's not Brownlee! He is a young starting corner who netted very, very little in return."

"Perhaps the Titans got tired of Brownlee's penalties, or maybe there is another factor we aren't seeing. Brownlee missed the Titans' Week 3 game with an ankle injury, but that seems unlikely to be a major consideration."

Again, there very well could've been something that went on behind closed doors, and the Titans could've felt like they needed to get rid of him as soon as possible. But if you're a team like the Titans, who needs as much draft capital as possible, it would've made much more sense to deal him at the deadline to get at least a fifth-round pick in return.

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