Tennessee Titans News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/15/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: K Matt Gay
  • Released: DE Gerri Green

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

  • Signed: QB Jake Dolegala

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/20

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Titans Rework Kevin Byard’s Deal

The Titans created salary cap space by restructuring safety Kevin Byard’s contract (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com). Thanks to Byard’s cooperation, the club now has an extra $6.12MM to spend this season. Effectively, everything stays the same for Byard, who will still make $9.1MM in 2020. 

[RELATED: Titans Place Adoree Jackson On IR]

Byard inked a five-year, $70.5MM extension with the Titans in 2019 to become the highest-paid safety in NFL history. Of course, as these things often go, Byard has since been leapfrogged by Budda Baker and Eddie Jackson. Still, his $14.1MM average annual value tops Tyrann Mathieu ($14MM/year), Landon Collins (ditto), and every other safety in the league.

The Titans may apply that extra cash towards the cornerback position, if Adoree Jackson‘s knee injury lingers for a while. This week, they placed the former first-round pick on injured reserve, shelving him for a minimum of three weeks. The Titans had less than $3MM in cap space entering Tuesday, leaving them roughly $9MM under the limit after revising Byard’s deal.

Byard, 27, put himself on the map with a league-leading eight interceptions in 2017. He hasn’t reprised his Pro Bowl or First-Team All-Pro status since, but he remains a pillar of the Titans’ secondary.

Titans Place Adoree Jackson On IR

The Titans have placed Adoree Jackson on injured reserve prior to tonight’s opener against the Broncos, per a club announcement. Jackson was limited in practice on Friday with a knee injury, but the club has not offered additional details on the severity of the injury. At minimum, Jackson will miss the next three weeks, per the league’s modified IR rules for this season. 

Jackson was said to be having a strong camp before the injury. Now, the Titans will have to look elsewhere for support opposite of Malcolm Butler. Veteran Johnathan Joseph seems likely to get the nod and second-round rookie Kristian Fulton may also see some additional snaps in the interim.

To round out the group, the Titans have promoted cornerback Tye Smith from the taxi squad. Running back Jeremy McNichols and wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will also get called up for Monday night’s game against Denver, though they’ll revert back to the p-squad on Tuesday morning.

Last year, Jackson graded out as the eighth-best cornerback in the NFL, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. This offseason, the Titans made the no-brainer move to pick up his fifth-year option for 2021. After this season, the Titans are expected to discuss a long-term deal with the USC product to keep him for years to come.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/20

We’ll post today’s practice squad moves here:

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee is adding some veteran insurance to their defense. An UDFA back in 2013, he’s bounced around the league the last handful of years. He spent 2017-19 with the Titans, playing mostly on special teams, so there’s plenty of familiarity here.

Titans OL Isaiah Wilson Arrested For DUI

Titans offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson was arrested for DUI last night, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds (on Twitter) that the first-round pick was “released from prison early this morning.” Buck Reising of A to Z Sports Nashville was first with the news of the arrest.

“We are aware of the situation,” the Titans in a statement. “This is not conduct that is indicative of the character of our football team and we are working through details on how to proceed.”

According to Reising’s report, Wilson was arrested in Nashville at 11:29 pm. The 21-year-old blew a “0.107 and 0.113 at the time he was pulled over,” with the legal BAC limit in Tennessee being .08.

Following a standout career at Georgia, the Titans selected Wilson with the 29th-overall selection in this past year’s draft. As ESPN’s Field Yates notes on Twitter, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the rookie. Wilson received a trespass warning after attending a Tennessee State party last month (a decision that “falls under conduct detrimental,” per Albert Breer on Twitter). He’s also had a pair of trips to the Reserve/COVID list, including one that could keep him out for the season opener.

Considering Wilson’s shortened offseason, it seemed unlikely that he’d start right out of the gate. There’s hope that he’ll eventually replace right tackle Jack Conklin, who left for Cleveland this past offseason. For the time being, it sounds like Dennis Kelly will earn the starting nod at that spot.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/20

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad updates here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: T Greg Senat

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: OT Jaryd Jones-Smith

New England Patriots

  • Signed: G Corey Levin
  • Released: FB Paul Quessenberry

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DE Marcus Willoughby

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Contract Details: Watson, Hopkins, Heyward

Here is the latest from some of the high-profile contracts signed around the league, beginning with the Texans’ former Pro Bowl connection:

  • Deshaun Watson, Texans: Four years, $177.4MM. Watson will receive $73.7MM in full guarantees, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. The deal includes fully guaranteed salaries of $1.177MM (2020), $10.54MM (2021) and $35MM (2022). This places the Pro Bowl passer third among QBs. Watson’s 2023 salary ($20MM) is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on Day 4 of the 2022 league year, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Watson’s $32MM salaries in 2024 and ’25 are non-guaranteed. Watson’s contract also contains a no-trade clause, per Wilson.
  • DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals: Two years, $54.5MM. Hopkins received $42.75MM guaranteed at signing, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. A $27.5MM signing bonus represents part of that guarantee, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). Hopkins received a no trade clause and a no-franchise tag clause, Rapoport tweets.
  • Cameron Heyward, Steelers: Four years, $71.4MM. Heyward’s second Steelers re-up includes a $17.5MM signing bonus, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The Steelers will pay Heyward a $2.5MM roster bonus Friday.
  • Stephen Gostkowski, Titans. Gostkowski’s one-year Tennessee pact is worth $2.75MM, Rapoport tweets. The 15th-year veteran can make up to $3.25MM based on his 2020 field goal make rate.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/20

Here are Sunday’s minor moves. The players who landed on injured reserve are eligible to come off teams’ respective lists after three weeks. For 2020, teams can also activate an unlimited number of IR players — as opposed to the two-man max of 2019.

Atlanta Falcons

  • Claimed (from Washington): T Timon Paris

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Claimed (from Dolphins): G Deion Calhoun
  • Signed: CB Torry McTyer

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers