NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans are parting ways with Teair Tart after season-long issues reached a breaking point. The defensive lineman's been upset over his contract situation and the team is unsatisfied with his effort and attitude.
At his best during his four seasons, Tart was a key run-stuffer for the team. But his relationship with the Titans has tumbled this season as the feeling has been he could have gotten more playing time and been more effective if he’d gotten better conditioned.
He was on the final injury report last week with limited participation on Saturday for personal reasons and a questionable designation for the Monday night game in Miami, in which he played 31 of 72 defensive snaps. He been a non-participant in two practices this week with a non-injury related designation that was denoted as personal.
Tart missed games at Indianapolis and at London against Baltimore and the team’s run defense suffered without him. But there was no giant bounce back when he returned.
“We need Teair and Teair also has an individual situation,” Vrabel said before Tart returned for the game in Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football on Nov. 2. “There's no secret that Teair’s contract’s up after this year. I told him that for you and your family, both things can happen.
“You can play well and you can help the team, and you can play well and help your family. That's what professional sports is, and I understand it.”
Before the Baltimore game, defensive line coach Terrell Williams was so frustrated with Tart that he declined to discuss him.
“I don't really want to talk about Teair right now,” Williams said. "Just because he's injured and I just don't know what the deal is. So you’ve got to talk to (Vrabel) and Teair about Teair. When he's out there he's doing a good job. That's where we are.”
Tart has played between 35 and 59 percent of the defensive snaps in seven games since returning from the toe injury after the team’s Week 7 bye.
He originally signed with the Titans as an undrafted rookie out of Florida International in 2020. The Titans secured Tart for the 2023 season with a second-round restricted free-agent tender worth $4.3 million. He’s been cryptic multiple times on social media this season suggesting he’s unhappy.
Denico Autry told me Thursday while it's none of his business and he tries to stay out of such matters that he did try to counsel Tart a bit last week.
"I can give a couple words of advice, but other than that I can't tell you anything," he said. "It hurts. It hurts man. It sucks. I haven't seen him, I haven't had contact with him."
The Titans are thin on the interior defensive line. Jeffery Simmons missed the win in Miami with a knee injury Vrabel said would cost him multiple weeks, and Kyle Peko suffered a season-ending calf injury against the Dolphins.
Wednesday, the Titans signed two linemen off the practice squads of other teams, Quinton Bohanna from Detroit and Keondre Coburn from Kansas City.
You are not authorised to post comments.