Tennessee Titans News & Rumors

Titans Expected To Trade QB Will Levis

The Titans turned aside interest in the first overall pick last spring to select Cam Ward. He is set to handle starting quarterback duties for the foreseeable future, but it remains to be seen if Will Levis will remain in Tennessee for 2026.

Ward was of course widely expected to handle QB1 duties right away during his rookie season, but he did not spend training camp competing for the top spot on the depth chart. In late July, Levis underwent season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder. Provided he is fully healed in time for next year, the former second-rounder may find himself on a new team.

The Titans have a new front office in place compared to the one which drafted Levis. General manager Mike Borgonzi and president of football operations Chad Brinker will need to decide on keeping him in the fold or moving on. On that note, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports a “solid expectation” exists among those familiar with Borgonzi that the Titans will explore a Levis trade this offseason.

Drafted as the team’s Ryan Tannehill successor, Levis made a total of 21 starts across the 2023 and ’24 seasons. The Kentucky product did not develop as hoped, and it came as little surprise when Ward was drafted as his replacement. Levis’ rookie contract runs through 2026. Especially with the shoulder surgery taken into account, the return in any potential trade would be quite low.

As Robinson notes, the Titans’ preference for 2026 would be to insulate Ward with a veteran backup to aid in his Year 2 progression. Levis does not fit that description, and a fresh start would presumably be seen as rather feasible for the Borgonzi-Brinker duo. Recent years have produced several success stories in terms of quarterbacks seen as reclamation projects, and at the age of 26 Levis could be seen as one by a suitor willing to make a low-cost addition.

Of course, interested teams in this case will be cautious about Levis based on the status of his recovery. Provided his shoulder heals as planned, though, he could be a trade target this spring.

Titans To Waive LB Kyzir White

DECEMBER 5: As it turns out, the agreement between White and the Titans was not 100% mutual. The team would have preferred to keep the eighth-year linebacker in Tennessee, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport, but ultimately chose not to stand in his way.

DECEMBER 2: Kyzir White‘s time in Tennessee is set to come to an end. The veteran linebacker has come to a mutual agreement with the Titans for the sides to part ways.

As NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports, Tennessee has agreed to allow White a change of scenery in time for the stretch run. The 29-year-old has been limited to just one game so far in 2025 due to a hamstring injury. Per Schultz, White (who was set to hit free agency at the end of the year anyway) is now healthy.

That could make him an attractive option to contending teams. White will hit the waiver wire once he is officially cut by Tennessee. In the event he clears, the former fourth-rounder will become a free agent. White has made 93 appearances and 73 starts over the course of his eight-year NFL career. That experience would no doubt be welcomed by any number of teams seeking depth at the second level in time for a playoff run.

White increased his production every year while playing out his rookie contract with the Chargers. The West Virginia product took a one-year deal with the Eagles in free agency, then inked a two-year Cardinals pact. In total, White has eclipsed 100 tackles three times in his career; he nearly reached that figure in 2023 as well despite only playing 11 games.

Having been sidelined since September, White will likely have a tepid market as he becomes available. Nevertheless, the former fourth-rounder could easily be seen as an upgrade for at least some teams as they look for defensive reinforcements to close out the year. It will be interesting to see where he lands over the coming days. The 1-11 Titans, meanwhile, will move forward with other options at the linebacker spot as they look to 2026.

Titans HC Rumors: Nagy, McCarthy, Minter

After finishing with an NFL-worst three wins in 2024, the Titans’ 1-5 start this year was enough to cost Brian Callahan his job. Tennessee became the the first team of the season to fire its head coach when it gave Callahan his walking papers on Oct. 13.

Almost two full months since Callahan’s ouster, the Titans have logged even worse results. They’re 0-6 under interim head coach Mike McCoy, who likely has little to no chance of earning a full-time promotion after the season. That should put president of football operations Chad Brinker and first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi in position to find a new sideline leader from outside the organization.

With the hiring cycle still weeks from getting underway, Brinker and Borgonzi probably won’t make their pick until sometime in January. If they prioritize hiring an experienced candidate, Albert Breer of SI.com points to Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as names to watch.

Nagy has an obvious connection to Borgonzi, previously a longtime member of Kansas City’s front office. He also has some past success as an NFL head coach, having gone 34-31 with the Bears from 2018-21. Nagy took the Bears to the playoffs twice in that span.

McCarthy coached the Packers from 2006-18, winning one Super Bowl along the way, and Brinker was in their front office for most of that span. With a career .608 winning percentage over 18 seasons, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone give McCarthy a third opportunity.

As established coaches on the offensive side of the ball, either Nagy or McCarthy could aid in the development of quarterback Cam Ward. The first overall pick in last spring’s draft, Ward is the most important player in the organization. If Ward eventually lives up to his draft stock, it would go a long way in helping the Titans orchestrate a turnaround. Ward’s career has gotten off to a rough start, though, which isn’t a shock when considering the lack of coaching stability and the Titans’ dearth of talent.

