Will the Titans part ways with a productive LB?
There’s been plenty of speculation already about what the Tennessee Titans will do with the No. 1 overall pick. Is Shedeur Sanders part of their plans? But while they mull things over, here’s one Titans player who could be a surprise roster cut in the 2025 offseason.
An ugly season landed the Titans with a 3-14 mark in 2024. But the good news is a high draft pick and an easier schedule for 2025.
But like every other team, the Titans must make tough roster decisions. However, they do have more room to maneuver because of their $78.6 million cap space. That’s fourth highest in the NFL behind the Commanders, Patriots, and Bears.
Titans LB Kenneth Murray Jr. could be roster casualty
The Los Angeles Chargers grabbed Murray with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started with a bang, totaling 107 tackles and defending three passes that season.
However, things didn’t go as well in 2021 and 2022. But he bounced back with 107 tackles and four passes defended in 2023. The Titans signed him as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and he responded with 95 tackles.
He stood up against head coach Brian Callahan late in the season when Callahan said his team didn’t meet the Chargers’ physical challenge, according to Sports Illustrated.
“That’s how you lose games on the road to good, physical football teams,” Callahan said. “Tip of the cap to them. They played well. They were physical. They were the most physical team today, which is one of the first times I’ve had to say that this year.”
Murray disagreed, saying, “I don't think we were out-physicaled. They had some plays where they popped a little bit, but overall we can be better.”
Murray would be a $10.2 million cap hit. Cutting him would produce a $7.7 milliomn cap saving. However, Murray played over 75% of the defensive snaps in 2024.
Still, his Pro Football Focus grades don’t warrant paying him a big salary. His overall grade of 45.9 is poor, offset only slightly by a 67.7 pass-rush grade.
Titans trying to recover from long season
The Titans’ roster won’t be an easy fix. Things didn’t work this year, and the season took it’s toll on Callahan, who expressed his feelings after a late-season loss to the Jaguars, according to tennessean.com.
“It sucks,” Callahan said. “It’s terrible. There’s no joy in this process. There’s no fun in this. It’s terrible. I feel it every day when I walk into work. I feel it every day when I stand up here in front of (the media). There’s nothing enjoyable about this. So I don’t get numb to any of it. I would hope nobody gets numb to it.”
And the only way to fix an NFL roster is getting the right players on it. That’s why a guy like Murray hangs in the balance for 2025.
“Our job is to try and fix it,” Callahan said of the roster. “And do whatever we can to fix whatever we can fix. To add whatever players we need to add to make sure we have a better football team moving forward.”
What will the Titans do with their top pick?
It will be interesting to see if the Titans are swayed by potential generational defenders like Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter. Certainly a lot of the focus at draft time isn’t on defensive players, but on the quarterback position.
And Callahan said the organization is looking that direction, too. He mentioned Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward in particular, according to tennessean.com.
“As far as the tape and all that stuff, they both do really good things on tape,” Callahan said. “They’re in the discussion for a reason. They are the best quarterbacks that are coming out in this class. You can maybe put one or two other guys in the mix, but those guys are the best two. So we’ve got to keep finding out more about them.
“If there was a clear-cut way, we’d probably have a lot more hits on quarterbacks than not. It is challenging. There’s no perfect science to it. You do your best given what you know about the person and the player, their intelligence and their makeup. That’s why you’ve got to dig really hard on their personalities and the people that are around them.”
Of course the possibility remains for the Titans to trade their No. 1 pick. It may even be likely, according to cbssports.com.
“According to NFL Media, the Titans are open to anything with the first overall pick,” Garrett Podell said. “Staying at No. 1 overall and making the pick or trading it for a sizeable haul. Tennessee hired Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi this offseason. And he'll have the monumental opportunity to shape the franchise for the foreseeable future.”
If the Titans get a great offer, look for them to jump at it. They need more help than landing one star player can solve.
