Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans CUT Taylor Lewan, Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham & Randy Bullock

Episode Date: February 23, 2023

The Tennessee Titans made four major cuts on Wednesday to kick off the roster changes for the 2023 offseason. Taylor Lewan, Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham and Randy Bullock all got the axe. Why were the cuts made and what should you expect next? Tyler breaks it all down on today's Locked On Titans!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has begun, Titans fans. Cut season is here. The Titans made four cuts on Wednesday. Who were they? How much money did they save? And what should we expect next? I'm breaking it all down on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it.

You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the cuts are here. The Tennessee Titans made four big-time cuts on Wednesday. We're going to talk about who got cut, how much money it saved the Titans, how much cap space they have right now, what is going to happen next, all of that and more on today's show.

Before we get into it, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by the FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook of the NFL. Make every moment more. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on today to get started. Also want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year round and always for free.

Again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic, a certified film junkie covering the X's and O's every single week, and I am a staff writer for the Titans, all fansite over at Sports Illustrated. So with that all being said, let's dive into today's news. Number one, the biggest cut of them all happened first, and it was Taylor LeJuan. Now, it's not patting myself on the back here when I say that was an expected cut. You had to be incredibly naive to not think that Taylor LeJuan was going to get cut. He himself even said that he was going to be cut.

So the writing was on the wall for LeJuan. But I want to just take a moment and say, LeJuan, nine seasons with the Tennessee Titans, 105 games. He made the Pro Bowl three times. He was one of the best left tackles in the business. During his peak, he helped the Titans win their first playoff game in over a decade. In 2017 in Kansas City, he helped the Titans get as far as they

have been since the Super Bowl run in 2019 when the Titans went to the AFC Championship game. And not only that, guys, not only his play on the field, but Taylor LeJuan was a fun personality. And look, we all know that the Titans are underrepresented, undercovered when it comes to the national media. So having a guy like Taylor LeJuan to represent the Titans, to be somebody who people cared about, a personality that was fun, that was expressive, that was flamboyant, and I mean that in all the good connotation that you could put on that adjective,

to have somebody like that for the Tennessee Titans that people gave a crap about. That was cool. So shout out to Taylor LeJuan. It's been a lot of talk about his injury history, all of that. And that's all worthy conversation. But at the end of the day, LeJuan was one of the best, better left tackles in the NFL for quite some time. He helped the Titans have some of the best seasons that they have had since the Super Bowl run in the early 2000s. So, shout out to Taylor LeJuan. But, but, also, also have to say,

the guy played 20 games in the last three seasons. Okay? He was unreliable. You couldn't bring Taylor LeJuan back at $15 million on the cap. You simply can't do that. So it makes sense that he would be cut. Now, as for the salary cap impact, as all of us know, and as I've talked about, but a general reminder,

the Titans were $23 million over the salary cap going into this offseason. So they had to make some big-time moves to at least be cap compliant, let alone add people in free agency. So LeJuan cut, and I do want to throw this in as well. LeJuan was cut with a failed physical designation. He didn't pass his physical. His knee still isn't right.

Now, that doesn't mean anything money-wise. It's procedural. More than anything, it doesn't change how money wise. It's procedural more than anything. It doesn't change how much money they saved or how much money they're going to save or don't save or the dead or anything. It doesn't change anything. But what it does tell you is his knee is still not right.

And I think that makes it incredibly incredibly unlikely that he signs with another team or that he comes back to the Titans. As I, I didn't give myself a pat on the back for calling Taylor LeJuan being released. Anybody could have done that. But I will give myself a pat on the back for this one.

Taylor LeJuan's going to retire, and he should. And I've talked about it on the show. I wrote about it for Sports Illustrated last week. It is time to move on from Taylor LeJuan as the Titans. And Taylor should want to move on as well. But with that being said, $14.8 million in savings.

Zero dead money. LeJuan had no further guarantees on his contract. So his entire cap hit, $14.8 million, is all savings for the Titans. I mean, what more could you ask for? Okay? That's a great move to start out the cuts. Had to get the scissors out.

