The Tennessee Titans made the decision to cut four players in the last few days in tight end Delanie Walker, kicker Ryan Succop, outside linebacker Cameron Wake and running back Dion Lewis.
With those moves, the Titans now have about $18 million extra to spend this offseason, on top of the roughly $50 million the team started out with. It’s possible more cuts are made in the coming days, but those were undoubtedly some of the bigger ones the Titans had to make decisions on.
So, how well did general manager Jon Robinson do with those moves? Let’s take a look by slapping a grade on each, with “A” being the best and “F” being the worst.
Cutting Dion Lewis: A
Money saved: $4 million
This was by far the easiest decision the Titans had to make.
Lewis simply wasn’t cutting it as the team’s No. 2 back behind Derrick Henry, as evidenced by his 3.5 yards per carry and 6.7 yards per reception over the course of two years with the team.
Now, the Titans can take that money and spend it in free agency, while also adding a younger, cheaper and hopefully more productive back through the 2020 NFL Draft.
Cutting Delanie Walker: A
Money saved: $6.4 million
If we’re going with our head instead of our heart, this was a move that simply had to be made.
Walker was going to be 36 when 2020 begins and after playing in just eight games the past two seasons due to injury, bringing him back at $8 million next season just didn’t make sense.
Not to mention, the Titans saw that Jonnu Smith is ready to take the reins after his emergence in 2019, and Anthony Firkser remains a solid backup tight end behind him.
Tennessee still must fill the MyCole Pruitt role if they don’t re-sign him, but that should come in short order once free agency begins.
Cutting Cameron Wake: A
Money saved: $5.5 million
Despite not totaling a single sack after Week 1, Cameron Wake was the only Titans player who totaled a pressure rate above 10 percent last season.
Regardless, that simply wasn’t enough to take the risk of paying a 38-year-old situational pass-rusher who played limited snaps and battled injuries en route to playing in just nine games.
The Titans need to get younger and better at the position, and with D’Andre Walker and Derick Roberson set to return in 2020, on top of free agency and the draft looming, Tennessee is now positioned to do both of those things.
Cutting Ryan Succop: A
Money saved: $2 million
The Titans were depending on Ryan Succop being ready for the start of the 2019 season, but when he wasn’t it sent the team scrambling to find a replacement.
That was a failure on the Titans’ part for not having a backup plan just in case.
After the experiments that were Cairo Santos, Cody Parkey, and even Ryan Santoso upon Succop’s return, the kicking unit was an utter disaster, with Succop himself missing five of six field goals.
Tennessee simply couldn’t pay Succop over $4 million in 2020 and just hope things got better. And, that was too much to pay to bring him to camp simply as a guy competing for a job as the kicker.
While Greg Joseph is under contract, there jury is still very much out on him. Look for the Titans to bring in another option to compete with him in camp, but Joseph should be considered the favorite.
