National Football League

New Titans GM Ran Carthon releases four veterans, decision on Ryan Tannehill awaits

Updated Feb. 22, 2023 4:39 p.m. ET

When Ran Carthon accepted the Tennessee Titans general manager job in January, his new team stood well over the 2023 salary cap. But the roster included a handful of obvious cut candidates — expensive, aging veterans with health concerns, declining production or both. So there was a clear path to salary cap compliance, creating the flexibility needed to reconstruct a team that went 7-10 last season.

Carthon has initiated that process.

The Titans on Wednesday released four players: left tackle Taylor Lewan, wide receiver Robert Woods, inside linebacker Zach Cunningham and placekicker Randy Bullock. The moves save Tennessee $37.9 million in salary cap space for 2023.

Lewan was the long-tenured Titan, a nine-year member of the team who played an integral role in changing the culture of a squad that had won a combined five games from 2014-15. The 11th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Lewan was a three-time Pro Bowler who started 100 of 105 games with the franchise. But the 31-year-old played just 20 games combined the past three seasons due to injury. He had told the team website that he expected to be released this offseason.

The 30-year-old Woods had 50 receptions for a team-leading 527 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season with the Titans. His brief tenure with Tennessee never went according to plan. The franchise had acquired him from the Rams last spring to be the No. 2 option to A.J. Brown, who then was traded to the Eagles. In a weak wide receiver room that played a role in the team's subpar passing attack, Woods — playing his first full season since tearing an ACL in November 2021 — didn't produce as expected. He tweeted "Free!" after news of his release broke.

The 28-year-old Cunningham missed 11 games last season due to injury. And when he was available, the NFL's 2020 tackles leader didn’t have nearly the impact he did for the Titans in 2021, when he had 26 tackles (three for loss) in four games after they claimed him off waivers from the Texans.

Then there's the 33-year-old Bullock, who stabilized Tennessee's kicking game the previous two seasons but was inconsistent hitting long field goals. Since 2021, he has hit just 66.6% of field goals from 40 yards or longer in the regular season (16 of 24).

The Titans began Wednesday more than $24 million over the $224.8 million salary cap for 2023, near the bottom of the league. They currently sit at $12.4 million under the cap, 13th in the league, according to Over The Cap.

Tennessee is now in the green, but the work is far from done, of course. It will need even more space to improve the team.

Fortunately for the Titans, there are more potential cut candidates. That includes outside linebacker Bud Dupree, whose release would create $9.35 million in cap savings. Since signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract in March 2021, Dupree has just seven sacks in 22 appearances. He has missed 12 games over two seasons in Tennessee due to injury.

Whether the Titans decide to release, trade or extend 34-year-old quarterback Ryan Tannehill, that would create significant cap space, too. Releasing or trading him with a pre-June 1 designation would create $17.8 million in cap savings.

In 2023, the last year of his contract, Tannehill's cap hit is scheduled to be $36.6 million — the fifth-highest of all NFL players, a gargantuan number the team can avoid.

Carthon, in collaboration with coach Mike Vrabel, still has a lot of work to do to bring the Titans back into relevance personnel-wise. The offensive line must be reimagined. The wide receiver room needs talent. The defensive back and linebacker rooms need depth.

But Wednesday's move represented the first steps to that vision.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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