New Titans regime could make Chiefs’ trade deadline dreams come true

It's impossible to tell how "low" the buy-low opportunity for T'Vondre Sweat will go, but the potential move merits at least some consideration for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Tennessee Titans are undergoing a full-on rebuild under first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi's leadership, and the franchise has been slowly selling off parts all season. Jarvis Brownlee was dealt to the New York Jets in September, and cornerback Roger McCreary was next to the L.A. Rams. The Baltimore Ravens procured defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones earlier this week.

With the NFL trade deadline looming in a matter of hours, it's natural to wonder just how many more Titans will be sent packing. For a team going nowhere this season, it makes sense to add as many future draft assets as possible while not completely collapsing everything down on Cam Ward in his first season as quarterback.

The Titans have a few rumored players who could be available and also interesting for the Chiefs. Defensive linemen like Sebastian Joseph-Day or Arden Key are veterans who could bolster K.C. up front, but the possibility of adding someone like Sweat is most intriguing.

If reports are true about T'Vondre Sweat's availability, the Chiefs have to at least make the call.

Sweat's supremacy in terms of potential interest for Kansas City is about the long-term play involved. Most trades this time of year are short-term rentals for contenders hoping to shore up their roster for the final several games of the regular season. Sweat would be the opposite of that, an addition who could not only aid the team in the present but grow into a more prominent role in the near future.

The Titans selected Sweat near the top of the 2024 NFL Draft's second round. Taken at No. 38 overall, the former Texas Longhorn still has two more years on his rookie deal, which would make him a potentially exciting addition for a team relying on aging veterans at the position. It's worth noting that Kansas City hosted Sweat for an official pre-draft visit.

Sweat was the Outland Trophy winner as the best interior defensive lineman in college football in his final season at Texas. He was also the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year. While he profiled as a two-down lineman, he's a massive space eater—his pre-draft weight was 366 lbs.—with huge hands who is far more athletic than he has a right to be at his size. He's also quite adept at batting down passes at the line of scrimmage.

Linemen who only profile as early-down contributors are hardly ever going to merit first-round consideration, so the Chiefs weren't ever going to have a chance to grab him. In fact, it's telling that Tennessee would take him so early in the second. However, reports suggest the Titans are open to calls for Sweat in 2025.

After playing in every game last year, he missed four games on injured reserve with an ankle injury Before going on IR, Sweat publicly insisted he was healthy, only to then find himself shelved. If a new regime believes Sweat isn't a good culture fit, or they're worried about some progression they were hoping to see in '25, it's an ideal opportunity to pounce for the Chiefs.

Then again, the Titans should be taking calls—for anyone. Just because they're listening doesn't mean Sweat is on the outs. A new general manager can and should put everything and everyone under a microscope, so perhaps the rumors are simply acknowledging an openness in Nashville.

As for the Chiefs' needs at the position, Sweat would immediately upgrade the team's run defense and provide a much higher ceiling overall at the position. It would make likely make someone redundant from a group that includes Mike Pennel and Derrick Nnadi, but that's a good problem to have. Depth is a real concern overall around Chris Jones, who is getting older, especially with Omarr Norman-Lott out for the season.

The safer bets are for the Chiefs to come away with someone like Arden Key, given the cost involved, since it'd be silly for the Titans to let Sweat walk for anything less than a day two pick. But the Chiefs have to kick the tires here, if nothing else than to make sure they can't do a deal with an old friend.