L'Jarius Sneed battles season to forget with Tennessee Titans

It's hard for any player to keep winning at the same level of sustained sucess once they leave the Kansas City Chiefs. But for former Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, it's been a rather precipitous fall in 2024 from his familiar perch atop the standings.

Last spring, the Chiefs sent Sneed to the Tennessee Titans in a deal intended to bring him the lucrative contract he desired while also bringing back a draft asset in return—a better play for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach instead of losing a high-caliber corner like Sneed for nothing. And the Titans were happy to pay given Sneed's reputation as a lockdown defender.

Between injuries and losses, it's been a tough year for L'Jarius Sneed on the field.

Unfortunately, the narrative has been a depressing one so far for Sneed in his new environs, at least in terms of on-field success.

Now, let's be clear that no one should feel too sorry for someone whose contract calls for over $51 million in guaranteed money over the next four seasons. It's also possible that Sneed loves his new coach, enjoys his new teammates, and has made a quick home in Nashville—all good things.

On the field, however, Sneed finds himself in a new place in 2024. The Titans are now 1-5 after losing to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and the forecast calls for more losses given the team's likely position to sell off assets closer to the NFL's trade deadline. Despite playing in a fairly miserable division, the Titans are still the bottom dwellers in the AFC South and will live there for the rest of the season.

As for Sneed, he was a game-time scratch on Sunday against Buffalo with a thigh injury after hurting it the previous week after taking a helmet hit. Sneed was a limited participant all week in practice leading up to Week 7, and in the end, he joined the team's list of inactive players—his first missed game in 2024.

While Sneed has played in every game this season for the Titans, he's missed plenty of practices since joining the team. He's been on nearly every single injury report with a regimen of resting up between games for the long-term health of his knee—a familiar routine even when he was in Kansas City. But just long that will hold up is anyone's guess.

The Titans will hope that Sneed's quad heals up soon and that the team can somehow turn around their losing ways. For now, however, Sneed's season is a Stranger Things-esque trip into the upside down where the standings are reversed and the results are abysmal.