Lost in all the talk swirling around Jadeveon Clowney potentially becoming a Tennessee Titan, were the difficult decisions that GM Jon Robinson had to make today.
Cut day is overwhelming for the roster bubble guys during any normal training camp/pre-season period, but that’s the thing, these times aren’t normal at all. Due to no pre-season action, some roster fringe players won’t have the luxury of getting any tape of their play for other teams around the league to view, if they end up getting cut around this time.
Add in the effects of COVID-19, and how difficult it’ll be for those waived players to get on rosters before the start of the 2020 season, and you get one messed up situation where many players could be lost in the middle of the job searching frenzy.
It’s unfortunate, but these are the cards they’ve been dealt, you can only hope those players find their way through this jumbled transaction filled mess.
With all of that out of the way, let’s discuss the cuts the Titans made today shall we?
Official list of cuts from the #Titans.
Also, the team officially announced Vic Beasley has been moved from the NFI list, to the active roster.
(Via @Titans) pic.twitter.com/QGZgRvPxrV
— TreJean Watkins (@TreWatkins099) September 5, 2020
1. Titans Cut 2 OLB’s, Now Down to 4 OLBs on The Roster
Coming into cut day, it was reasonable to expect the Titans to end the day with more than 4 OLB’s on the roster. Vic Beasley is still working his way on to the field and Derick Roberson is going through rehab for an injury he suffered recently in camp. With those 2 fighting through those specific issues, it would’ve been wise for the team to stack up on numbers at that position.
But what transpired today, was something I truly didn’t expect.
So with OLB Wyatt Ray now cut, the #Titans’s group of OLBs includes:
Harold Landry
Vic Beasley
Kamalei Correa
Derick RobersonDangerous numbers, which I imagine Jon Robinson will try to increase as we get closer to next Monday night.
— TreJean Watkins (@TreWatkins099) September 5, 2020
D’Andre Walker, who the coaching staff really wanted to see more of, ended up getting cut. He’s expected to be brought back on the practice squad soon though, but that doesn’t help the numbers on the active roster.
Wyatt Ray was a late addition to the roster some time ago, but he ended up getting cut as well.
With those 2 being cut, the Titans’s OLB group consists of Harold Landry, Vic Beasley, Kamalei Correa, and Derick Roberson.
I can’t begin to explain how dangerous that is, especially with week 1 getting closer and closer.
Jadeveon Clowney is still on the market, and there’s still a chance he could end up as a Titan. But boy, if Jon Robinson can’t seal the deal with Clowney, this pass rush will come into week 1 with more red flags than you can count.
2. Trevor Siemian Gets Cut, Leaving Logan Woodside As The Sole QB Behind Ryan Tannehill
When 2020 7th round pick Cole McDonald was abruptly waived a couple of weeks ago, Trevor Siemian was the man the team brought in to compete with Logan Woodside for the backup QB job.
Fast forward to now, and it’s pretty clear who has won the job for now.
In the end, it was Logan Woodside who won the backup job for the #Titans.
Nice story for a guy who’s worked his tail off to get the opportunity.
— TreJean Watkins (@TreWatkins099) September 5, 2020
Siemian was one of the many cuts the Titans made today, which wasn’t all that surprising based on the pool reports that have been coming in from Titans camp.
Maybe it was because of the lack of time to adjust to the offense, or some other reason we just don’t know about, but Siemian just didn’t look all that great. The ex-Broncos starter just didn’t have it, he looked shaky, and ended up falling behind in the competition with Logan Woodside.
With Siemian out of the picture, the Titans could end up searching for another veteran option for the backup QB spot. They already worked out ex-Browns starting QB DeShone Kizer, and Josh Rosen is another option they could consider if he makes it through waivers.
Switching gears, Woodside himself can breathe a sigh of relief for now. Still, I’m not so sure Woodside has completely locked down the backup QB spot just yet.
We’ll see what the Titans do with the spot going forward, but for now, the QB2 role belongs to Logan Woodside.
3. Titans Opt For Cam Batson Over Off-Season Standout Rashard Davis, Keep 6 Wide Recivers
Titans HC Mike Vrabel spoke highly of Rashard Davis’s work ethic in the off-season, even going as far as to call Davis one of the team’s top off-season performers.
But as cut day came and went, Davis found himself on the chopping block, rather than gearing up for the Titans’s week 1 matchup in Denver.
It was a surprising move in all honesty, considering Davis was already so well thought of, and the other candidates for the roster spot he was battling for had too many question marks surrounding them.
Cam Batson was on IR all of last season, and was facing somewhat of an uphill battle to make the 53 man roster. Cody Hollister’s playing style and skill set made him a nice candidate to maintain a roster spot, but you wouldn’t bet on Hollister beating out Davis for a roster spot would you?
All the other candidates were UDFA’s who realistically didn’t have a shot to make the roster anyways, unless something miraculous occurred.
In the end, the team decided on Batson as one of the 6 wide receivers to keep, which is another surprising development in itself. Usually we would’ve seen the team keep 5 wide receivers, in order to hold on to an extra tight end, but that’s obviously not the case this year.
I wonder if that decision ties into Arthur Smith’s earlier calls for expansion within the Titans’s offense? Who knows, just some wishful thinking there.
Featured image via the Associated Press