While the Titans need more from Ward, they aren’t necessarily locked in on hiring an offensive choice or someone with head coaching experience. Two defensive coordinators, the Chargers’ Jesse Minter and the Rams’ Chris Shula, are among the “wide array of candidates” the Titans have considered so far, Breer reports. PFR’s Sam Robinson previously highlighted Minter and Shula as ascending defensive coaches to monitor during the hiring cycle, which will lack obvious slam-dunk picks on the offensive side.

The 42-year-old Minter and Shula, 39, don’t have head coaching experience at any level. However, they’ve drawn rave reviews in coordinator roles, which will lead to interest from other organizations.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh brought Minter with him to LA after a national championship-winning season with the Michigan Wolverines in 2023. The move has worked out for the Chargers, who have boasted upper-echelon defenses under Minter.

Shula, the grandson of legendary head coach Don Shula and the son of former Bengals HC Dave Shula, is also in his second year as a coordinator. Playing its first season of the post-Aaron Donald era, the Rams’ defense ranked an underwhelming 17th in scoring and 26th in yards in 2024. It’s a far more impressive second and 13th in those categories this year.

While Nagy, McCarthy, Minter, and Shula all seem like reasonable possibilities to end up as the Titans’ next sideline leader, there are surely more choices under consideration. The Titans are working to narrow down the list by season’s end, per Breer.

The next hire will bring in a new staff, but management will “likely” ask that individual to strongly consider retaining first-year sspecial teams coordinator John Fassel, according to Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky. Fassel previously led ST units for the Raiders, Rams, and Cowboys. He was on McCarthy’s staff in Dallas from 2020-24. It could work in Fassel’s favor if the Titans hire McCarthy. 

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/25

Twenty-one different teams made practice squad transactions on Tuesday. Here are the latest updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: CB Jalen Kimber 

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Released: WR Kyrese Rowan

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Released: OL Wyatt Bowles

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Kion Smith
  • Released: OL Braeden Daniels

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: DB Daequan Hardy

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

With J.J. McCarthy close to a return from his concussion, the Vikings parted ways with Ridder. He was signed last week after McCarthy entered concussion protocol, but was not elevated to back up Max Brosmer in Week 13. That responsibility instead went to John Wolford, who remains in Minnesota.

Bishop was released by the Steelers at the beginning of November. After appearing all 17 games last year with a 50% snap share, he did not make the 53-man roster this season and remained on the practice squad. He will now join the Saints in the hopes of making his 2025 debut in New Orleans.

Updated 2026 NFL Draft Order

Week 12 saw the Giants become the first team in the NFL to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Based on Sunday’s results, another two teams from each conference saw their postseason chances officially come to an end.

The Titans, Saints, Raiders and Cardinals have now been eliminated as well. Attention in the case of those teams will increasingly turn toward the offseason. For some, questions about changes at the quarterback spot will be ongoing through the spring. Free agency is not expected to include many notable options, so the draft will be sought out in several instances as a means of finding a 2026 starter.

Of course, the incoming class of passers has largely underwhelmed this season. That has led to uncertainty regarding the ceiling for many of the top prospects at the quarterback position. Nevertheless, supply often outweighs demand at the top of the Day 1 order in the NFL draft. How things shake out over the closing weeks of the season will be key in determining which QB-needy teams find themselves in the best position to select a new QB1.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2025 standings plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. Playoff squads are slotted by their postseason outcome and the reverse order of their regular season record.

Here is an early look at the first-round order:

  1. Tennessee Titans (1-11)
  2. New York Giants (2-11)
  3. New Orleans Saints (2-10)
  4. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
  5. Cleveland Browns (3-9)
  6. Washington Commanders (3-9)
  7. New York Jets (3-9)
  8. Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
  9. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons)
  10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
  11. Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
  12. Miami Dolphins (5-7)
  13. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)
  14. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
  15. Carolina Panthers (7-6)
  16. Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
  17. Detroit Lions (7-5)
  18. Houston Texans (7-5)
  19. Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
  21. Buffalo Bills (8-4)
  22. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
  23. New York Jets (via Colts)
  24. San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
  25. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
  26. Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars)
  27. Dallas Cowboys (via Packers)
  28. Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
  29. Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
  30. Denver Broncos (10-2)
  31. Chicago Bears (9-3)
  32. New England Patriots (11-2)

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/29/25

Here are Saturday’s minor moves around the NFL, including gameday elevations for the remainder of Week 13:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Vikings brought back Desmond Ridder as quarterback insurance with J.J. McCarthy concussed. Ridder joined the team’s practice squad, and he will not dress for Minnesota tomorrow. Instead, it will be Wolford handling backup duties while undrafted rookie Max Brosmer makes his first career start.

