By MIKE HERNDON, columnist
The Titans and the rest of the NFL must cut their roster down from 90 to 53 no later than Tuesday at 3 pm CT. Before we get into my predictions (not who I would keep, but who I think the Titans will keep), let’s hit a few notes regarding cuts.
1. A couple of adjustments to NFL rules could impact the Titans' decision-making at a few spots. Those rule changes in their original language are provided below:
By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 17.16(C), to permit each club to place a maximum of two players who are placed on an applicable Reserve List on the business day of the final roster reduction to be designated for return. Such players will immediately count as two of the club's total designations. [Unlocked]
By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 17.3, to expand the Standard Elevation rules to permit clubs to elevate a bona fide Quarterback an unlimited number of times from its practice squad to its Active List to be its Emergency Third Quarterback.
In layman’s terms, the first rule means that injured players who are not on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, can now be moved directly to injured reserve (IR) without first having to be named to the initial 53-man roster. That’s a common-sense change that keeps teams from having to use the well-worn workaround of cutting a vested veteran for a day before signing them back to the roster after moving an injured player they wanted to keep to IR. Players who get placed on IR will miss a minimum of four games and will count against the maximum of eight players that a team can bring back from IR over the course of the regular season.
The PUP rule is separate from IR, but will only apply to Colton Dowell, who remains the only Titan on the PUP list as he continues to work his way back from ACL surgery for an injury suffered very late in the season last year. He seems like a lock to move to that list on Tuesday. Like those who go to IR, he will be required to miss a minimum of four games prior to returning, however his return would not count against the maximum of eight designated IR returnees. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him stashed there all year if the Titans remain relatively healthy at the receiver position.
The change to the quarterback rule makes keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster less appealing. If a team wants to take advantage of the emergency third quarterback rule, it can now do so an unlimited number of times by making a practice squad quarterback one of its two standard elevations from the practice squad to the active roster on game days.
With that, let’s jump into my projections along with some analysis for the tougher decisions within each group.
Quarterbacks (2): Will Levis, Mason Rudolph
Mason Rudolph has clearly won the backup quarterback role, so the big question here is whether or not the Titans choose to keep three quarterbacks. The rule change above makes the incentive to keep three even less attractive, which doesn’t help Willis’s case.
There is no doubt that Willis has continued to take steps forward in his development as he enters Year Three, but there is still a long way to go and keeping him around feels like a luxury that this roster can’t quite afford with injuries and depth concerns at other positions.
A bonus prediction… I do think Willis gets claimed if he’s released and ends up in Baltimore as Lamar Jackson’s new backup.
Running Backs (4): Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Julius Chestnut, Hassan Haskins
The RB3 is pretty simple… do you want a good running back or a good special teamer in this spot? Chestnut is clearly the better player with the ball in his hands, whether that’s on the ground or through the air on offense. However, Haskins ranks as one of the team’s most proven and productive special teams contributors.
What is more valuable? I think you can make a strong argument that Haskins makes more sense between the two. After all, the third running back is not going to be seeing meaningful snaps on offense if Pollard and Spears are healthy. However, they will be expected to play around 10 to 20 special teams snaps.
It’s also harder to find a standout special teams contributor on the street in November than it is to find someone who can run the football (see Foreman, D’Onta).
That being said, I think the gap between Chestnut’s ability as a back compared to Haskins is larger than the gap between their respective special teams’ skill sets. While Haskins is very good, Chestnut has been solid. He’s certainly not a drag on those units.
Ultimately, I’m projecting them to keep both as I think both of these guys are among the 53 best players on this roster today and nothing is saying that you couldn’t use both on special teams if you wanted to.
Wide Receivers (6): Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Boyd, Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Jha’Quan Jackson
PUP: Colton Dowell
If I were going to keep a seventh here, it would be Mason Kinsey, but I just don’t see the point in having three slot receivers on the 53, especially when Ridley, Hopkins, and NWI all can play the slot in a pinch.
Jha’Quan Jackson’s surge over the past couple of weeks has separated him in what looked to be a legitimate battle early on between him, Kyle Philips, Kearis Jackson, and Kinsey. He’s likely to serve as one of the two deep return men on kickoffs – assuming the Titans continue with their preseason approach of keeping two back – as well as the team’s primary punt returner.
None of Kyle Philips, Kearis Jackson or Kinsey serve on special teams coverage units either, so if they’re not returning kicks, they simply don’t have a role on this team in a regular week. If another wide receiver is kept, they’ll almost certainly be inactive every game day barring a slew of receiver injuries, and most of those options to fill that spot are carrying minor injuries of their own right now anyway. Assuming Hopkins is on track to play in the opener, I think the Titans go with six here and use the extra roster spot elsewhere.
Tight Ends (4): Josh Whyle, Chig Okonkwo, David Martin-Robinson, Nick Vannett
This is probably the first real surprise, but undrafted rookie David Martin-Robinson has drawn rave reviews in camp. He’s a big-time athlete, running 4.65 with a 35.5-inch vertical at 6-3 and 247 pounds, who was also productive as a pass catcher at Temple. That athleticism and his natural ball skills have translated to preseason action as well.
David Martin-Robinson is a big, fast man #TENvsSEA pic.twitter.com/SzORCPfWr4
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 18, 2024
I think he’s going to make the roster, even if they choose to only keep three, but I had extra roster spots due to a lack of depth elsewhere and chose to give one to Vannett.
Offensive Line (9): JC Latham, Peter Skoronski, Lloyd Cushenberry, Dillon Radunz, Nicholas Petit-Frere, Daniel Brunskill, Jaelyn Duncan, Andrew Rupcich, Geron Christian
This is one of the tougher spots to project for me. I think the first six are locks, but things get interesting after that. I think Duncan is going to make the roster. He’s clearly the most talented among the backup tackle options. From a size and movement ability standpoint, he has jumped off the screen in preseason. There are still mistakes, but he offers a lot more upside than the rest of these options and has drawn some strong recent praise from Callahan.
Brian Callahan on swing OTs. Mentions Duncan first. #Titans pic.twitter.com/DQ3b6WqKvg
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 22, 2024
Rupcich has been consistently working with the second team group at guard and has a couple of NFL starts under his belt. He’s been up and down in preseason work. Lachavious Simmons has been solid in preseason, but probably not good enough to overtake Rupcich for a spot here. Cole Spencer feels like a practice squad stash-and-develop-type prospect.
At tackle, the competition for other backup tackle spot seems to be led by Geron Christian and John Ojukwu. Ojukwu has faded massively since taking the majority of starting reps at right tackle during OTAs. Christian has experience, including playing left tackle down the stretch for Bill Callahan in Cleveland last year. I think the question comes down to whether they value experience or upside in this spot. Given that their starting tackles are young and inexperienced, I think going with Christian makes more sense to me.
Defensive Line (5): Jeffery Simmons, T’Vondre Sweat, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Keondre Coburn, Abdullah Anderson
The first four feel like locks to me. I think they’ll keep at least five here, but with Marlon Davidson going out with an injury, that fifth spot seems wide open. Abdullah was only signed last week, but he’s been around the league for a while and is more of a known quantity than some of the other options at this position for the Titans.
Isaiah Iton is intriguing, but again, feels like a stash-and-develop type for the practice squad. As Callahan mentioned recently, the fear of teams claiming players you release is often overblown.
Outside Linebackers (4): Harold Landry, Arden Key, Jaylen Harrell, Caleb Murphy
Ugh. This is a brutal depth chart to look at. Seventh-round draft picks are absolutely no guarantee to make the roster, but Harrell has done more than enough to secure his spot. In fact, he’s probably already their third-best edge defender.
Beyond that, the choice becomes a contest between Murphy, Rashad Weaver, Shane Ray, and Thomas Rush. Weaver is the chalk choice, but he’s just shown nothing that makes me think he’s ready to turn into anything more than what he’s been over the last three years, which is not good enough.
Murphy hasn’t quite capitalized on the hype he built last year, but he’s still the team’s leader in pressures this preseason with five, more than double what Weaver has produced while playing against the same backup level players. That tracks almost exactly with what happened in the 2023 preseason too.
Weaver has far more experience and is the safer pick here for sure, but he’s also an odd scheme fit with what the Titans are asking their outside linebackers to do (please don’t play Weaver off the ball in a real game). Murphy is a little better fit and has more upside as a pass rusher.
Ultimately, this is the spot that I would watch most closely for a waiver claim from the Titans. None of these options are good and ideally you’d probably like to keep five instead of four.
Inside Linebackers (5): Kenneth Murray Jr., Jack Gibbens, Chance Campbell, James Williams, Otis Reese
IR: Cedric Gray
If Gray doesn’t go on IR, I’d probably consider going six deep here. Campbell’s preseason performances have been very impressive and he seems likely to be the team’s third linebacker heading into the opener. Williams has flashed big time talent, as I wrote about here earlier this week, and feels like the kind of guy you’re going to have to keep on the 53 if you want to continue to develop him.
Reese is a good special teams player, which helps him here, but he’d be one of the first guys on the chopping block once Gray returned or if the Titans needed to open up a roster spot elsewhere.
Cornerbacks (6): L’Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary, Chidobe Awuzie, Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Gabe Jeudy-Lally, Eric Garror
I don’t love the idea of going into the season with two rookies and a guy with 350 career snaps as the backups at this position, but we know Brownlee deserves to be on this team and GJL has been better than Tre Avery, so I’m going with the youth movement here. I think Eric Garror is very squarely in the mix here as well, so it wouldn’t shock me if they go with six here and keep him around too. He’s quietly had a very strong preseason and gives you an extra option for kick and punt returns too.
Safeties (5): Quandre Diggs, Amani Hooker, Jamal Adams, Elijah Molden, Matthew Jackson
Jackson has made some plays in camp and is a plus in special teams. You’re not going to have Diggs, Hooker, or Adams playing a ton on special teams, and Molden hasn’t been a regular on special teams to this point in his career either. I think he makes it on the back end of this safety group.
Specialists (3): Ryan Stonehouse, Nick Folk, Morgan Cox
Yes, Brayden Narveson hit a massive kick and a game-winner, having about the best preseason game you can imagine for a kicker against Seattle, but my understanding is that this competition hasn’t been close in camp. Brian Callahan also came out and poured cold water all over any suggestion that there is a real competition for Folk’s job too, so don’t hold your breath on a Narveson upset at the kicker spot.