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Tennessee Titans News & Rumors

Titans Cut DeShone Kizer

August 5th, 2021 at 2:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have released DeShone Kizer, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. This was the expected move after the club signed journeyman Matt Barkley on Thursday afternoon.

[RELATED: Titans Sign QB Matt Barkley]

Kizer, 25, hasn’t started since his rookie campaign in 2017 — a winless year for the Browns. The Notre Dame product threw for just eleven touchdowns with double the interceptions (22). While the second-rounder showed some exciting flashes on the field, Kizer didn’t exactly inspire confidence on the whole.

Since then, he’s been looking for his next breakout opportunity. Kizer got into three games as the Packers backup in 2018, and he later lingered with the Raiders for about a year. The Titans added him to the taxi squad last fall, but he still hasn’t seen live action since ’18 with Green Bay.

With Kizer out of the picture, Barkley and Logan Woodside will battle for the QB2 job behind Ryan Tannehill.

Titans Sign QB Matt Barkley

August 5th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Zachary Links

On Thursday, Matt Barkley announced that he’s signed with the Titans (Twitter link). The quarterback will now vie for a spot on the Week 1 roster to support starter Ryan Tannehill.

Barkley, 31 in September, has made the rounds since being drafted by the Eagles in 2013. The former fourth-rounder out of USC has made stops with the Cardinals, Bears, 49ers, Bengals, and Bills, with two tours in Arizona and Buffalo.

Barkley has just seven starts to his credit in total with a 2-5 record in those games. For his career, he’s completed 58.8% of his throwns with eleven touchdowns against 22 interceptions. His last start came in 2018, a solid showing and victory over the Jets. Over the past two years, he’s popped in for seven Bills games, lobbing four INTs with just one TD.

Still, the Titans present a decent opportunity for Barkley to get back into the mix. Before Barkley, the Titans were evaluating Logan Woodside and DeShone Kizer as their QB2 options.

Titans’ Caleb Farley Cleared To Practice

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Zachary Links

Titans rookie Caleb Farley passed his physical, clearing the way for him to return to the practice field (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Titans took a bit of a risk by taking Farley in Round 1, but the cornerback is on track with his pre-draft medical timeline. 

Farley has undergone two back surgeries, with the most recent one coming in March. It all started in 2019, when he suffered a herniated disk in the gym. Somehow, he played through the pain in ten games for Virginia Tech that year. His first surgery did not completely address the issue, leading to a second one earlier this year. And, before all of that, Farley missed his true frosh season with an ACL tear. If not for all of that, Farley could have been a top 10 pick. Instead, the Titans snagged him at No. 22 overall.

As expected, Farley missed Tennessee’s on-field drills during June minicamp. Then, in late July, the Titans parked him on the PUP list. Now, he’ll have plenty of time to get acclimated in advance of the season opener. When he retakes the field in September, it’ll mark his first action since ’19, due to his 2020 opt out.

Farley is just one piece of the Titans’ revamped CB corps, joining tenth-year veteran Janoris Jenkins and 2020 second-round pick Kristian Fulton atop the depth chart.

Titans Claim K Sam Ficken Off Waivers

August 1st, 2021 at 4:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It didn’t take long for Sam Ficken to find a new home. Just a day after getting cut by the Jets, the kicker has been claimed by the Titans, the team announced Sunday.

Tennessee cut fellow kicker Blake Haubeil in a corresponding roster move, and also announced they’ve placed tight end Briley Moore on injured reserve. A Penn State product, Ficken went undrafted in 2015. He didn’t even sign his first NFL contract until 2016, and didn’t make a regular season roster until December of 2017 with the Rams. He kicked in a few games with Los Angeles between 2017-18, both times as a fill-in for an injured Greg Zuerlein.

After quick stints with the Seahawks and Packers, Ficken eventually landed with the Jets in September of 2019, where he found his first real home. He’s been New York’s kicker for most of the last two seasons, with mixed results. Injuries limited him to only nine games last year, in which he made 13 of 15 field goals and 12 of 15 extra points.

