The Tennessee Titans have a new sheriff in town, as GM Mike Borgonzi is trying everything in his power to wash away the stink of the Ran Carthon era. One of Carthon's big free agency moves was to improve their cornerback room with a solid veteran, but he flopped so bad that he was cut.
The Titans have parted ways with former starting cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who started seven games and did not live up to the hype. Tennessee wants to get younger on defense, which can help explain the releases of both Awuzie and new Patriots pass rusher Harold Landry.
Tennessee handed Awuzie a big multi-year contract last offseason with the thought that he could become a quality CB2 next to L'Jarius Sneed, but his sudden decline in play and injury problems made him an expendable player for this front office.
Titans release former starting CB Chidobe Awuzie
The oft-injured Awuzie established himself as a solid starter with the Dallas Cowboys before performing admirably in a multi-year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, whatever skill he seems to have had in Dallas and Cincinnati has eroded to the point where Tennessee cut bait one year after signing a three-year, $36 million contract.
Awuzie's 58.4 PFF coverage grade ranks 130th out of 222 qualified cornerbacks. With just four pass breakups and one interception, it makes sense as to why Borgonzi and the Titans were unwilling to pay him eight figures in 2025 for that level of performance.
Snead and Roger McCreary appear to be locked in as starters for Tennessee, but anything goes beyond that. 2024 fifth-round pick Jarvis Brownlee makes sense as someone who could step into an elevated role, but the Titans may end up using a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to find a new CB2 next to Snead.
Tennessee may be in for another long season in 2025, but that might be what it takes for Borgonzi to turn this team around. If Carthon messed things up so bad he needed to be fired, there's no sense in keeping one of his bigger mistakes.