By the time you get around to reading this, the Tennessee Titans may have added another veteran performer to their revamped roster. The team is now led by new head coach Brian Callahan, who spent the past five seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals.
A playoff team in three straight seasons from 2019-21, the club has dropped 18 of their last 24 games after a 7-3 start in 2022. Hence, general managed Ran Carthon has been very proactive and aggressive this offseason. Training camp for the 2024 Titans begins for both rookies and veterans on July 23.
Who are the Tennessee Titans’ best pickups this offseason?
10. LB Cedric Gray
He is an intriguing prospect who had a very solid season for the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2023. Linebacker Cedric Gray totaled 121 tackles, 5.0 sacks, three takeaways, and a pair of forced fumbles. This comment by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein makes the 2024 fourth-round pick an interesting addition.
“His instincts are just average, but Gray can be a disruptive defender when playing proactively and taking aggressive, downhill shots rather than waiting on the action…” New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and the Titans could use such a performer. Tennessee forced just 14 turnovers this past season.
9. DT Sebastian Joseph-Day
A team that gave up the fewest rushing yards per game (76.9 average) in 2022 slipped in this department this past season. The Titans feature one of the league’s top interior defensive linemen in Jeffery Simmons. A Pro Bowler in 2021 and 2022, the 2019 first-round pick missed the final five games this past season.
Veteran Sebastian Joseph-Day was drafted by the Rams in 2018, but was inactive for that entire season. The Titans are his fourth team in seven years, but he’s appeared in postseason games with the Rams, Chargers, and 49ers—including two Super Bowls. His versatility up front is a major plus for the Titans.
8. S Jamal Adams
Staying on the field has been a big-time issue for the seven-year veteran as of late. The sixth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, safety Jamal Adams’ career got off to an impressive start. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old Pro has missed a total of 24 regular-season over the past two seasons.
Adams was a 16-game starter his first two seasons. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2018 and 2019, as well as All-Pro accolades in ‘19, but the disgruntled defender was dealt to the Seahawks in 2020. His 9.5 sacks that first year earned him another Pro Bowl invitation. He’d be ranked higher if health wasn’t an issue.
7. RB Tony Pollard
Only Eddie George and Pro Football Hall of Famer Earl Campbell racked up more rushing yards for the Oilers/Titans than the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner. Derrick Henry spent eight seasons in Nashville, but the team was moving in a different direction. The two-time NFL rushing champion signed with Baltimore.
Tony Pollard was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Dallas Cowboys each of the past two seasons. After playing for the “franchise” tender in 2023, he signed with the Titans via a three-year, $21.75 million deal. He is a different kind of runner than Henry, and will most certainly be more involved in the club’s passing attack.
6. WR Tyler Boyd
He certainly took his time picking out a team this offseason, but he wound up joining a club now led by his one-time offensive coordinator. Veteran Tyler Boyd made his share of key plays for the Cincinnati Bengals the past eight seasons. Now he is part of what may be the league’s most improved wide receiver room.
While he has never earned Pro Bowl honors, Boyd’s career regular-season resume reads 513 receptions for 6,000 yards and 31 scores. He also played in a combined seven postseason games with the Bengals from 2021-22, snaring five passes for 48 yards in Cincinnati’s Super Bowl LVI loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
5. C Lloyd Cushenberry III
Seemingly simultaneously, the Miami Dolphins signed the Titans’ starting center in 2023, and Tennessee responded by adding four-year veteran pivot Lloyd Cushenberry III. General manager Ran Carthon inked the former Broncos’ pivot, who made 57 starts for Denver, to a four-year, $50 million deal (via Spotrac).
Via Pro Football Focus, Cushenberry is the site’s 11th-ranked player at his position (73.2). That’s just one spot ahead of Aaron Brewer (71.6), the man he is replacing at the pivot. The four-year pro, a third-round draft choice by the Broncos in 2020, is almost equally adept in terms of run blocking, and should represent a significant upgrade in pass protection.
4. CB Chidobe Awuzie
What stands out about the seven-year pro is that he has higher grades (via Pro Football Focus) in terms of run defense (68.0) than in pass coverage (62.3). That’s a big plus for new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who’s looking to help a unit that finished a mediocre 13th in the NFL vs. the run this past season.
In a combined seven seasons with the Cowboys and Bengals (including playoffs), Awuzie has picked off only seven passes—although one came at the expense of Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford in Super Bowl LVI. However, the rangy defensive back has been credited with an impressive 65 passes defensed.
3. OT J.C. Latham
The second offensive lineman selected in April, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft expects to be the team’s new starting left tackle from the get-go. Former University of Alabama standout/turned Tennessee Titans’ rookie J.C. Latham received glowing a solid evaluation from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
“Bulldozer in human form with the upper- and lower-body power to forcibly evacuate run lanes and instantly upgrade a team’s ground attack…Has elite drive-blocking talent…Has operated in a variety of run schemes but will be an average move blocker both laterally and when climbing to the second level.”
2. WR Calvin Ridley
The former first-round draft choice of the Falcons is suddenly reunited with his former passing game coordinator. Nick Holz, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is now Brian Callahan’s offensive coordinator. After not playing football in 2022, wideout Calvin Ridley comes off a highly productive campaign.
The five-year pro finished second on Doug Pederson’s club with 76 catches, but led Jacksonville with 1,076 receiving yards and eight touchdown grabs. Ridley started all 17 games in 2023, and will now team with veterans De’Andre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd to form a trio that should torment opposing secondaries.
1. CB L’Jarius Sneed
Somewhat surprisingly, Titans’ general manager Ran Carthon didn’t have to give up a lot to acquire the services of the standout defender. To obtain four-year cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, Tennessee gave a third-round pick in 2025 to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the clubs swapped seventh-round choices this past April.
Sneed was given the “franchise” tag by the Chiefs, signed his tender and the trade was made. He then inked a four-year, $76 million deal, and should be a difference maker. In 57 regular-season contests, there have been 13 takeaways. He also has 13 postseason games on his resume, including two Super Bowl rings.