Which current Titans might be at risk?
The Tennessee Titans didn’t have a big offseason, but (just like every other team in the NFL except the Houston Texans) there is a lot of optimism about the current roster.
Right now around the league GMs and fans are looking at the team they have and they are thinking about their range of expectations. Every player on the roster has a shot at contributing, at least in their eyes.
However, the reality is that when the rubber meets the road nearly half of this roster is going to be gone by the time September rolls around.
If there is one thing that the Titans have shown more than most teams, it is that your draft status (or lack thereof) won’t impact your spot on the roster. We have seen them keep free agents and cut Day 3 picks and never look back, R.I.P. Luke Falk‘s months with the Titans.
Players who have stuck around the league like Corey Levin, Angelo Blackson, Antwaun Woods, and Deontay Burnett, have been cut in favor of younger projects for better or worse.
So, which players could get cut this year before the season starts, and are any of them players we currently think will make the roster?
Tye Smith, CB
Est cap gain: $900,000
Dead money: $100,000
The Tennessee Titans had two cornerbacks with real game experience under contract when April started.
Players that had been long time backups like LeShaun Sims and Tye Smith were gone from the team and it looked like the Titans were going to be locked into drafting a CB in the first round just to get enough CBs under contract to fill the roster.
Fast forward and the Titans now have nine CBs under contract, not including hybrid players like Amani Hooker and Dane Cruikshank.
Tye Smith’s biggest value for a team is as a depth player who can help teach young players how to win in the hidden part of the game where CBs don’t usually draw praise. For example, his field goal block return for a TD was crucial in a win over the Indianapolis Colts this season, and he had two forced fumbles in very limited time this season.
Some team would be lucky to have him, I’m just not sure the Titans will be that team.
Kamalei Correa, EDGE
Est cap gain: $1,000,000
Dead money: $1,200,000
This one would only happen if the Tennessee Titans signed Jadeveon Clowney, but it is one that makes a lot of sense.
Right now the Titans have plenty of pass rushers, but what they need is EDGEs who can hold their own in the run game. Correa can do that (sort of), but I believe his lack of success in that role is what led the Titans to shift to more 3 DL + 1 EDGE looks as the season went on.
Combine that with the fact that the Titans were in no rush to bring him back into the fold this offseason paints the picture of a player who is liked but not loved by the current coaching staff.
If Clowney comes to Tennessee, he can basically give you a better version of everything that Correa does well as well as positional versatility. While the dead money is tough to swallow, it is better to get $1 million back for a player you don’t want instead of paying a guy a full contract to sit on the bench or come in sparingly.
Ty Sambrailo, OT
Est cap gain: $1,200,000
Dead money: $350,000
Another player who could be pushed out by a combination of the team’s preferences and a draft pick, Sambrailo might have a short stay in Tennessee.
Sambrailo is was brought in to be a guy who plays swing tackle for the Titans if they didn’t land someone in the first two rounds, but right now I would put my money on that job going to Dennis Kelly by the end of the season once the coaches feel Isaiah Wilson is ready to take over right tackle.
The big problem here for Sambrailo is that David Quessenberry is a favorite of the team and a favorite of Mike Vrabel‘s. If both players are fighting for a spot, it is going to be really hard to imagine that Sambrailo gets a chance to show he can be an effective upgrade over DQ.
Some team will bring him in to compete for a backup spot, but for the Titans, it is going to be hard to justify keeping five OTs.
Anthony Firkser, TE
Est cap gain: $750,000
Dead money: $0
Despite my best efforts, the Tennessee Titans just don’t seem to like Anthony Firkser as much as I do.
I have said it before that it looks like the Titans are trying to double down on their identity as a run-first team and I think Firkser might be too much of a “luxury” for Tennessee on offense.
With Jonnu Smith fighting for big money after 2020, I think the Titans are going to push him to prove that he can be a blocker and a receiver before that hand him a new contract. If Smith takes that role and MyCole Pruitt is the main blocker, then you are going to get a repeat of last year where Firkser rarely gets a chance to contribute.
With no dead money, the Titans could always cut him and let him sit on the market for a while and bring him back once someone got hurt, but his chances of making the opening day roster aren’t as good as you might think.
Reggie Gilbert, EDGE
Est cap gain: $750,000
Dead money: $0
If Clowney is signed, someone is going to lose a job at the EDGE position and the only reason that Gilbert is getting listed after Correa is because the decision was made to re-sign Gilbert first before the Titans also decided to bring back Correa.
I like what Gilbert can do and I know there are several teams that would benefit from having him as their 3rd or 4th EDGE, but the Titans are going to be so deep at that position if they sign Clowney.
If Clowney and Harold Landry start then they still have Vic Beasley, D’Andre Walker, Derick Roberson, Reggie Gilbert, and Kamalei Correa. That is a lot of depth and if you cut Correa and Gilbert you get $2 million more that you could give to Clowney even though you still have plenty of cap space.
To me, that sounds like a trade that the fan base and that Jon Robinson would make, even though the team did trade a 7th round pick for him in the preseason last year.