Diggs returned to Seattle earlier this week. The veteran will receive the opportunity to play right away during his second stint with the Seahawks. Diggs earned three Pro Bowl nods during his first run in Seattle, and he will look to provide depth in the secondary with a familiar team down the stretch.

Titans Sign CB Kaiir Elam

A few days after the Cowboys released Kaiir Elam, the cornerback has found a new team. The Titans are signing Elam, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports.

The Cowboys moved on from Elam on Saturday, which was a disappointing result after they acquired him from the Bills in May. The Bills parted with Elam three years after trading up to draft him 23rd overall in 2022.

The former Florida Gator struggled to live up to his first-round status during a 29-game, 12-start tenure with the Bills. The only two regular-season interceptions of Elam’s career came during his rookie campaign.

The hope was that a fresh start in Dallas would benefit Elam, but it didn’t work out that way. While Elam started in seven of 10 appearances with the Cowboys, he had difficulty as part of one of the league’s worst-ranked pass defenses.

Opposing quarterbacks posted a 105.0 rating when they targeted Elam. He was charged with giving up 25 completions, 372 yards, and three touchdowns. Elam began losing playing time as a result. He didn’t play a single defensive snap in what proved to be his last game with the Cowboys, a Week 11 win over the Raiders.

After going through waivers unclaimed, Elam drew interest from the Jets, who hosted him on Tuesday. He’ll instead attempt to break through with the 1-10 Titans, owners of the league’s worst record.

The Titans have gone over a month without starting corner L’Jarius Sneed, who’s on IR with a quad injury. They also lost Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee in trades earlier this season. Those in-season changes have left Jalyn Armour-Davis, Darrell Baker, and Marcus Harris as their main options at the position. That group will now welcome in Elam.

To make room for Elam, the Titans waived corner Samuel Womack, per Jim Wyatt of the team’s website. Womack started in eight of 17 games during a two-interception showing with the 49ers in 2024, but they waived him last August. The Colts claimed Womack before quickly waiving him. The Titans claimed him in late August, and he wound up appearing in five of their games this season. Womack played 91 snaps (54 on defense, 37 on special teams) and made four tackles.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/25/25

Tuesday’s practice squad updates from around the NFL…

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: OL Wyatt Bowles

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: CB Myles Purchase

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

2025 Injured Reserve Return Tracker

The 2024 offseason brought a change in how teams could construct their 53-man rosters while retaining flexibility with injured players. Clubs were permitted to attach return designations to two players (in total) placed on IR or an NFI list before setting their initial rosters.

In prior years, anyone placed on IR before a team set its initial 53-man roster could not be activated in-season. All August 26 IR- or NFI-return designations, however, already count against teams’ regular-season limit of eight. Teams will be tasked with determining which players injured in-season will factor into activation puzzles as the year progresses.

All players designated for return on August 26 became eligible to be activated beginning in Week 5, though any player placed on IR after a team set its initial 53 has not been designated for return and therefore does not yet count toward a club’s eight-activation limit. Playoff teams will receive two additional injury activations once the postseason begins.

Here is how the 32 teams’ activation puzzles look for Week 15:

Arizona Cardinals

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Atlanta Falcons

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Baltimore Ravens

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activations remaining: 6

Buffalo Bills

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Carolina Panthers

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Chicago Bears

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Cincinnati Bengals

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Cleveland Browns

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Dallas Cowboys

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 2

Denver Broncos

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Detroit Lions

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Green Bay Packers

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Houston Texans

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Indianapolis Colts

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Jacksonville Jaguars

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Kansas City Chiefs

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Activations remaining: 6

Las Vegas Raiders

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

Los Angeles Chargers

Designated for return:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 2

Los Angeles Rams

Designated for return:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 7

Miami Dolphins

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Minnesota Vikings

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

New England Patriots

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 7

New Orleans Saints

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 6

New York Giants

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

New York Jets

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

Philadelphia Eagles

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Designated for return (Aug. 26):

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 3

Pittsburgh Steelers

Reverted to season-ending IR:

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 5

San Francisco 49ers

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Seattle Seahawks

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated: 

Activations remaining: 4

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Designated for return:

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 7

Tennessee Titans

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Washington Commanders

Eligible for activation:

Activated:

Activations remaining: 4

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/22/25

Here are Week 12’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Sunday slate tomorrow:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

There hasn’t been much of an update since it was reported that rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was going through the league’s concussion protocol. He was able to get some limited practice time in yesterday, but he hasn’t yet been cleared. With Gabriel’s status up in the air, Zappe is getting called up in case he’s needed to back up the new starting rookie, Shedeur Sanders.

O’Connell and Sheriff are getting called up with linebackers Tyrice Knight out with a concussion and Ernest Jones questionable with a knee injury. This will be O’Connell’s third and final practice squad elevation, so if the Seahawks wants to see him play again this year, they will need to sign him to the active roster.