Titans release $36 million signee after one season

The Titans have released this 2024 free agent after an underwhelming first season in Tennessee.

When the Tenessee Titans signed Chidobe Awuzie to a three-year, $36 million contract, the team thought it would fill one of their cornerback spots for the foreseeable future.

On paper, the idea was sound; Awuzie was a high draft pick, started a ton of games for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals, and has the versatility to play on the outside or inside, depending on what the team might need in any given game. Pair him up with fellow 2024 addition L'Jarius Sneed, who came over from the Kansas City Chiefs via trade for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2024 seventh-round pick, and the Titans' defense would presumably be in business if Jarvis Brownlee, Darrell Baker, and/or Roger McCreary played well.

And yet, fast forward a year into the future, give or take, and Awuzie is on the lookout for another team, as the Titans have officially released the Colorado product back into free agency after just one season with the team, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

“Titans have released cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who played in eight games for the team in 2024, including seven that he started,” Schefter wrote.

On paper, Awuzie's season with the Titans was fine when he actually played, earning a 64.4 overall grade and a 58.4 coverage grade. While those numbers aren't great, they are better than Sneed's brutal debut showing with the Titans, who turned in one of the worst seasons in recent memory for Tennessee despite being one of the better corners in the league the year before in Kansas City.

And yet, because Awuzie could only appear in eight games in 2024, when coupled with the team's cheap depth at the position, the Titans decided to say goodbye to Awuzie, allowing him to sign with any of the league's 32 teams – including the Titans themselves under different terms – in the pursuit of a better situation moving forward.

So what do the Titans have planned opposite Sneed moving forward? Will they give the job to a player like Brownlee? Sign another veteran in free agency? Or address the position head-on in the draft, either by hoping a quality player falls to them in the second round or by selecting Travis Hunter first overall and playing him primarily at the cornerback position? While only time will tell, this release only creates more questions without answering any, which is not ideal for the team with a ton of questions across their roster heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.