It’s been a busy couple days around St. Thomas Sports Park, as the Titans are down four players from the active roster and have made two additions, plus added a player to the practice squad.
The biggest move came when free safety Michael Griffin was suspended for the NFL for one game for his repeated head hits after his personal foul against Mychal Rivera on Sunday. I didn’t expect Griffin to be suspended for that, as I don’t believe any of his hits have been intentional or in any way malicious, but he seems a bit unintentionally reckless and seems to struggle to find the right balance between aggressive and dangerous. As Bernard Pollard repeatedly notes, the NFL has made life very hard on defensive backs these days. Too bad the suspension is against the Colts rather than, say, the Jaguars.
The first move chronologically came before Sunday’s game against the Raiders, when the Titans waived safety Corey Lynch and added defensive back Micah Pellerin off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys. An undrafted free agent in 2012, he spent time with the Colts and Packers before the Cowboys, where he played 22 snaps on defense in a couple games after being activated off the practice squad. The unofficial depth chart currently has him listed at free safety, while the scouting reports on him coming out of college described him as a developmental corner prospect with good size (6’0.3/8″, 194-pounds at the Combine) but who would need coaching up after playing at Hampton. I’m expecting him to show up on special teams first and defense only later, maybe.
The second move came today, when the Titans waived return man Devon Wylie. Wylie was not impressive enough in his two games as return man to offset the ball security issues he had; it seemed like his departure was a matter of time. While it didn’t hit today’s official transactions list, the Titans have indicated they signed veteran Leon Washington, who was released by the Patriots last week. He’s been an outstanding kickoff returner, with eight career kick return scores, but a more average punt returner. He was mostly a spare part for the Patriots, with no returns this year. He should be able to step in immediately and be at least functional if the Titans ask him to be, which would be an upgrade over what the Titans have gotten many games this year.
The Titans also waived center Kevin Matthews. I thought he was clearly an injury stopgap given Rob Turner went to injured reserve and Brian Schwenke was also banged up. Now that Schwenke played and made it through a game without further injury, Matthews was surplus to requirements. I would not be surprised to see the Titans add back Pat McQuistan to fill the spot, though the Titans have some flexibility with this roster spot given David Stewart’s health seems to be better. Either this or Griffin’s spot may go to Corey Lynch, in case they have an immediate need should, say, George Wilson go down against the Colts.
The team also placed defensive lineman Chigbo Anunoby on the practice squad injured list (like IR for practice squad) and filled the spot with defensive tackle Frank Kearse. I have no specific thoughts on this roster move, but one thing I wrote about last offseason was how the Titans did not churn their roster at all. Like last season, though, they’ve also made some roster moves that indicate they’re actually thinking about whether they have the right players and mix on the practice squad, and I appreciate it.
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