The Titans’ cut-day churn is mostly in the rearview now, and what’s left is a roster that looks largely settled. Tennessee made a few moves that stood out, though, and a couple of them tell you a lot about how Robert Saleh and his staff want this team shaped heading into Week 1.
The best decision, by a clear margin, was keeping defensive end Rashad Weaver Jones. He turned in a huge preseason, piling up 2.5 sacks after his previous season high sat at 1.5, and he looked like a real example of what this new defense can bring out of a young player.
Jones is only entering his third year, and with a fresh coaching staff in place, the Titans may have unlocked something they hadn’t fully tapped before. For a player who had been more of an edge depth piece, sticking with him feels like the strongest win in the margins.
One of the tougher calls came with receiver Xavier Restrepo. He was a favorite in Nashville and spent the summer making his case the hard way, all the way through the initial 53-man roster.
That alone showed he had earned the opportunity. But the waiver process changed the picture, and Tennessee moved on from him in favor of extra defensive help.
It stings, but the logic is there. The Titans’ receiver group is loaded from top to bottom, with Wan'Dale Robinson, Carnell Tate and Chimere Dike all among the names that were never really in danger.
In a room that deep, Restrepo’s rise still mattered, even if it didn’t survive the final roster math.
That same swap brought in the defensive depth Tennessee wanted. Second-year defensive back Malachi Smith Jr. and safety Johnathan Burgess were the additions, and together they soften the blow of losing Restrepo.
Smith is working through a rib injury, so his role in Nashville isn’t fully clear yet, but Burgess comes in with a clean recent workload after playing 16 games for the New Orleans Saints last season. Tennessee also lost safety Erick Hallett II in the process, but the overall balance still tilts toward the defense, which badly needed more backup options.
The move that raises the most eyebrows is the signing of tackle James Hudson. The connection makes sense on paper, since he has been coached by both OC Brian Daboll and OL coach Carmen Bricillo, but that familiarity is doing most of the work here.
Hudson’s 2024 season with the New York Giants was rocky enough to leave questions behind it: he lost his starting job in Week 2 after drawing four penalties in two minutes, and he gave up one sack on the year. It isn’t a disastrous addition, and he may barely play at all, but it reads like a familiar face pickup more than a move with obvious upside.
In Other News...
Titans Just Turned A Feel Good Roster Story Into A Bigger Debate
The Titans spent the opening stretch of cutdown season trying to sort out the bottom of the roster, and one of the more encouraging stories took an unexpected turn. Xavier Restrepo had survived the initial trim to 53, a sign the team valued the rookie receiver enough to keep him around while other moves were being made. In the same wave of transactions, Tennessee leaned heavily toward defense, adding cornerback Melvin Smith Jr. and safety Terrell Burgess as it continued reshaping the back end of the roster.
Now Restrepo is off the active roster, which changes the conversation around one of the clubs feel-good depth pieces. The move does not appear to close the door on his Tennessee future, since he is still expected to be a candidate to return on the practice squad, but it does underline how fluid the Titans final roster picture remains. For a team still balancing immediate needs against longer-term development, even a relatively modest receiver decision can ripple into a bigger debate about where the roster is strongest, and where help is still being prioritized. [Read more 🡒]
Will Levis Drama Just Pulled Titans Fans Back Into That Era
Will Levis old connection to Tennessee is back in the conversation, this time through Gia Duddy and a social media post that sent Titans fans down memory lane. Duddy and Levis began dating in early 2021 while they were at different schools, and their long-distance relationship drew plenty of attention once Levis landed with the Titans as a 2023 NFL Draft pick.
Now that Levis is no longer on Tennessees roster and has entered free agency, the spotlight around that chapter has shifted in a different direction. Duddy recently posted a video from Nashville Stadium, and with rumors also linking her to Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, it has only added another layer to a story Titans fans had probably filed away until now. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Waiver Moves Put More Fringe Roster Spots In Real Danger
The Titans spent the waiver window making the kind of roster adjustments that usually say as much about the guys already in the building as the newcomers coming in. After a string of cuts and four waiver claims, Tennessee has clearly kept turning over the bottom of the roster, looking for more depth and more flexibility as it settles the final shape of the team.
Kylen Granson, Truman Jones and Garrett Dellinger now look like the three names most obviously standing on shaky ground as the Titans continue to sort out where the fits really are. The need for a slot cornerback after a recent cut only adds to the pressure on those fringe spots, and it would not be a surprise if some of the current movement ends with practice squad opportunities instead of full roster security. [Read more 🡒]