The Tennessee Titans hired Robert Saleh as head coach to oversee the defense. To his credit, they've been far better than the offense or special teams in Tennessee's winless 0-4 start. Nonetheless, Coach Saleh and his staff continue to make one inexplicable decision on defense.
Veteran linebacker Cody Barton continues to outsnap Cedric Gray. Nothing about their respective on-field showings suggests that should be the case. For whatever reason, Saleh continues to favor Barton over Gray.
Barton played a healthy 53 snaps in Sunday's Week 4 defeat to the Ravens. Meanwhile, Gray was limited to 30 snaps. Saleh needs to consider reversing course immediately by benching Barton in favor of Gray.
Robert Saleh favors Cody Barton over Cedric Gray, for some reason
Through four contests, rookie Anthony Hill leads all Titans linebackers in snaps with 271. Barton has totaled 221 defensive reps. Gray trails them both by a significant margin, with just 90 snaps.
It's worth noting Gray missed Week 1 after suffering a non-football related injury. Still, the math favors Barton. Gray is earning just 30 defensive snaps per appearance, with Barton playing 55.25 snaps per game.
Gray set a single-campaign Titans record in tackles as a sophomore last season with 164 takedowns. The belief was that Coach Saleh, who possesses a resume of developing elite linebackers, would be an excellent presence for Gray. That surprisingly hasn't been the case.
Titans need to bench Barton permanently for Gray
Barton ranks eighth on the Titans in tackles. The slow-footed defender has been a consistent liability on defense. At one point on Sunday, Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle exploited a matchup opportunity by seeing a chink in Saleh's defensive armor. They isoated Zay Flowers with Barton, and Lamar Jackson completed a 55-yard pass.
Pro Football Focus has Barton allowing 11 receptions on 13 targets this season. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 84.6 percent of the passing attempts thrown in his direction. Their combined passer rating when going after Barton is 88.8.
New coaching regimes mean unexpected lineup changes. Nobody in Tennessee foresaw what's currently happening between Barton and Gray though. Gray entered the season as one of the Titans' most promising young talents.
This Titans defense needs Gray to continue trending in the direction that's more indicative of his 2025 breakout season. Playing the aging, less athletic Barton is a net-negative decision. Hopefully Saleh inserts Gray back into the starting lineup soon.
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