Could Denico Autry Be The Next Victim of Rebuilding Tennessee Titans

NASHVILLE - When the Tennessee Titans released veteran center Ben Jones on Friday, it signaled the likelihood that new general manager Ran Cathon and head coach Mike Vrabel are in a near-total rebuilding mode ahead of the 2023 season.

Because of their salary cap situation after 2022, it was known that there would be some tough decisions as to which players would be released; it now seems that this regime has cut even more profound than many believed.

There aren't many players left on the Titans roster that hold much value in the trade market. Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, Jeffrey Simmons, and Denico Autry are the names that could bring the Titans some decent returns.

While those names have value, there is little chance that the Titans will move Byard, and it seems more likely than not that Simmons will be resigned, as reports indicate talks on a new deal with Simmons have begun.

At the same time, there's no indication that Byard is being considered for any trade, while rumors continue to swirl about the potential of moves with Henry and Tannehill.

But what about Autry?

Autry and Jones are similar in age and their contracts. While Jones' release didn't save the Titans a ton of money, Autry's deal would save them around $7 million, and considering how well he's played of late, when healthy, there could be a market for a trade that would save the Titans that figure, and potentially bring more needed draft capital to the team ahead of April's draft.

While the moves made to this point make sense, moving Autry, who is your second-best defensive lineman behind Simmons, and arguably their third-best overall defensive player remaining behind Simmons, and Byard, making this move would further signal that this rebuild is going to take more than this offseason to get this roster to a competitive level.

While Titans fans want a winner, they likely would not look kindly to the thought of returning to the Ken Whisenhunt days of winning two and three games in back-to-back seasons to get it.

Carthon and Vrabel must find a way to get enough impact players to make this team competitive in a division that doesn't have a dominant team.

It shouldn't be expected that this franchise will compete for a Super Bowl title in 2023, but this doesn't have to be a train wreck crashing into a dumpster fire.