That's a great move to start the cuts. It's just the easiest move you could possibly make. And again, the Titans are not going to bring Taylor LeJuan back. I don't care how much money you think is a reduced deal, blah, blah, blah, let it go. Let him go. He's going to go be great on his podcast, Bustin' with the Boys. He's going to be great as a media member covering football.

He's fantastic during the college football playoffs with Pat McAfee on the sideline. Taylor LeJuan is going to be a star in media. So go do that. That's best for everybody. So LeJuan wasn't the only one who got cut. Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham, and Randy Bullock also got the axe on Wednesday. We're going to break down how much money the Titans saved from them and what comes next now. How much cap space do the Titans have in total and what kind of cuts and what kind of moves should we see next

from Rand Carthon and the new and improved Tennessee Titans. We're going to talk about that in just a moment. Before we get into it, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of the Locked On Podcast Network. Look guys, NFL season is over, but the best part of the NBA season is about to begin today. And FanDuel is not only the official sportsbook partner of the NFL, but they are the official sports betting partner of the NBA as well. And right now, new customers can get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000.

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Make every moment more with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Titans fans, we are going to continue breaking down the carnage. It was a bloodbath on Wednesday for the Tennessee Titans. Ran Carthon. He got going and he got going quickly and we saw a ton of movement. I'm not going to lie to you guys. I live in fear during this time of year. I feel like we're going to be doing the podcast and there's going to be more breaking news and I'm going to have to like scrap everything and re-record or

come back on later tonight or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, just madness. So if anything like that does happen later this evening after going live here with you guys, I'll be right back on to break it down in a short video. But with that being said, we just talked about Taylor LeJuan getting cut $14.8 million in savings for the purpose of simplicity. Let's call it $15 million. We know the Titans were $23 million over the cap. So now after the LeJuan release, only $8 million over the cap, which we're getting there. We are getting there.

The next cut that came is one that I'm not going to lie. When I said that this player was going to be cut earlier, it seemed obvious to a lot of people, but I got some pushback. And I had to bring out the receipts on Twitter today on some people who had some nasty things to say to me when I said that Robert Woods was going to be cut because it was obvious all along. Woods was set to make about $14 million. So the Titans

cut Robert Woods and they saved $12 million on the cap with only $2.6 million in dead money. Look, Robert Woods was put in a bad spot. Robert Woods, when the trade was made, was brought over to be the Titans' number two wide receiver. He was going to be behind A.J. Brown. All the trade was made, was brought over to be the Titans' number two wide receiver. He was going to be behind A.J. Brown. All the attention was going to be on A.J. Brown. Robert Woods was going to be able to use his veteran savvy to sit down in zones, take advantage of the easier coverage that he was getting because the attention was on A.J. Well, A.J. was traded, as we all know. And with that in mind, Robert Woods was asked to be the number one wide receiver on the team.

He's near 30, off an ACL tear. With that in mind, Robert Woods was asked to be the No. 1 wide receiver on the team. He's near 30, often ACL tear, and honestly, he's never been a No. 1 wide receiver in his career. So look, Robert Woods was put in a bad position, and even in that bad position, he caught 52 passes, went over 500 yards. Both of those led the Titans this year. He had two touchdown catches, and the Titans' offense was absolutely pitiful for most of the season. I don't necessarily blame that on Robert Woods, but he did have some drops.

It's obvious that his speed wasn't there. He didn't get a ton of separation either, which is all stuff on him. So I don't blame the Tennessee Titans for doing this cut. I would have cut Robert Woods too. He's simply not worth the $14 million. And as I've been saying all season,

the Titans need to get younger, cheaper, and faster. And nothing about Robert Woods at this stage of his career is younger, cheaper, or faster. Okay. So this was a move that had to happen. And these two moves together, Taylor LeJuan, $15 million saved. Robert Woods, $12 million saved. a 1, 15 million saved. Robert Woods, 12 million saved. Those two moves together right there save you $27

million. Now you're $4 million under the salary cap. You're back to good. Okay? You're back to good. I mean, it's not good. It's not great, but you're at least under the salary cap rather than being over, which is obviously an issue that they would have.

