With multiple teams looking for pass-rushing help ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline and the 1-5 Titans likely to sell, outside linebacker Arden Key could end up on the move in the next couple of weeks. Key has drawn interest on the trade market, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.
Key was also a trade candidate leading up to last year’s deadline, but the 29-year-old remains in Tennessee. With a trip to free agency looming for Key in the offseason, the Titans may now have more urgency to ship him out for the best offer.
The soon-to-expire three-year, $21MM deal Key signed with the Titans in 2023 came under a different regime. He’s on a $6.5MM base salary with a $9.29MM cap hit during the final season of that contract. President of football operations Chad Brinker and first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi will decide his fate by the deadline.
Key has been dealing with a quadriceps injury, which could complicate matters. He missed a loss to the Raiders last Sunday – the final game of the Brian Callahan era – and hasn’t practiced leading up to this week’s matchup with the Patriots.
In the five games he has played this year, Key has notched 1.5 sacks. He averaged just under six per season from 2021-24. Key spent the first of those four years with the 49ers, who are on the lookout for pass rushers. A reunion with Key could make sense, though that’s merely speculation.
Along with Key, fellow OLB Dre’Mont Jones, cornerback Roger McCreary, and tight end Chig Okonkwo are potential Titans trade candidates, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Those three join Key as pending free agents, meaning the Titans are at least in position to consider offers.
Jones is making $1.99MM, though he carries a significantly higher cap hit than that ($8.51MM). Typically good for around five sacks per season, the former Bronco and Seahawk inked a one-year, $10MM with the Titans last March. Jones has totaled 17 tackles, two QB hits, and a sack in six games in 2025. Pro Football Focus ranks his performance 55th among 111 qualifiers at his position (Key checks in at No. 72).
McCreary joined the Titans when they selected him 35th overall in the 2022 draft. He has since started in 36 of 53 regular-season games, including one of six this year, and pulled in three interceptions. The nickel corner expressed a desire to remain with the Titans before the season, but he remains unsigned beyond this year. He’s playing out 2025 on a $3.66MM salary and a $4.63MM cap hit.
Okonkwo was part of the same Titans draft class as McCreary in 2022. Former GM Jon Robinson took Okonkwo in the fourth round, and he has played in 57 straight regular-season games since then. Okonkwo entered 2025 off back-to-back 50-catch seasons and has added 23 with 218 yards and no scores through six games this year. He’s earning $3.41MM with a $3.54MM cap hit. The Titans may have a potential replacement lined up in fourth-round rookie Gunnar Helm.
It’s unlikely all of these players will end up elsewhere by Nov. 4. However, with the Titans out of playoff contention, they’re all worth monitoring as the deadline draws closer.