Tennessee Titans News & Rumors

Vic Beasley is in the building. The outside linebacker reported to the Titans for COVID-19 testing on Friday morning, according to beat reporter Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter). 

Beasley has no-showed throughout the offseason, despite having just signed a one-year, $9.5MM free agent deal with the Titans in March. The deal – fully guaranteed – was set to place him as one of the team’s starting defensive ends, opposite of Harold Landry. Instead, GM Jon Robinson has been left to answer questions about Beasley’s whereabouts.

“I have been in contact with Vic, he is not here, he understands his absence is unexcused, and he told me he will be reporting to camp in the near future,” said the GM, after placing Beasley on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. “Our current focus is on the players that are here now, getting everyone acclimated to the protocols, our building, and our football program. We will have the same acclimation process with Vic when he reports.”

A former first-round pick of the Falcons, Beasley broke out in 2016, his sophomore NFL season. He managed 15.5 sacks that year but couldn’t reprise that performance in 2017 or 2018. Then, in 2019, he turned in eight sacks, giving him some momentum heading into free agency.

In March, the Titans signed Vic Beasley to fortify their edge rush. In August, they’re just hoping to see him sometime soon. Beasley has yet to report, and the team hasn’t had “a lot of conversation with him,” head coach Mike Vrabel says (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of the team website). 

Beasley has been MIA throughout the offseason and he didn’t speak with anyone from the team until late last month. His absence, GM Jon Robinson says, is unexcused. The team hasn’t offered much clarity on Beasley’s situation and neither has his camp.

A former first-round pick of the Falcons, Beasley broke out in 2016, his second NFL season. He managed 15.5 sacks that year, but things cooled off after that – he notched five sacks in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Beasley finished out with eight sacks, though that number was bolstered by a disproportionately strong home stretch.

Beasley is under contract for this year only. His one-year, $9.5MM deal is fully guaranteed, however. The Titans signed the former top-10 pick to fill a need opposite Harold Landry, who largely represented their only strong edge presence last season. If Beasley ends up a no-show, that would be quite the development. It would also seemingly strengthen Tennessee’s motivation to chase Jadeveon Clowney. The Titans have been on the fringe of that situation for months.

A Thursday statement from Jon Robinson brought good news and bad news. The good: The Titans have made contact with outside linebacker Vic Beasley. The bad news: He has yet to report to the team, and his absence is unexcused. 

“On Tuesday July 28th, we placed Vic Beasley on the Reserve Did Not Report list. I have been in contact with Vic, he is not here, he understands his absence is unexcused, and he told me he will be reporting to camp in the near future,” Robinson said. “Our current focus is on the players that are here now, getting everyone acclimated to the protocols, our building, and our football program. We will have the same acclimation process with Vic when he reports.”

The Titans inked Beasley to a fully guaranteed $9.5MM deal earlier this year, with the expectation that he would bolster their DE group. Instead, he’s been MIA. No one’s sure why Beasley hasn’t shown up in Tennessee, but it sounds like he will report sometime soon.

A former first-round pick of the Falcons, Beasley broke out in 2016, his sophomore NFL season. He managed 15.5 sacks that year, but things cooled off after that – he notched five sacks in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Beasley finished out with eight sacks, though that number was bolstered by a disproportionally strong home stretch.

When/if Beasley shows up for work, he’ll join Harold Landry in the Titans’ front seven.

The Titans placed 2020 free agent acquisition Vic Beasley on their reserve/did not report list Tuesday. A day later, the veteran defensive end remains away from the team’s training camp.

Beasley has not announced an opt-out decision, and no communication explaining his absence has taken place, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Titans began COVID-19 testing Tuesday.

Tennessee gave the former top-10 pick a fully guaranteed $9.5MM on a one-year deal to play opposite Harold Landry this season. While the team has been in the Jadeveon Clowney market for months, to some degree, Beasley is expected to play a key role for his new team.

With Clowney still a free agent, Beasley’s situation could represent a key domino in that months-long saga. The 2016 All-Pro experienced inconsistency with the Falcons, but he played well down the stretch last season — after the Falcons could not find a trade partner — and finished with eight sacks.