Bud DupreeNASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans have to cut $23,687,933 in scheduled 2023 salary by 3 p.m. CT on March 15 to be in compliance with the salary cap.

That number is according to Spotrac and has the Titans in the fourth-worst position in the league, better than only the Saints, Buccaneers and Jaguars.

The official 2023 salary cap number of $224.8 million was given to teams Monday, NFL Network reported.

But the Titans won’t simply need to get to a point where their most expensive 51 players cost less than their adjusted cap number, which includes over $1.8 million in rolled-over money from 2022.

They’ll need room to sign new players in free agency and to sign their draft class.

Cutting four players can save them $45.14 million dollars against the salary cap. Here’s a chart I included in Friday’s mailbag showing those potential savings. If they made all four of these moves, they’d come out more than $21.45 million under the cap. That would put them in the ninth-best shape in the league on the current list.

Player

Cap

Dead Cap

Cap Savings

Bud Dupree

$20.2M

$10.85M

$9.35M

Taylor Lewan

$14.84M

0

$14.84M

Robert Woods

$14.62M

$2.6M

$12.02M

Zach Cunningham

$13.43M

$4.5M

$8.93M

Totals

$90.82

$17.95

$45.14M

 

Cutting Ryan Tannehill would save the Titans an additional $17.8 million, while the quarterback would also leave behind $18.8 million in dead money charges. 

Tennessee could also extend Tannehill, which would help lower his $36.6 million scheduled 2023 cap hit. An expected new deal for Jeffery Simmons could actually lower his scheduled cap hit ($10.753 million) and an extension for Derrick Henry, who is entering the final year of his contract could lower his upcoming number from $16.37 million. 

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Paul Kuharsky has covered the Tennessee Titans since 1996, first for The Tennessean, then ESPN.com and now independently at PaulKuharsky.com. He served on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee for 11 years and is the longest-tenured Titans beat reporter in the franchise's history.