The Tennessee Titans moved quickly to fill a linebacker spot, signing rookie Reid Carrico just three days after placing veteran Milo Eifler on injured reserve.
Carrico arrives in Nashville after being waived by the Cleveland Browns earlier this month, and the timing gives him very little room to work with. With roster cuts for the regular season due in six days, he’ll have to make his case fast if he wants to stick around.
Still, this is not the kind of addition to dismiss too easily. Carrico showed some promising moments during his short run with Cleveland, and there’s a chance the setup under Robert Saleh gives him a better path to show what he can do.
That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly likely to jump into the starting lineup for Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears. But there is enough in his background to suggest Tennessee may have picked up a player with some real upside.
One of those flashes came not long ago in Browns camp, when Carrico picked off a ball during practice in the end zone.
#Browns LB Reid Carrico picked the ball in the end zone during today's training camp practice. pic.twitter.com/95TJNwL0wj
Cleveland still moved on from the first-year defender, but the larger point is that his NFL story is far from finished. In Tennessee, the question isn’t whether he’s already carved out a major role - it’s whether he can keep building toward one.
His college résumé offers a better look at why he’s worth watching. In his final season with West Virginia, Carrico posted a career-best 4.5 sacks and 69 total tackles. He was a former four-star recruit who started his college career at Ohio State in 2021 before transferring in search of more playing time.
That move paid off. The 6'2" linebacker found his footing in the Big 12 and started turning himself into a more interesting pro prospect. With a few more productive seasons in college, his draft outlook might have looked very different.
Now the Titans get the next crack at developing him, and while he doesn’t look like a strong bet for the 53-man roster, he does fit the profile of a player worth keeping close on the practice squad.
If Carrico gets a shot against the Bears, he’ll have every reason to come out swinging. Few players will be more motivated than someone trying not to get waived twice in the same month.
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Titans Bubble Players Just Changed The Roster Cut Debate
The Titans second preseason win, a 19-16 decision over the Seahawks, gave the coaching staff a little more to sort through as roster cuts approach on Aug. 30. In a game that often serves as a final audition for players on the bubble, a few names made their case while others left the kind of tape teams cant ignore.
Chester Rogers helped his standing with a promising outing, and Joey Slye also looked sharp in a role where every kick matters this time of year. On the other side of the ledger, Malik Willis and CorDale Flott did not help themselves, which is exactly the kind of uneven night that can turn a straightforward cut-down process into a much tougher debate for Tennessee. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Defense Gave Fans An Early Preseason Problem To Worry About
The Titans had little to feel good about on the defensive side of the ball in their second preseason game against the Seahawks, where the starters were on the field long enough to leave an early concern hanging over the rest of August. Tennessee went into halftime trailing 16-9, and all of the scoring came from Randy Bullocks steady work on field goals while the offense remained uneven, even if Malik Willis looked better than he did in the previous game.
The bigger worry was the way Seattles backup offense moved the ball against Tennessees starting defense, capped by two touchdowns and a 69-yard Jacardia Wright run that quickly made the rounds online. Treylon Burks still was looking for his first catch of the night, and while preseason results do not define a season, this was the sort of uneven defensive showing that can stick with a team for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Roster Battle Is Heating Up After Salehs Latest Comments
Robert Saleh came away from the Titans second preseason game seeing the usual August mix of encouragement and frustration, the kind of uneven stretch every staff expects as a roster takes shape. He pointed to the peaks and valleys that come with improvement, and while rookie Carnell Tate has not shown much in the preseason box scores, Saleh made it clear his day-to-day work in practice has kept him in the conversation.
The bigger picture is that Tennessee is still sorting through several unsettled spots with final cuts due Aug. 30, and right guard remains one of the most watchable battles on the roster. Rookie Fernando Carmona has been trending in the right direction there, giving the Titans one more development story to weigh as the last preseason week puts pressure on players trying to turn practice progress into a place on the team. [Read more 🡒]