Akeem Ayers made it no secret that he wasn't thrilled to be benched in Tennessee, which can be seen in his new found gear with the New England Patriots. While it makes since for Ayers to be bitter at the Titans for trading him, Ayers says that he has no hard feelings with his old team in a report from Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal:
"I don’t have any hard feelings. I just took it as motivation and especially being here on this team, I feel like they did me a favor, honestly. I really don’t have any hard feelings for them. I have a lot of close friends on the team and I still talk to them. It’s nothing personal. I came here and I did a good job here and we’re going to the Super Bowl."
While Ayers has no hard feelings with the Tennessee organization, the question on my mind is how do the Titans fans feel about this? I thought Ayers was poised for a big year as an edge rusher in Ray Horton's 3-4, however, after a disappointing training camp and preseason where Ayers looked like he was playing in quicksand, the Titans relegated him to the bench.
Now (through 10 games as a New England Patriot) Ayers has four sacks and an interception. While that is hardly an elite level of play, it is a stat line that Titans fans most likely didn't see coming based on his film this year. At this point, it seems obvious that the hybrid defense that the Patriots run is a better fit for Ayers than what the Titans were going to run. The Patriots are known for making grand reclamation projects on defense thanks to their talented coaching staff, so this shouldn't be news to anyone.
My question is, do you think it was a mistake for the Titans to trade Ayers, or is it a deal that ultimately makes sense for both parties?