Cordell Volson’s Tennessee debut has already turned into an uncomfortable reminder of why Bengals fans weren’t bothered when he left.
The former fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft spent his time in Cincinnati as an up-and-down presence, and mostly not in the good way. So when he moved on in free agency this spring and landed with the Titans, the setup looked simple enough: a fresh start, a new position battle, and a real shot to claim the starting right guard job. Volson had mainly played left guard with the Bengals, but Tennessee brought him in with the idea that he could handle the switch and win the spot.
That plan hit a wall fast.
After the first week of preseason action, Volson’s grip on the job already looks shaky. Justin Melo of Titan Sized, FanSided’s Tennessee Titans site, said the former Bengals starter looked completely lost on the field and noted that he didn’t even open at right guard for his new team. A rookie ended up taking the starting job from him, which is about as rough a first impression as it gets.
Melo put it bluntly: "Volson is already trending in the wrong direction."
For Titans fans, that’s a troubling development. For Bengals fans, it’s hardly a surprise. They watched Volson’s Cincinnati tenure unravel enough times to know this could be coming, and now the early signs in Tennessee are lining up with that memory.
A move that was supposed to offer Volson a clean slate is suddenly looking fragile, and there’s even a real chance he doesn’t make the Titans’ final roster. Whether this becomes a temporary stumble or something more serious for his NFL future remains to be seen, but the early return is not encouraging.
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