The Tennessee Titans began the process of cutting players on Wednesday with the releases of left tackle Taylor Lewan, linebacker Zach Cunningham, wide receiver Robert Woods and kicker Randy Bullock.
With the four cuts, the Titans will save a grand total of about $37.8 million, putting them under the salary cap by $12.4 million, per Over the Cap. The dead-cap hits for Woods, Bullock and Cunningham total $7.6 million.
As we outlined on Thursday, the Titans might part ways with three others in the near future, a list that includes outside linebacker Bud Dupree, offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
But for now, we’re looking back at Tennessee’s recent cuts and giving a grade for each (note: grades range from “A” to “F”, there are no “+” or “-” grades).
LT Taylor Lewan
Cap savings: $14.8 million
Dead money: None
Lewan was a stalwart and key player for the Titans’ turnaround during the early years of his career, but things had gone downhill since then.
Lewan has been plagued by injuries the last few years. He suffered two torn ACLs, one in 2020 and another in 2022, he was pinched for PEDs in 2019, and missed time due to injury in 2021, which led to his playing in just 32 games over the past four seasons.
The veteran left tackle was set to make $14.8 million this season, which would have been way too much to pay him considering his injury issues.
Adding to that, Tennessee simply couldn’t depend on him for any kind of major role, as doing so could lead to another Dennis Daley-type situation.
That’s another reason why even a reunion on a cheaper deal wouldn’t make sense for Tennessee, barring extreme desperation.
Grade: A
LB Zach Cunningham
Cap savings: $8.9 million
Dead money: $4.5 million
Cunningham made an immediate impact upon being claimed off waivers by the Titans in 2021, but we saw many more negatives than positives from the veteran linebacker in 2022.
Not only did he struggle when on the field, especially in coverage, he was limited to just six games due to injury, which was problematic with David Long dealing with injury issues, also.
With the Titans trying to turn over a new leaf with injuries, combined with his struggles, there was no way Tennessee could pay him north of $13 million in 2023.
Grade: A
WR Robert Woods
Cap savings: $12 million
Dead money: $2.5 million
Woods was a shell of the receiver we saw with the Los Angeles Rams in his first season with the Titans, as he struggled with drops and separation. He did lead the team in receiving yards, but that’s not saying much.
Maybe you can chalk the separation issues up to his coming back from a torn ACL and not being the same right away, but that doesn’t explain the drops, which were back-breaking for a struggling offense like Tennessee’s.
No matter what you blame his issues on, he simply wasn’t worth the $14 million he was going to make if kept.
Grade: A
K Randy Bullock
Cap savings: $2 million
Dead money: $600,000
After a few years of a disastrous situation at kicker, Bullock was a stabilizing force for the Titans upon his arrival in 2021.
The only problem was Bullock lacked the kind of leg strength that would allow the Titans to attempt longer field goals, which was particularly a problem when Tennessee’s offense was struggling.
It made sense to cut Bullock, no doubt, but now the Titans have a major question mark at the kicker position, with 2022 UDFA Caleb Shudak being the only kicker on Tennessee’s current offseason roster.
If the Titans don’t bring in an experienced veteran, they could be staring down the barrel of another disastrous situation like the one they faced in 2019 and 2020. That’s the only reason this grade isn’t an “A”.
Grade: B
