The Tennessee Titans left their preseason win over the San Francisco 49ers with a much bigger problem than a few missed snaps. Two players who were pushing hard for 53-man roster spots - defensive end Jaylen Harrell and tight end Jaren Kanak - suffered season-ending injuries, and head coach Robert Saleh confirmed the news after Saturday afternoon's closed training camp practice.
Harrell tore his ACL, while Kanak tore a pectoral muscle. Both will go on season-ending IR, opening two spots on the 90-man roster and forcing Tennessee to adjust quickly.
Kanak had been one of the more interesting rookies in camp. The Titans used a seventh-round pick on the former Oklahoma standout, and he had been showing up consistently in practice. Between his offensive upside, rookie status, and special teams value, he had looked like a strong bet to make the 53-man roster.
At tight end, Gunnar Helm and Daniel Bellinger are locked in as the top two options. Kanak had been competing for a role behind them, and his injury now gives David Martin-Robinson and Kylen Granson a better path to stick around.
Harrell’s injury hurts just as much, if not more, from a depth standpoint. He was the clear favorite to claim the fifth defensive end job behind Jermaine Johnson II, Jacob Martin, Keldric Faulk, and Femi Oladejo. Harrell had been trending up, finishing 2025 with 4.5 sacks in his final five games, and he had been developing under Saleh.
Now the Titans have to sort out that edge spot another way. A waiver-wire addition is one possibility, while fringe roster players like Malik Herring and Truman Jones could see more practice reps and make a case for themselves.
For Tennessee, the preseason win came with a heavy price: Harrell and Kanak will both be out until at least 2027.
In Other News...
Titans Roster Projection Hints At A Familiar QB Shift After Seahawks Game
The Titans are moving toward the August 30 roster cut deadline, and the final preseason games have started to clarify where Robert Salehs first full roster in Nashville may be headed. Based on camp and preseason work, the projection pieces together the likely 53-man group across the offense and defense, with quarterback drawing some of the closest attention as the team sorts through its depth chart after the Seahawks game.
Several position groups still have a few spots in the balance, from running back and wide receiver to tight end, offensive line and the defensive line. For Tennessee, the bigger picture is less about one isolated battle than the overall shape of the roster, and the quarterback room remains one of the most watched parts of that puzzle as the team heads into cut-down week. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Young Talent Faces A Brutal Roster Squeeze Under Robert Saleh
With a projected 53-man roster for 2026 already starting to take shape, the Titans are in the kind of spot every rebuilding team eventually reaches: too many young players, not enough room, and a coaching staff that has to make hard calls before camp even settles in. Robert Saleh has been clear about the areas Tennessee still needs to improve, and that outlook makes the roster math even tighter for players trying to turn flashes into secure jobs.
For the Titans, the squeeze is especially real because several promising names are competing for the same limited spots, and this is still more projection than prediction. The decisions ahead will say as much about Salehs priorities as they do about any one players performance, and with so much of the discussion still speculative, the real intrigue is which young talents can force their way past the cutline before the roster gets finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Fringe Roster Battle Just Got Tougher For A Few Players
The Titans second preseason win over the Seahawks did more than push the record to 2-0. It also sharpened the competition for the back end of the roster, with the August 30 cutdown date getting closer and a few players starting to separate themselves in a crowded evaluation process. Julius Chestnut, Pat Coogan and Keydrain Calligan have been among the names making the strongest impression, which matters now because every snap carries extra weight for players trying to stick.
At the same time, not everyone is helping their case. Xavier Restrepo and Jackson Slater have been on the other side of that conversation, and those kinds of uneven preseason stretches can matter a lot when coaches and front office decision-makers start lining up the final roster math. The Titans still have time to sort through the group, but the next week-plus figures to be especially unforgiving for anyone already on the bubble. [Read more 🡒]