NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Coming into Tuesday's trade deadline, first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi had already made three moves for the Tennessee Titans. The rumor mill had cast a wide net over the roster -- with standout players like wide receiver Calvin Ridley and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons even being linked to potentially being on the move.
But the Titans held on to them and chose not to make any moves on deadline day when the dust settled, and Borgonzi still seemed pleased with the results.
"Jeff is a big part of why we are going to turn this thing around here," Borgonzi said Wednesday of Simmons, who the team signed to an extension in 2023 that would keep him in Tennessee through 2027. "He's one of the better players in the league and his leadership with these young guys has been tremendous. Jeff is invaluable to us right now for where we want to go."
At 1-8, Tennessee fielded calls on Simmons and Ridley, but never shopped them, according to multiple team sources. Borgonzi made three trades and acquired one new pick while moving up multiple spots on Day 3 of the draft.
Here's a look at their moves:
The latest trade was Dre'Mont Jones to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2026 conditional fifth-round pick.
Jones caught fire over the past four games, posting sacks in each of them. The veteran edge defender now has 4.5 sacks and 19 quarterback pressures. Jones' emergence coincides with Simmons' absence because of a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 7. Tennessee's group of edge defenders was already thin after placing rookie Oluwafemi Oladejo on injured reserve and losing Arden Key for three games due to a quadriceps injury.
"He was really coming on the last four or five games, and that's why a lot of teams called about him," Borgonzi said. "We weren't looking to move on from Dre'Mont right now, but we also have to think about the future of the program, and we had a chance to acquire a pick from Baltimore that could be a high pick and turn into a fourth-round pick."
Borgonzi struck at the right time and flipped a player they signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal for a fifth-round pick that becomes a fourth rounder if the Ravens make the playoffs and Jones registers two sacks.
Last week, the Titans sent cornerback Roger McCreary and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2026 conditional fifth-round pick.
Tennessee shopped McCreary before finalizing a deal. McCreary was playing on an expiring rookie contract and was very likely to hit free agency after the season. The Titans selected defensive back Marcus Harris in the sixth round in April -- with him becoming the likely successor to McCreary. Harris slid into the nickel spot after the trade and played 28 snaps in Tennessee's first game without McCreary.
Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson used a heavy amount of big nickel packages (three safeties), which caused a dip in snaps for McCreary from 69.9% in 2024 to 59.2% this year.
"[McCreary's] done a good job," Wilson said when assessing his play. "But he's a smaller man who's playing in the box a little bit. The thought process was to get bigger bodies in there to be able to help 'em first and second down versus the run."
It was clear McCreary was a player who didn't fit into the front office's future plans. The Titans will likely receive the Rams' fifth-round pick closer to the beginning of the round, while Los Angeles is likely to receive Tennessee's pick in the sixth-round pick closest to the end of the round, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"We looked at the roster and evaluated the market with his expiring contract and what it would look like next year," Borgonzi said. "There was interest with Roger, and the Rams owned our fifth-round pick, which was ours from a prior trade. We were missing that pick. It's about an 80 spot move, so we felt it was good value getting that pick back."
The trading started in September when Tennessee sent Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the New York Jets for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Brownlee started 17 games for Tennessee as a rookie last season, and he started the first two games this year before an ankle injury kept him out in Week 3.
At 24 years old, Brownlee was a young, inexpensive player (2024 fifth-round pick) who secured one of the team's cornerback spots. Sure, Brownlee had his issues drawing penalties, but he was one of the players who best fit Wilson's aggressive defensive scheme.
"I know the trade was controversial around here because he's a young player that was ascending," Borgonzi said. "You're evaluating the fit. I like Jarvis, he's going to be a really good player, but we don't have the culture to help guys develop right now. We thought at the time that some of the habits weren't conducive to building the culture right now."
Tennessee claimed cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis from waivers before the season, and he moved into one of the starting spots after Brownlee was traded. But Armour-Davis has struggled, and veteran cornerback L'Jarius Sneed was placed on injured reserve in late October because of a quadriceps injury he sustained during the team's Week 7 game.
Meanwhile, in four games with New York, Brownlee has 19 total tackles (13 solo), a tackle for a loss, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble, which is the only takeaway by the Jets defense so far this season.
Now the Titans head into the Week 10 bye trying to re-group from a rocky first-half of the season. They've added some assets via trades, but if they can't right the ship, they could be selecting No. 1 for the second year in a row.