The Tennessee Titans shocked the NFL by making two trades in a matter of hours that changed the course of their season.

Early Wednesday morning, the Titans completed a trade that sent former All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fifth-round pick that could turn into a fourth-rounder. Then, just hours later, the Titans received another fourth-round pick from the Seattle Seahawks when linebackers Ernest Jones IV and Jerome Baker swapped spots.

With the two trades setting the Titans up for the future, their desire to compete this season appears to have waned somewhat.

Even though the Titans are not yet eliminated from playoff contention, their fate at the end of the season is written on the wall with their 1-5 start. The Titans aren’t expected to fare well this season, and with more contending teams on the schedule in the coming weeks, Tennessee is preparing for another year of rebuilding.

While this is painful for the Titans after entering the season with such high hopes, trading both Hopkins and Jones was ultimately the right decision.

Hopkins was on and off with a knee injury suffered early in training camp and never found a rhythm during the season. Given the team’s receiver acquisitions in the offseason, the Titans could afford to trade Hopkins as Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd remain strong options for Will Levis on offense.

Jones, acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Rams earlier this year, was poised to enter free agency, similar to Hopkins. Now the team is capitalizing on him before he had a chance to leave, and they get a potential replacement in Baker, who will compete for the starting linebacker role as the season progresses.

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