Tennessee Titans stay put at NFL trade deadline, hold on to Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill
The 2023 NFL trade deadline passed Tuesday without the Tennessee Titans making a second significant move.
The Titans (3-4) looked poised to be major deadline sellers after trading All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 23, but general manager Ran Carthon let the next eight days pass without making any other deals.
As such, popular targets of trade speculation such as running back Derrick Henry, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and defensive linemen Denico Autry and Teair Tart remain on the Titans' roster as the team prepares for the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) in Pittsburgh on Thursday (7:15 p.m. CT, Amazon Prime Video).
Carthon was on the field Tuesday as the Titans practiced before the deadline.
In return for Byard, the Titans received safety Terrell Edmunds and picks in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said multiple times in the build-up to the trade deadline that he and Carthon were willing to listen to offers they believed could help the team now and in the future, whether that be through adding players or draft capital.
Henry, who is in the final year of his contract with Tennessee, expressed his preference to stay in Nashville when he spoke to the media Sunday after the win against the Atlanta Falcons. He said he had engaged in conversations with Carthon about his standing with the Titans and the position he's in as a running back approaching 30 years old, but reiterated that he has never said he wants to be traded.
Tannehill, likewise, is in the final year of his contract with the Titans. The veteran is battling an ankle injury, complicating his ability to be traded to teams in need of immediate quarterback help. Rookie quarterback Will Levis excelled in the first start of his NFL career after Tannehill's injury, throwing for 238 yards and four touchdowns against the Falcons.
With the deadline past, the Titans begin their 10-week sprint to contend for a playoff berth. They are tied for second place in the AFC South behind the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) and are one game behind the teams that currently hold the last two AFC wild-card spots. The Titans still have five games remaining against AFC South opponents and they own head-to-head tiebreakers against the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers, two wild-card contenders.
The Titans have the 10th-toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL, and fifth-toughest in the AFC by opponent winning percentages.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nickusss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans keep big names, stay put at NFL trade deadline
