We’ll keep tabs on today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Miami Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Titans
The cost-cutting moves continue in Nashville. The team has released cornerback Janoris Jenkins, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The move saves the team just over $6.9MM in cap space.
The 33-year-old signed with the Titans one year ago, as they re-vamped their secondary. He represented a veteran starter to help offset the losses of Malcolm Butler and Adoree’ Jackson, but his stay in Tennessee was short lived. In 14 games (including 13 starts), he registered 54 tackles, one interception and six pass deflections.
A second round pick in 2012, ‘Jackrabbit’ established himself as a quality starter early in his time with the Rams. He then moved on to the Giants, where he earned his only Pro Bowl nod, along with being named second-team All Pro. In 2019, New York traded him to the Saints but one year later, he found himself in the same position he is in today.
From an analytical standpoint, the veteran’s 2021 season was on par with his recent history. With a PFF grade of 65.4, he remains a solid cover man whom plenty of teams will likely be interested in. While his passing rating allowed (100.2) this year shows he may not be the high-end starter he once was, he will rank among the better options at the position on the open market.
It’s been a busy day around the NFL. We’ve compiled today’s minor moves below:
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
Tennessee Titans
Washington Commanders
The Titans’ offensive line has undergone plenty of changes in recent days, but there will be continuity in the middle of it. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the team is re-signing center Ben Jones to a two-year, $14MM deal (Twitter link).
This pact comes with $8MM guaranteed, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets, making Year 2 of the deal essentially an option year for the Titans. This will be Jones’ seventh season in Tennessee.
[RELATED: Titans To Sign Jamarco Jones]
Tennessee has recently moved on from two pieces to their offensive front. Last week they released Rodger Saffold along with Kendall Lamm. While it saved the team some notable cap space, it leaves question marks up front for one of the league’s most run-heavy offenses. Keeping Jones in the fold will certainly help in that regard.
Jones, who will be 33 by the start of the 2022 season, has been with the Titans since 2016. Durability has never been a concern over that time, as he has missed just one game in Nashville, and started each contest throughout his time there. PFF graded him as only allowing one sack all season in 2021, leading to an overall rating of 77.8. That is right on par with his previous performances, meaning he should still be counted on as a consistent presence along the line.
With Jones off the market, the center position continues to thin out. Ryan Jensen re-signed with the Buccaneers yesterday, leaving Bradley Bozeman as the name at the top of the list amongst free agents. Brian Allen represents another name that teams in need of a new center could be expected to pursue.
Former Seattle offensive lineman Jamarco Jones will sign a two-year, $5.75MM deal with the Titans (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). The deal will also include $3.15MM guaranteed, marking a solid pay bump for the 25-year-old (26 in June).
Jones, a 2018 fifth-round pick, has been hampered by injuries throughout his young career. This year, he was limited to just ten games with a back issue, though he did make a couple starts in place of Damien Lewis at left guard. Still, he’s been productive while healthy. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s allowed just three sacks while on the field throughout his entire career.
Jones isn’t a world-beater, but he should a versatile piece of the puzzle for the Titans. Last year alone, he saw time at three different positions — right tackle, right guard, and left guard. In 2020, he played at every spot, save for center.
His exact role isn’t quite clear, but he’ll provide valuable support for an offensive line that will be without veteran Rodger Saffold.
The Giants’ new head coach, Brian Daboll, worked with free agent quarterback Mitchell Trubisky when they were both with the Bills last year (Daboll as offensive coordinator). Well, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN, Daboll has interest in luring Trubisky to join him in New York.
There’s been some interest in bringing Trubisky to Pittsburgh, as well, where a path to starting is much more clear. If Daboll’s familiarity with the sixth-year quarterback is able to attract him to the Giants, though, the head coach sees the potential for him to mirror the results of Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee. A quick refresher: Tannehill arrived in Nashville in 2019 in a trade with the Dolphins. Tannehill started the season in the role of back up quarterback to the incumbent starter Marcus Mariota. After a 2-4 start to the season, Mariota was benched in favor of Tannehill, who went 7-3 for the rest of the year and led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game.
Daboll holds hope that, while Daniel Jones may retain the starting job in New York, if the need presents itself, Trubisky could provide the same effect as Tannehill.
Some other notes concerning quarterbacks around the league:
Rounding up a few contract details from recent deals:
With Titans’ punter Brett Kern heading into the final year of his contract, he’s agreed to terms with Tennessee to take about a $1MM pay cut, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter). The longtime Titan was set to earn $3.2MM to complete a four-year, $12.65MM deal, but will now make $2.2MM for the 2022 NFL season. 
The 14-year veteran is Tennessee’s longest-tenured player and has spent all but one of his NFL seasons in Tennessee after signing as an undrafted free agent in Denver. There are only four punters older than Kern and only Sam Koch, Andy Lee, and Dustin Colquitt have been in the league longer.
The three-time Pro Bowler’s play has dipped a bit in recent years. Since it’s mostly a result of the team’s offensive ability and a more successful offense can lower the number of a punter’s opportunities, it can be hard to truly gauge a punter’s play. Still, Kern pinned the opposing team’s offense inside the 20-yard line only 18 times last year, his lowest season total since his rookie season as a Bronco. He also missed three games for the second consecutive year.
Kern’s initial salary of $3.2MM would’ve made him the highest paid punter in the 2022 season (before Jake Bailey‘s proven performance bonus). With the updated number down to $2.2MM, Kern ranks as the ninth-highest paid punter for the upcoming year. The extra $1MM for Tennessee will grant them a bit of wiggle room for cap spending.
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Jets
San Francisco 49ers
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are continuing to cut costs along the offensive line. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the team is releasing left guard Rodger Saffold (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Titans To Release Kendall Lamm]
The 33-year-old had one year remaining on his contract, with a scheduled cap hit of $12.8MM. If he had still been on the roster five days after the beginning of free agency next week, he would have received a $1MM roster bonus. The move will incur $2.375MM in dead money, but save the Titans just over $10.4MM in cap room.
After nine years spent with the Rams, the former second rounder signed a four-year, $44MM deal to come to Nashville in 2019. He missed a total of three games in three campaigns with the Titans, and even earned his first career Pro Bowl nod in 2021. On the other hand, PFF assigned him an underwhelming grade of 68.8.
After letting go of Lamm and now Saffold, the Titans are back in the black with regard to the salary cap. They are presently listed as having $3.75MM in breathing space, which makes room to accommodate Harold Landry‘s new deal, but doesn’t leave much to find a replacement. Center Ben Jones is also set to become a free agent, so the team could very well be on the lookout for multiple new starters along the interior of the offensive line.
Despite his age, Saffold will now become one of the top LGs on the open market. Other big names at the position include Laken Tomlinson, Andrew Norwell and Quinton Spain. With a number of teams in need of at least shoort-term health on their offensive fronts, Saffold shouldn’t be out of work for very long.