In 2019 he was shakier, making only 19 of 27 field goal attempts across 15 games. He’ll now battle it out with Tucker McCann to be the Titans’ next permanent kicker after they elected not to re-sign Stephen Gostkowski this offseason.

Haubeil is an undrafted rookie from Ohio State. Moore is an undrafted rookie from Kansas State who suffered a knee injury.

Titans Sign TE Luke Stocker

July 31st, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Ben Levine

Luke Stocker is heading back to Tennessee. The Titans have signed the veteran tight end, reports Jim Wyatt of the team’s website (via Twitter). The team also waived defensive back Quenton Meeks and placed offensive lineman Brandon Kemp on injured reserve.

This is a bit of a homecoming for Stocker; the tight end went to college at Tennessee and played for the Titans for two seasons. The veteran has managed to put together a 10-year NFL career, including the past two with the Falcons. Known more for his blocking prowess (Stocker also has experience playing fullback), the veteran has hauled in 83 receptions for 693 yards and five touchdowns during his career.

After losing Jonnu Smith in free agency, the Titans have been looking for some extra depth behind presumed starter Anthony Firkser. Stocker will compete with the likes of Geoff Swaim, Jared Pinkney, Tommy Hudson, and Miller Forristall for a roster spot.

Meeks, a 2018 undrafted free agent out of Stanford, has collected eight tackles in 14 career games. After getting waived by the Jaguars earlier this offseason, he signed with the Titans. Kemp joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Valdosta State in 2020. The offensive lineman reportedly suffered a shoulder injury during practice this week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/21

July 29th, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Jordan Veasy

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: OT Chidi Okeke
  • Waived: OT Calvin Ashley

Tennessee Titans

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Bud Dupree; Dupree remains on Tennessee’s active/PUP list as well

Washington Football Team

Titans Sign DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun

July 28th, 2021 at 7:44pm CST by Ben Levine

Briean Boddy-Calhoun has joined his sixth NFL team. The veteran defensive back is signing with the Titans, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).

After appearing in 43 games through his first three seasons in the NFL, the cornerback has been limited to only four games over the past two seasons. He stayed unsigned for most of the 2020 campaign, but after joining San Francisco’s practice squad in December, he managed to get into one game for the 49ers, appearing exclusively on special teams.

While Boddy-Calhoun‘s recent inability to stick around the league is worrying, the former undrafted free agent showed enough to stick around the NFL during his stint with the Browns. In total, the 28-year-old has seen time in 47 games (22 starts), collecting 151 tackles, three interceptions, and three sacks. The cornerback has spent time with the Jaguars, Browns, Texans, Colts, and 49ers.

This transaction follows the Titans placement of defensive back Chris Jones on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Boddy-Calhoun‘s ability to play both cornerback and safety provides him a better opportunity at a roster spot, and he could provide some experience to a team that added three defensive backs in this year’s draft (Caleb Farley, Elijah Molden, and Brady Breeze).

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/21

July 26th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: WR Reece Horn

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Placed on IR: DT Rob Windsor (out for year)

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: TE Carson Meier
  • Cut with injury settlement: TE Jibri Blount

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: DB Chris Cooper

Tennessee Titans

Titans Sign John Simon

July 25th, 2021 at 4:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have signed outside linebacker John Simon, per a club announcement. Fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper has been cut in a corresponding move.

Simon has been with the Patriots for the last three years. In 2020, he started in all 16 games and registered 53 stops with two sacks. All in all, he’s got 97 appearances and 52 career starts to his credit for the Ravens, Texans, Colts, and Patriots.

Simon is perhaps best known for the three-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Colts in 2017. That deal didn’t make it to Year Two, but he’s quietly put together a solid career in the NFL. Few know Simon’s ability better than Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who’s coached the veteran at two different stops.

Skipper, meanwhile, will go to the waiver wire. Teams will have 24 hours to enter claims on him before he reaches unfettered free agency.

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