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Tennessee Titans shockingly cut Adoree Jackson and Dennis Kelly

By Will Lomas

NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: Dennis Kelly #71 of the Tennessee Titans walks off the field after a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers defeated the Titans 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: Dennis Kelly #71 of the Tennessee Titans walks off the field after a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Nissan Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers defeated the Titans 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Titans make two shocking cuts

Nothing should truly shock you in the NFL, but when the Tennessee Titans cut Adoree Jackson and Dennis Kelly (seemingly) out of nowhere on Tuesday, I was genuinely shocked.

Adoree Jackson’s release means that the Titans are going to be without all three of their starting cornerbacks that they finished the season with (Malcolm Butler and Desmond King round out the trio).

On top of that, Tennessee previously released Kenny Vaccaro meaning that 4 of the 5 starting defensive backs from the 2020 season are now on the open market. Kevin Byard remains the only holdover from last year.

This move makes some sense, I outlined earlier in the offseason that the Titans were going to have to make a difficult decision between Butler and Jackson, but I thought they have made that decision when they released Butler.

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It turns out, it wasn’t an “either/or” decision, it was a “should we keep either of them” conversation.

The Titans defense was horrific in 2020, so it is hard to be too upset about Jackson. Throw in Adoree Jackson missing all but 3 of his last 21 regular season games, and it is easy to see why $10 million was just too much to fully guarantee.

For most fans, the focus should be on Dennis Kelly.

Kelly was a starter on an offensive line that was one of the best in the NFL boasting a 2,000-yard rusher and putting up 30 points per game in 2020.

Jon Robinson recently signed Kendall Lamm to a two-year deal, and he did well enough in his one year as a starting right tackle in the NFL. For the sake of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, I hope that was a big enough sample size to judge what he can be, because with Ty Sambrailo gone and Isaiah Wilson…well you know…Lamm is going to be immediately thrown into a competition for the starting job.

This move gives Tennessee over $20 million in cap space without the Bud Dupree deal factored in, but you have to assume that there are more moves following this. Until then, everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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