One Veteran Free Agent Titans Must Sign After 2026 NFL Draft

The main phases of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft are now behind us. As a result, we now know, for the most part, what the Titans will look like in 2026.

The Titans did a fine job of patching holes this offseason, and there appear to be far fewer holes now than there were at the end of 2025. The receiver room got much better with the additions of free agent Wan'Dale Robinson and rookie Carnell Tate, and the edge rusher group should be much improved thanks to the trade for Jermaine Johnson II and the drafting of Keldric Faulk.

However, the Titans had one of the weakest rosters in the league last year, so it's hard to patch all the holes in one offseason. As many fans pointed out during the draft, the Titans seemingly still need some help on the interior offensive line. Former starting center Lloyd Cushenberry was released, and former starting right guard Kevin Zeitler has yet to be re-signed. That leads us to identify one free agent the Titans MUST sign before the 2026 season.

The Titans Have to Re-Sign Kevin Zeitler

Tennessee Titans guard Kevin Zeitler (70) heads for the locker room after mandatory Titans Minicamp at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, June 10, 2025. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last offseason, the Titans brought in Zeitler on a one-year deal. The veteran was coming off a solid 2024 season with the Detroit Lions, and the hope was that the veteran would stabilize the right guard spot for at least one season.

Well, Zeitler did exactly what was expected of him in 2025. The veteran earned a solid 74.5 Pro Football Focus grade, which ranked 13th out of 81 qualified guards. Zeitler had the ninth-best pass-blocking grade and the 20th-best run-blocking grade among guards in 2025.

The veteran likely won't play at a Pro Bowl level anymore, but he's a great locker room presence and would be a huge help for all the young linemen. It's possible that Jackson Slater or 2026 rookies Pat Coogan or Fernando Carmona, end up outperforming expectations this summer, but counting on that happening probably isn't wise.

Per Over The Cap, the Titans have the most remaining cap space in the league by a wide margin, so adding a player like Zeitler would be no problem from a financial standpoint. Assuming Zeitler wants to return to the Titans, there's no reason not to get this deal done.

If Zeitler is retained, the starting offensive line could look like this, from left to right: Dan Moore Jr., Peter Skoronski, Austin Schlottmann, Kevin Zeitler, and JC Latham, with Slater, Coogan, and Carmona representing the depth options.

Without Zeitler, this line still looks better than it did, but things are more uncertain. With Zeitler, I'd go so far as to say the line wouldn't even be a concern anymore, at least for 2026.

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