5 biggest surprises from Tennessee Titans cut down day

Roster construction is always fluid, but the Tennessee Titans just solidified the majority of their roster for the 2024 season.

The bottom of the roster will see a lot of shuffling this season, and with the Titans having high priority on the waiver wire, this roster could look different as early as tomorrow.

Josina Anderson said that the Titans were a team to watch at linebacker (tweet below) and she certainly wasn't wrong! That leads me to the list of the five most surprising moves of the day for the Titans.

1. Trading for Ernest Jones IV

How could you lead with anything other than this?

The linebacker position was a big concern heading into the offseason, but Kenneth Murray looks like a much better addition than anyone anticipated. Despite that positive news, there was still the other linebacker job to consider.

Fans were hoping that Jack Gibbens would get overtaken by Chance Campbell who made several splash plays in the preseason. After Campbell went down with an ACL injury, there was a dark cloud over the linebacker position because he appeared to be developing nicely, and Gibbens is a better backup than starter.

That was until the Titans traded a fifth-round pick to the L.A. Rams in exchange for their leading tackler Ernest Jones IV and a sixth-round pick.

Reportedly, Jones wanted a contract extension and the Rams didn't want to pay him what he was asking. The Titans stepped in and took advantage of the situation and added the 24-year-old linebacker to the roster.

This is a huge move that changes how you see the Titans defense. This qualifies the biggest surprise of the day.

2. The Tight End drama

When the cuts were being announced/leaked, things started to take shape everywhere except for tight end. Rumors floated around that both Thomas Odukoya and UDFA David Martin-Robinson made the 53-man roster.

If that were true, would the Titans keep five tight ends? Could Nick Vannett be a surprise cut? Were the Titans getting offers for Chig Okonkwo? No one had any idea despite it being well passed the cut-down deadline.

It turns out that the Titans decided to keep all five tight ends, at least for the time being. With Ernest Jones IV's not officially on the roster yet, one of these players seems like a prime candidate to be released or traded over the next 24 hours.

3. Trading Malik Willis

While it wasn't exactly a move the team made on cut-down day, Malik Willis was almost certainly going to be waived by the Titans on Tuesday. Luckily for them, the Titans got a deal done with the Green Bay Packers to send the third-year quarterback to Wisconsin for a seventh-round pick.

Will that pick change the franchise forever? Probably not, but Ran Carthon found a way to get something out of a player he was going to cut. That is called "free money" and "free money" is always a win.

4. Cutting Gabe Jeudy-Lally, CB

With Jarvis Brownlee Jr. banged up in OTAs, Gabe Jeudy-Lally was the standout for the Titans DBs for a stretch. Even though he had some good moments with the team during training camp, it wasn't enough to keep him on the roster due to some pretty big cornerback acquisitions during the offseason. The Titans are light at cornerback, so expect another move here shortly.

5. Cutting Hassan Haskins, RB

Hassan Haskins constantly received praise from Brian Callahan for his special teams work, which matches up with what he did well with the last regime. Considering what Randy Jordan said about his prototypical RB3, it is surprising that the Titans decided to go with Julius Chestnut over Haskins.