So, look, this was a move that had to happen. Robert Woods had to be cut. I don't think that he's terrible. I don't think he's a garbage player or anything like that. I think Robert Woods is probably going to go to another team and do pretty well. And as a matter of fact, Robert Woods looked like he was pretty excited to be off of the Titans. He tweeted immediately after the news of his release free on Twitter. So I'm happy that Robert Woods got cut. Looks like Robert Woods is pretty happy

that he got cut too. But anyway, moving right along, Zach Cunningham. Zach Cunningham, the linebacker, was also cut on Wednesday. Cunningham saves the Titans $9 million on the cap. It's $8.9 to be precise, but $9 million on the cap. He leaves behind $4.5 million of dead money. That's unfortunate, but the reality is to save that $9 million, that's what had to happen. So with $15 million from LaJuan, $12 million from Woods, that's $27 million right there. $9 million from Zach Cunningham. You're looking at $36 million in cap shavings. Not savings, shavings. You guys get what I'm doing there? Anyways, moving right along. I think my jokes are funnier than you guys do. I get it. I get it. I get it. But anyway, with $23 million in the hole and then $36 million back, now you're up to about $13 million in cap space. And look, the Titans are going to be thin at linebacker this year, but Zach Cunningham played

six games. And when he played, he got outplayed by Dylan Cole. Look, Dylan Cole is a nice piece for the Titans team in terms of depth and special teams,, Dylan Cole is a nice piece for the Titans team in terms of depth and special teams, but Dylan Cole is not a starting linebacker in the NFL. So if you're taking Zach Cunningham, who's set to get paid about $14, $15 million, $13 million, and he's getting outplayed by Dylan Cole,

you can't have that. You simply can't. I mean, Cunningham played in those six games, 24 tackles, zero tackles for loss, zero quarterback hits, zero sacks. He simply wasn't productive enough.

And here's what I would also let you guys know. Word around the streets is when Mike Vrabel made the comment about we got guys who only want to work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cunningham was one of those guys. Not known as a hard worker. And you know what? That makes sense. How did the Titans get Zach Cunningham?

Oh, the Texans cut him in the middle of the season because he had personality issues in the locker room. Well, guys, I would relate this to relationships. If she cheated on her boyfriend with you, she's probably going to cheat on you too. Well, Zach Cunningham didn't work hard enough with the Texans and caused problems in the locker room. And you get the rumblings and the whispers

that that's the type of guy he was in Tennessee too. And you get the rumblings and the whispers that that's the type of guy he was in Tennessee too. So, just keep that in mind as we move forward. Zach Cunningham cut the third, well, it was the fourth cut of the day, but the third biggest name that was cut. The last cut, and this was one that some of you guys in the chat pushed back on me at times when I mentioned this,

but Randy Bullock. Randy Bullock was cut from the Titans on Wednesday as well. The fourth and final cut of the day that we are going to discuss. Look, Randy Bullock stabilized the Titans kicking situation. He did. It was way worse the few years before that when the Titans were going through new kickers every couple of weeks and they had the worst kicking season of all time. Randy Bullock stabilized the Titans kicking situation.

He went 17 for 20 on his field goals last year. He went 28 for 28 on his extra points. That is a lot better than what the Titans had in 2019 and 2020. Okay, that's a reality. But you can't let good be the enemy of better. The Titans have to do better than Randy Bullock. And what you can't do is you can't pay Randy Bullock $2.6 million. He can't even hit a field goal over 50 yards.

Kicks of over 47 or more, he was like two for seven, if I recall off the top of my head. So look, Randy Bullock was absolutely awful. He was a lot better than what the Titans had the couple seasons before that, but he was nowhere near good enough to pay him $2.6 million. And Randy Bullock saves you $2 million on the cap with only $600,000 of dead money. I mean, that's a deal you can't pass up.

