Titans 53-man roster projection: Will Tennessee keep all three QBs?
By Tuesday afternoon, NFL teams will have their initial 53-man rosters set for the 2023 season. For the Titans, it represents what they hope is a team that can get back to the playoffs after missing them in 2022.
Tennessee's backup quarterback battle between second-year pro Malik Willis and rookie second-round pick Will Levis has drawn the biggest spotlight this summer, but the competition at receiver and in the secondary have maybe been the most intriguing.
Here's a crack at what the Titans' roster will look like Tuesday by 4 p.m. ET, the deadline for clubs to reduce their rosters from the offseason limit of 90 players to 53:
Quarterback (3): Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, Will Levis
The Titans look like a three-quarterback team entering 2023.
Willis, a third-round pick last year, has made noticeable strides from his rookie season and Levis has missed time recently with a lower-body injury. He returned to practice Wednesday and is expected to play in Tennessee's preseason finale Friday against New England, but he hasn't earned the backup job outright in a limited sample size. For now, Willis appears to have the edge over the second-round pick.
Wide receiver (6): DeAndre Hopkins, Treylon Burks, Chris Moore, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Racey McMath, Reggie Roberson Jr.
*Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (1): Kyle Philips (* = doesn't count against 53)
The Titans have injury concerns with two of their top three receivers. Burks suffered a leg injury in a joint practice last week with the Vikings, though coach Mike Vrabel said he has no structural damage and is not expected to be out long term. Fellow second-year pro Philips injured his knee in Saturday's preseason game in Minnesota and is reportedly expected to miss around six weeks.
Philips' apparent injury timeline makes him a candidate for the PUP list, where he wouldn't count against the initial 53-man roster and would have to miss the first four weeks of the regular season. That opens up a spot for a player like Reggie Roberson Jr., a 2022 undrafted free agent who has impressed in training camp and the preseason.
Rookie seventh-round pick Colton Dowell is a candidate for the practice squad.
Running back (4): Derrick Henry, Tyjae Spears, Julius Chestnut, Hassan Haskins
Chestnut, a 2022 undrafted free agent, is hard to leave off the roster after an impressive training camp and preseason to this point. He looks like the Titans' No. 3 running back. The former Sacred Heart starred in Tennessee's preseason victory Saturday at Minnesota, with 13 carries for 98 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown run.
Tight end (4): Chig Okonkwo, Trevon Wesco, Josh Whyle, Kevin Rader
Former XFL standout Alize Mack is a candidate to make the roster, but Rader would provide more special teams value, which should be a bigger priority for back-end depth.
Rader, who appeared in 14 games with Tennessee last season, led all Titans offensive players with 46% of special snaps in the preseason game against the Vikings and was second in the preseason opener against the Bears at 42%.
Offensive line (10): Andre Dillard, Peter Skoronski, Aaron Brewer, Daniel Brunskill, Chris Hubbard, Jaelyn Duncan, Corey Levin, Jordan Roos, Justin Murray, Andrew Rupcich
*Reserve/PUP (1): Dillon Radunz
*Reserve/Suspended (1): Nicholas Petit-Frere
Murray, a sixth-year veteran who signed with the Titans three weeks ago, has been the team's second-highest graded backup guard in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus. Rupcich, a 2022 undrafted free agent, provides back-end tackle depth with starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere suspended for the first six games of the season for violating the league's gambling policy.
Defensive line/outside linebacker (9): Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Harold Landry, Teair Tart, Arden Key, Rashad Weaver, Naquan Jones, Caleb Murphy, Jayden Peevy
The Titans are deep on the edge, but Murphy — an undrafted rookie from Division II Ferris State, where he set the NCAA single-season record with 25.5 sacks last season — has been too good to cut and you can never have too many pass rushers.
In two preseason games, the 6-foot-3, 254-pound Murphy is tied for a league-high three sacks and 10th with a 16.1% pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats.
Inside linebacker (6): Azeez Al-Shaair, Jack Gibbens, Monty Rice, Chance Campbell, Luke Gifford, Ben Niemann
Nothing unexpected here.
Gibbens, a 2022 undrafted free agent who made five appearances with the Titans last season, is expected to be the starting inside linebacker alongside Al-Shaair. Rice, a 2021 third-round pick, hasn't practiced since the preseason opener in Chicago, against whom he played seven defensive snaps.
Secondary (8): Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker, Kristian Fulton, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Roger McCreary, Elijah Molden, Tre Avery, Eric Garror
*Reserve/PUP (1): Caleb Farley
The Titans could use another backup safety — Elijah Molden is the No. 3 option — so the waiver wire could be an option for depth. Mike Brown, who played in three games for the Browns last season, is an internal option.
With Philips possibly sidelined to start the season, Garror — an undrafted rookie — is a punt-return option.
Specialists (3): Morgan Cox (LS), Ryan Stonehouse (P), Michael Badgley (PK)
The Titans' placekicker situation is still evolving. Tennessee this week released the two young kickers fighting for the job, Trey Wolff and Caleb Shudak, in favor of Badgley, who had a rough first day of practice with the Titans on Tuesday.
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.