The Tennessee Titans released cornerback L’Jarius Sneed after a tumultuous, disappointing, injury- and scandal-filled two seasons in Nashville, the team announced on March 13.

Sneed, 29, only played 12 games in two seasons with the Titans. By releasing Sneed, the Titans will incur a dead cap penalty ranging from anywhere between $8 million and $15 million and will save up to $16 million against the salary cap depending on the designation of his release.

The Titans traded for Sneed in March 2024, acquiring him from the Kansas City Chiefs and signing him to a four-year, $76.4 million extension through 2027. Sneed ranked among the 10 highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL by average annual value at the time of the extension and still ranked No. 12 heading into the 2026 offseason.

The investment didn’t pay off. Sneed arrived in Nashville with a pre-existing knee injury that landed him in a load management program. As a result, Sneed barely practiced during training camp in 2024, his first summer with the team. Nevertheless, Sneed began the season as a starter. He put up mixed results in the first five games of the season before sustaining a quad injury that, at the time, was not thought to be serious.

That original diagnosis was laughably incorrect. Sneed missed the remainder of the season with his quad injury. He ultimately admitted to having a small procedure done to correct the issue heading into the offseason. Later in the 2025 offseason, he also had a minor knee surgery to address the issues he arrived with in Nashville.

Those injuries delayed Sneed’s return to practice, keeping him off the field throughout OTAs and into training camp. All the while, Sneed was also dealing with the off-the-field matter of an allegation and eventual indictment stemming from a shooting by a Sneed associate in Dallas in 2024 where Sneed was on the scene and failed to report the incident to the authorities.

Sneed returned to the practice field just before the conclusion of training camp and was deemed healthy enough to play in the season opener, but he was on a limited snap count. By Week 2, Sneed returned to his full workload, but that didn’t last long. Sneed sustained another quad injury in the Titans’ Week 7 loss. He was quickly placed on injured reserve and didn’t play another snap or practice with the team for the rest of the season.

Sneed finished his Titans tenure with 49 tackles, three pass breakups and no interceptions.

Titans roster after free agency: How does team look without L’Jarius Sneed?

The Titans’ cornerback room has shifted tremendously since the start of NFL free agency. The Titans have added three veterans to the room in Alontae Taylor, Cor’Dale Flott and Joshua Williams. Taylor, formerly of the Saints, becomes one of the top 10 highest-paid cornerbacks in the league, while Flott (formerly of the Giants) is expected to step in as another starter. Williams was a rotational player in Kansas City, albeit one who played well in limited playing time.

Marcus Harris, a Titans sixth-round pick in 2025, is the lone returning contributor from the room. Darrell Baker Jr., is signing elsewhere after the Titans elected not to sign the tender on his restricted free agent contract.

Releasing Sneed is expected to save the Titans roughly $11 million in salary cap space though there will be a dead cap penalty of more than $8 million to pay out.

Other free agents who the Titans have added to their new-look roster in 2026 include defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers, wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, tight end Daniel Bellinger and offensive linemen Austin Schlottmann and Cordell Volson.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.