L’Jarius Sneed questions are starting to get uncomfortable for Titans

The frustrating narrative around L'Jarius Sneed and the Tennessee Titans is shifting in the wrong direction.

At this point, the questions are shifting from short-term concerns of a potential timetable for his return to long-term projections of whether the organization will ever find a return on its significant investment in the former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback.

Sneed still has yet to return to the field for offseason practices or drills for the Titans nine months after suffering a quad injury only four-plus games into his first season in Nashville. And the lack of any real update or timetable from the Titans mutes any real hopes for a timely return in the near future.

The questions around L'Jarius Sneed are shifting to long-term concerns.

Jim Wyatt, the team's official reporter, recently took questions from fans for a mailbag column, and even the inquiries from fans were telling. One reader asked when the Titans would release Sneed, and while that's not happening at this stage, Wyatt's response wasn't heartening.

"Based on how things have gone so far, it's hard to get your hopes up too much because he just hasn't been able to practice, and be available. To me, it kind of feels like he'd be a bonus at this point."

The Titans thought highly enough of Sneed to trade a 2025 third-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for him in the spring of 2024. They followed that up with a lucrative four-year contract extension for Sneed that included $50 million guaranteed. That level of financial investment reveals their belief in the veteran corner's lockdown ability, when healthy.

"I think everything he's shown us when he's here has been fantastic, and there's a track record of success as well from what he has been as a player," said Titans head coach Brian Callahan during minicamp "

"You know, he's also gotta prove that here, too, and he hasn't done that yet. So there's a little bit of that as well. We're waiting for him to show us the player that he's been. He hasn't reached that level of play for us, so we're waiting for that opportunity to occur. I think he'll be ready for it when it comes.

"His track record of success and what he's been as a player is pretty well-documented. We're just hoping to get that version of him out here for us."

Sneed himself recently gave an update on his condition in more positive terms. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

"I'm the healthiest I've been. Last year, my first year didn't go as planned. But, you know, it's time to come out and show the world what God's been instilling in me this entire year. I'm ready to get back on the field. That's my life, that's what I do for a living, and I missed a whole year. Everybody, I have to remind everybody who L'Jarius Sneed is.

The Chiefs selected Sneed in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech and installed him as a starting boundary corner from his first week in the pros. Sneed went on to become a lockdown option who was consistently assigned to an opposing team's top target. Together with Trent McDuffie, Sneed anchored a secondary that helped deliver multiple Super Bowl victories for K.C.

The preseason offers plenty of runway ahead, since training camp doesn't even begin for a few weeks. The Titans don't need Sneed to be game-ready for another two months, and even then, they're going to take it easy with him knowing his long-term availability is most important. But it's hard to maintain any real optimism in the face of health concerns that won't go away.