That's why I was confused when I went over my cut candidates. I talked about all these guys. I talked about Randy Bullock, and some people thought I was nuts. How can you cut Randy Bullock? How could you not? How could you not cut Randy Bullock at $2.6 million? You got to do better, man. You got to do better.

Yeah, I see somebody saying Jake Moody. Yeah, I'd rather take Jake Moody in the seventh round of the draft than pay Randy Bullock nearly $3 million on the cap. Huh? What? What? The Titans are consistently at a disadvantage in the kicking game every single week. So, once again, you can't let good be the enemy of better.

So, one more time with the scissors, baby. The two-tone scissors. I got my Titan scissors out here for you guys. Taylor LeJuan, $15 million. Robert Woods, $12 million. Zach Cunningham, $9 million. Randy Bullock, $2 million. Quick math, $38 million in cap savings.

Started, $23 million in the hole. The Titans are looking at about $15 million in cap savings started. $23 million in the hole. The Titans are looking at about $15 million in cap space. There's some wiggle room there based on the exact amount, whether you look at over the cap or spot track, whatever website you go with. I go with spot track, so I'm looking at about a little less than $15 million. But that brings us to the question, what next? Are there more cuts coming? Who are the candidates for those cuts? What are some options the Titans have? I'm going to get into that in just a moment.

Before I do, I want to take a moment and thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year round, and always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. So make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast.

We got 200 people watching the show live right now. I expect 200 thumbs ups on the video. I don't charge you guys any money for the content. My writing on Sports Illustrated, the podcast here on Locked on Titans, I never ask for a dime. All I ask for in return is you 200 people to hit that button. Definitely do appreciate it. We're going to talk about what comes next for the Titans in just a moment.

Titans fans, we are going to cap off this bloodbath Thursday. It happened on Wednesday, but it's going to be Thursday. But YouTube's watching. I'm getting all bogged down in the details. It's all semantics at the end of the day. But we're going to cap off today's show, breaking down what's next for the Tennessee Titans now that we've seen these four cuts happen. Just want to recap the money for you guys. The Titans started at $23 million in the hole.

Okay. They cut LeJuan to save $15 million. That's $8 million in the hole. They cut Robert Woods to save $12 million. Now they're $4 million above or under the salary cap. Then they cut Zach Cunningham worth $9 million. Now you're up to $13 million in savings. And then you cut Randy Bullock worth $2 million. And now you're at about $15 million in cap space. Here is what can happen next. I think $14.7 million is the exact number that I wrote down in my notes. Yes. But here is what comes next. So one, I mentioned Jamarco Jones.

Jamarco Jones would cost the Titans about 1.4 million in dead cap, but he would save them a million. If you're somebody who thinks that the Titans should bring back Jamarco Jones, give them a chance, healthy, to compete at left guard because they don't have a lot of offensive line depth, then sure, then fine. But Jamarco Jones didn't seem to have a great time with the Titans. And I think that both sides may be ready to just part ways. So you could save your million bucks there.

That's another million. You're about $15, $16 million in cap space. But then, the heavy hitters, okay? Bud Dupree. Now, I've been thinking about the Bud Dupree situation, and I'm not going to lie to you guys. Since Bud Dupree was signed and I saw the contract structure, I said, oh, he's going to play two seasons in Tennessee and then they're going to get rid of him. I have held firm to that belief for the last two years. The Titans are going to

cut or in some way get rid of Bud Dupree after two seasons. Bud Dupree was not included in the cuts today. So, am I going to be wrong? Am I going to have egg on my face? Are they going to bring Bud Dupree back? Not so fast, my friend. Okay? Bud Dupree is set to make $20 million on the cap this year. Now, I will say, I will say if they cut Bud Dupree, they're only going to save

$9 million. They're going to have dead cap of about $11 million. So it's not like it's as easy of a decision as the four guys who got cut today. But here's what I think could be in the works. Bud Dupree's salary is only $17 million.

