Saffold's Release Signals Significant Change Up Front
For Rodger Saffold, it’s a classic case of “you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”
The 33-year-old left guard (he will be 34 before the start of training camp) made it clear earlier in the offseason that he has no plans to retire.
The problem is that he no longer fits into the Tennessee Titans’ plans – or in their salary cap structure. The 12-year veteran was told Thursday that he will be released with one year remaining on his contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report the move, which the team officially acknowledged later in the afternoon.
The move frees up $10.5 million of salary cap space and signals a significant change (read: youth movement) on the offensive line is at hand. Saffold will still count $2.375 million against the cap.
Four of last season’s starters were 30 or older. Two, center Ben Jones and right tackle David Quessenberry, are scheduled to become free agents next week (Quressenberry will be a restricted free agent). Now Saffold, who has missed just three games in the last three years, is out, and backup tackle Kendall Lamm also has been released.
Saffold joined the Titans in 2019 when he signed a four-year, $44 million free-agent pact. The deal guaranteed him $22.5 million and put him alongside Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan in what franchise officials hoped would be a prolific pairing. Lewan missed the first four games of 2019 while he served a league suspension and the final 11 games of 2020 with a knee injury, but Saffold was a fixture up front. He played more than 85 percent of the offensive snaps in first two seasons with Tennessee and a little more than 82 percent in 2021 despite a recurring nerve issue in his shoulder.
He made his first Pro Bowl appearance this year when he was added to the AFC roster as an injury replacement. However, he also recorded the lowest pass blocking grade of his career (46.7, per Pro Football Focus) and allowed 28 pressures (a combination of hits, hurries and sacks), 10 more than the previous season.
His departure clears the way for Aaron Brewer, undrafted in 2020, or possibly last year’s second-round draft pick Dillon Radunz to step into the starting lineup. Brewer is 24 years old and has started six games (three at left guard, three at right guard) in the past two seasons. Radunz, 23, was drafted as a tackle but practiced often and even saw some game action at guard in his rookie season, and coach Mike Vrabel has characterized him as an “offensive lineman.”
