The Tennessee Titans have already turned their roster over once, and the churn may not be done yet.
After trimming down to the 53 and then adding four players in the first wave of waiver claims, Tennessee still has a few names that suddenly look vulnerable. The Titans have room to keep tinkering, and with veteran options still sitting out there, a handful of players are staring at a very shaky path to game day.
TE Kylen Granson is one of them. He was always something of a long shot, and it took him a while to get traction in training camp.
He’s a solid player, but if Jaren Kanak had stayed healthy, Granson’s road to the roster would have been even tougher. Now that Tennessee has added more players who can help on special teams through waivers, the Titans could decide they’d rather use this spot on a tighter end with more dynamic upside, or even redirect it to another position.
EDGE Truman Jones is in a similar spot. He earned his way onto the roster in part because of a training camp injury, and credit is due for being ready when his number was called.
Even so, there are veteran EDGEs still available who might offer more immediate help to the defense. If Tennessee does move on, Jones still makes sense as a practice squad holdover.
He could be the kind of gameday elevation the Titans lean on later. But with the team needing as many pass rushers as it can find, that’s a lot to ask from a player still fighting for a real foothold.
iOL Garrett Dellinger may be the easiest one to see slipping. Tennessee eventually moved on from Austin Deculus, but the replacement was James Hudson, a six-year veteran who has spent most of his career at tackle and also got two preseason games at guard this year, where he held up well enough.
That matters because Pat Coogan and Jackson Slater already give the Titans backup flexibility on the interior. With Hudson in the mix, Dellinger’s chances of being active on Sundays drop to basically nothing.
At that point, he looks more like a practice squad option than a true roster piece.
There’s also a possible opening at slot corner after the Titans cut Erick Hallett. Marcus Harris no longer has a clear backup in that role, and no one else on the roster really fits there, aside from starting cornerback Alontae Taylor. Hallett will likely be back on the practice squad, but Tennessee may still want someone on the sideline on game day who can step in if Harris needs a break.
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 Cut Day Left One Roster Move Fans Will Debate Most
The Titans have mostly wrapped up the churn that always follows cut-down day, and the shape of the offseason roster is starting to come into focus. Keeping Jeffery Simmons on the defensive front was never really in doubt, but the rest of the moves offered a clearer picture of what Tennessee values right now: depth in the secondary, some added flexibility on the edge, and a willingness to keep reworking the back end of the roster until it feels right.
What will linger longest for fans, though, is the decision to move on from Kyle Philips, a player whose fit and role had already been debated for months. At the same time, the additions of Elijah Molden and Amani Hooker give the defense more familiar pieces to lean on, while the signing of offensive tackle James Hudson adds a lineman with prior experience and some coaching staff familiarity. It all adds up to a roster that looks more settled than it did a day ago, even if one of the bigger calls is the one people are most likely to argue about. [Read more 🡒]