I think that there is a chance that the reason that Bud Dupree was not cut is because the Titans are working on either A, trading him for a late round pick, sixth, seventh round pick, where a team would take Bud Dupree, redo his contract to lower his cap hit and get him down to about $10 million.

I think also the Titans may be looking at Bud Dupree as a post-June 1st cap cut. Now the Titans can designate Bud Dupree a post June 1st cap cut and still cut him right now. Which I think is what ultimately ends up happening. Bud Dupree will be cut by March 15th when free agency starts.

But it'll be as a post June 1st designation. Because if the Titans do that then they actually save $15 million on Bud Dupree. And while you don't get that money during free agency in March, if you have $15 million to play with in June, you could sign your draft class. You can make additions during the season. You can sign players who are veterans who are cut during training camp. There's a lot of reason to go into next season with $10 to $15 million in cap space.

The Titans just did this with Julio Jones last year where they designated him as a post-June 1st cut. So I still think Bud Dupree is not a Titan in 2023. I think they either find a way to trade him and get some value back or they designate him as a post-June first cut. They don't get his savings right now, but they get the savings when June comes around. I still think that happens. If I'm wrong about that, then I'll come on here. You guys can dunk on me in the chat. You can dunk on me on Twitter because I would be wrong. And one thing that you're going to get from me,

I'm going to pat myself on the back every time I get something right. That annoys some people and I get it. But on the flip side of that, I'm always going to tell you guys when I was dead wrong. So I'll do that if Bud Dupree doesn't get cut. But yeah, another great point here by C-Dub.

He said that money can also go towards Big Jeff's contract. Boom. That is a great, great addition to the podcast, C-Dub. Shout out to you. That's a great comment. And you're freaking right on. The Titans can use that money to give Big Jeff

some guarantees heading into the year. So, not only that with Bud Dupree, but Ryan Tannehill, of course. course now if they cut tannahill if they trade tannahill you could save 18 million dollars i just don't i maybe they trade him but i don't see them cutting him i just don't i just don't see it so again i could be wrong on that but as i've said all along, we've talked about all the different options trading up in the draft. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Derek Carr, blah, blah, and I'm going to continue to talk about the options because that's the job. But as I've said, and as I continue to say, Tannehill is probably going to be the quarterback in 2023. Just need to kind of accept that.

And if you're wrong and if it changes, then great. But I just don't expect Tannehill to be on a different team next year. I expect him to be the starting quarterback. So with that being said, what else could come next here? I think you could see an extension of Derrick Henry for another year. This year and next year to lower his cap hit down because Henry's cap hit right now is $16 million. That's just too high.

It's just simply too high for a running back. So I think you could see an extension for Derrick Henry to give him more guaranteed money, set him up going forward, and lower that cap hit this year. I think you could potentially see a restructure of Kevin Bayard as well who's set to make about $19 million against the cap this year. I think Kevin Bayard is going to continue to be good in the future. So it's not as big of a risk to extend him and push money out to the future.

So a potential Kevin Bayard restructure, a potential Derrick Henry extension. And then of course, the cut or trade of Bud Dupree and the cut of Jamarco Jones. Those are things I'm expecting to see to continue to carve out cap space for the Tennessee Titans. But right now, as they sit, $14 to $15 million in cap space after four cuts.

Taylor LeJuan, Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham, and Randy Bullock. As the moves continue to be made, I will be here to break it down with you guys on the Locked on Titans podcast and as a writer for Sports Illustrated. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year round, and always for free. Oh, I want to answer this. What do you think about Caleb Farley? They keep Caleb Farley. If you cut Caleb Farley, you only save $4 million, and you got $7 million in dead money. It doesn't make any sense. You're losing $3 million to cut

Caleb Farley. So that's simply not going to happen. But again, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content, all platforms, all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed for consistent Tennessee Titans content. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.