Titans Release Thompson

Several veteran players were among the cuts the Titans made today.
The most notable was free safety Lamont Thompson, a four-year starter for the Titans. I believe it was 50-50 if he would stay or go and I’ve been uncertain after the good camp he’s had. When coupled with Calvin Lowry’s failure to step up and seize control of the job, it led me to believe Thompson might hang on.
The other veteran cuts of note were expected for the most part. They were WR Courtney Roby, QB Tim Rattay and OT Seth Wand.
Rattay is the only one of the three that’s much of a big deal, and only because it means the Titans will go into the season with two quarterbacks instead of three.
I don’t think it’s much of a big deal to cut your seventh or eighth receiver or your ninth offensive lineman.
None of the other cuts were surprises.
Here’s what happens next. All teams will notify the league office which players they want to claim off waivers. If more than one team puts in a claim for a player, he goes to the team which had the worst record last year. Coming off an 8-8 season, the Titans will be in the middle of the pack in the pecking order. The league will notify the teams Sunday morning of any players they were awarded off waivers. That applies to players with less than four years experience.
I expect the Titans will try to claim a defensive end and perhaps a veteran receiver. It’s also possible for them to claim an outside linebacker.
More on this as it develops.
Sep 2 Update: The Tennessean reports the Titans didn’t claim any players off waivers. There are still some veteran free agents out there they might try to sign.
The following have been named to the practice squad.
QB Ingle Martin (2nd year, from Packers)
G Isaac Snell
T Mike Otto
RB Quinton Ganther
TE Cooper Wallace
TE Jamie Petrowski
LB Colin Allred
I’m surprised they kept two TEs. There’s still room for one more player on the practice squad. DE Ulrich Winkler is also on the practice squad as an exemption.