With two weeks of practices in the books, here's The Tennessean's latest projection as to what the Tennessee Titans' 53-man roster will look like when the roster gets cut from 91 players to 53 players at the end of August.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll divide the roster into five groups: The locks, the guys who ought to be feeling pretty good, the players on the right side of the bubble, the players on the wrong side of the bubble, and the players who've got a lot of work to do.
Following practice on Aug. 9, here's our projection:
Tennessee Titans depth chart projection: Our latest intel for 53-man roster
The locks (38 players)
Cam Ward, Mitchell Trubisky, Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Nick Singleton, Carnell Tate, Wan'Dale Robinson, Calvin Ridley, Elic Ayomanor, Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm, Daniel Bellinger, Dan Moore Jr., Peter Skoronski,
Austin Schlottmann, Cordell Volson, JC Latham, Pat Coogan, Fernando Carmona Jr., Jeffery Simmons, John Franklin-Myers, Jordan Elliott, Solomon Thomas, Jermaine Johnson II, Keldric Faulk, Jacob Martin, Femi Oladejo, Cody Barton, Cedric Gray, Anthony Hill Jr., Alontae Taylor, Cor'Dale Flott, Marcus Harris, Amani Hooker, Kevin Winston Jr., Tony Adams, Tommy Townsend, Morgan Cox
The core of the team. Not really the focus of a roster projection piece.
Guys who ought to be feeling good (6 players)
Jaren Kanak, Austin Deculus, James Williams Sr., Dorian Mausi, Joshua Williams, Micah Robinson
Welcome up to this tier, James Williams. It was about this time last year that Williams ceded his potential starting job in the middle to Cedric Gray. He's not slowing down again, and it's looking like there'll be a role for him on this team yet.
The right side of the bubble (9 players)
Will Levis, Kalel Mullings, Xavier Restrepo, David Martin-Robinson, Jackson Slater, Jackie Marshall, Jaylen Harrell, Kendell Brooks, Joey Slye
Look here! It's Xavier Restrepo! He's playing pretty well, let's give him a look over Bryce Oliver for now. More importantly, though, let's take a look at some of the folks who've slid down to the bubble. Jackson Slater felt like he could've been a lock before camp, but now he's got to play his way back up. And Joey Slye needs to prove he can hold off the kickers the Titans are working out. Both situations worth monitoring.
The wrong side of the bubble (12 players)
Michael Carter, Julius Chestnut, Bryce Oliver, K.J. Osborn, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, Timmy Horne, Malik Herring, Jalyn Holmes, Truman Jones, Mohamoud Diabate, Keydrain Calligan, Jerrick Reed II
Let's give some credit here to defensive linemen Herring and Holmes who, by this reporter's estimation, seem to have played their way onto the bubble in a crowded D-line room that's going to feature heavy rotational elements. Also don't be shocked if Crenshaw-Dickson finds his way onto the other side of the bubble on pure positional value means.
A lot of work to do (26 players)
Hendon Hooker, Mason Kinsey, Hank Beatty, Tyren Montgomery, Courtney Jackson, Lance McCutcheon, Joel Wilson, Kylen Granson, Andre James, Rasheed Miller, Drew Moss, Aamil Wagner, Garrett Dellinger, Zachary Thomas, Earnest Brown IV, Dominique Hampton, Sean Brown, Mani Powell, Mario Goodrich, Nazeeh Johnson, Jalen McMurray, Bishop Fitzgerald, Erick Hallett II, Derrick Canteen, Khalen Saunders, Laki Tasi
Joint practice with the 49ers will be as good a time as any for some of these guys to win their way up the board.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Projecting Tennessee Titans' 53-man roster 2.0: Who are on the bubble?
