Titans Could Struggle Without Harold Landry

Harold Landry III leaves a hole in the Tennessee Titans defense as he signs with the New England Patriots.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III celebrates the fumble recovery against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Titans are experiencing something for the 2025 season that they had not experienced in a very long time.

For the first time since the 2017 campaign, pass rusher Harold Landry III will not be on the roster. The Titans cut Landry just before the start of free agency last month, and at the time, he was the longest-tenured member on the roster.

Sports Illustrated writer Ryan Phillips named Landry as the Titans' biggest loss in free agency.

"The Patriots' free-spending ways netted them Landry on a three-year, $43 million deal. The former Pro Bowler had nine sacks in 2024, following 10.5 in 2023. The 28-year-old peaked in his Pro Bowl season of 2021 when he racked up 12 sacks and 75 tackles. The Patriots are betting on a return to form," Phillips writes.

The New England Patriots were able to snag Landry, marking a return close to where he went to university at Boston College. The move also reunites Landry with head coach Mike Vrabel, who helped draft him in 2018, which also happened to be the year he was hired in Tennessee.

Moving on from Landry is another sign of the changing of the guard for the Titans. It all truly began in 2022 when the team traded A.J. Brown on draft night to the Philadelphia Eagles, a move that marked the beginning of the end of Jon Robinson's tenure as general manager.

The team hired Ran Carthon to replace him, and he ended up drafting Will Levis as the successor to Ryan Tannehill, the team's long-term starting quarterback. Once none of those guys proved to be the answer, the Titans swapped out Carthon for Mike Borgonzi, who is now expected to select Cam Ward with the number one overall pick to replace Levis.

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