Titans waiver claim and roster cut confirms what we all watched in preseason games

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans got expectedly active on the waiver wire on Tuesday and made a notable roster cut as a result.

The Titans added two defensive players via waivers that will be added to the team’s 53-man roster. That forced Tennessee to make a corresponding roster move and trim the initial 53-man roster that was set prior to Tuesday’s deadline.

According to multiple reports, OLB Rashad Weaver is being released by Tennessee.

The Titans found a replacement for Weaver in OLB Ali Gaye, who they claimed from the Houston Texans. Ran Carthon and company clearly view Gaye as an upgrade over Weaver, and given what we saw from the former fourth-round pick in the preseason, who can blame them?

Weaver very simply has not been getting the job done. He did not record a sack in 240 defensive snaps played in 2023 and was not credited with a single statistic in the preseason finale against the Saints.

In fairness to Weaver, he has never been touted for his abilities as a pass rusher. Run stopping has always been the name of his game. But even that has been uninspiring and at times lousy during this preseason and training camp.

I must admit, even with his poor performance, I never truly believed Weaver's spot on the 53-man roster was in jeopardy. The Titans are thin at outside linebacker. The emergence of rookie Jaylen Harrell as a viable rotational piece has helped, but players like Caleb Murphy and Thomas Rush haven't shown significant sign of development and Tennessee hasn't invested high-end draft capital in the position recently.

The depth just isn't there behind Harold Landry III, Arden Key, and Jaylen Harrell. It's for that reason that I thought Weaver was at least safe to start the 2024 season, but clearly the Titans' front office isn't waiting around to make changes.

The Titans also claimed safety Julius Wood from the Dallas Cowboys after Wood, an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina, shined in preseason play. Wood had a forced fumble and two interceptions during the preseason and now finds himself on an NFL roster.

Related: A complete look at the 2024 Tennessee Titans initial 53-man roster