Jarvis Brownlee’s jab at the Titans after game-sealing play for the Jets tells you everything you need to know about Tennessee’s confusing trade

When Tennessee Titans GM Mike Borgonzi traded Jarvis Brownlee—a starting outside cornerback on his roster—after Week 3 of the season, it caught everybody by surprise. Brownlee had all the makings of a draft hit. He was a Day 3 pick in 2024 who became a starter before the end of this rookie season. In the first two games of 2025, he led the team in tackles. He wasn’t perfect in coverage, with a reputation for too many penalties, but he was clearly a starter in this league.

The Titans decided to trade him to the New York Jets for a 6th/7th pick swap anyways. And following a comeback Week 8 win, the now-Jets cornerback took a swipe at his old team that tells you everything you need to know about what happened.

Jarvis Brownlee Jr. ripped the Titans after Week 8

The trade didn’t make any sense from a value standpoint, not then and not now. Head Coach Brian Callahan was trotted out at the time to answer for the move that he didn’t make, which wasn’t clarifying in any way. Even Brownlee himself got to New York and told the media that he was surprised by the news, and wasn’t sure why he was traded.

And I believe him when he says that. I don’t think the reason for him being traded was highly performance-based, or based on a single event of any kind. I think he just wasn’t what Brinker and Borgonzi wanted for their team. He didn’t fit their vision, and his fit was so poor that they were willing to move him at just about any price. That part is crystal clear. And in this case, that’s not a recipe for winning the court of public opinion whether you were right to move him or not.

Even the most generous read, that he absolutely needed to go and if we were all privy to the intimate details behind the scenes then we would agree 100%, still means that those on the outside are going to see this as a definitive loss. And the Titans front office decided they were willing to live with that. They’re no fools, they know the value proposition they agreed to. This isn’t a case of a front office having no idea how the trade looks.

Meanwhile in New York, Brownlee is making plays. He broke up the final Bengals pass of the day to Ja’Marr Chase to seal the Jets’ comeback win in Week 8.