Titans Coach Explains Star Defender's Week 1 Limitations

The Tennessee Titans opened their season with a loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. All the attention was on first overall pick Cam Ward and his debut, but the Titans got one of their star defenders back for this game as well.

L'Jarius Sneed, who signed a four-year, $76 million deal with the Titans last offseason, played just five games in 2024 before suffering a season-ending quad injury. He rehabbed that during the season, and this spring, decided to have a touch-up surgery done on his knee. He missed most of training camp, but came back to practice a couple of weeks before the season started. On Sunday, he got his first game action in nearly a year, but it wasn't what fans expected.

Sneed only played 21 snaps in Sunday's game. It was later revealed that he was on a pitch count, which was set by people inside the organization as they try to work him back to 100%. On Tuesday, Defensive Coordinator Dennard Wilson spoke on the decision to keep Sneed on a pitch count and how he thought he played in his first game back.

"That was an organizational decision," said Wilson on Tuesday. "Sometimes with players, you've got to protect them first. He went out there and had a certain amount of plays, which the organization said was how much he's going to play. It'll change week-to-week, but you know how soft tissue injuries happen. As an organization, if he goes out there and gets hurt, you don't want that to happen from a soft tissue standpoint. We were all in on it.

Oct 13, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (38) runs out during player introductions against the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

"In those 18-20 plays, he played his tail off. He was effective," Wilson continued. "First play, on that pass he had on the sideline, he knocked the ball out. Obviously, it wasn't in the field of play, but you see the violence. He had a PBU, he moved well, he was quick, he was in position, so I'm excited about where he's going."

Like Wilson said, Sneed was very effective when he was on the field. In 21 snaps, Sneed broke up the only pass that was thrown his way and finished with three tackles. He earned the third-highest defensive PFF grade on the team (82.4) and looked really good all around.

The Titans' defense, which allowed 27.1 points per game last season, looked much better in week one. Even when Sneed wasn't on the field, they looked pretty good, so once he's back to 100%, this defense could be dangerous.

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