Titans $45 Million Free-Agent Addition Posts Ugly Performance in Preseason Opener vs. 49ers

The Tennessee Titans concluded their trip in Santa Clara with a 19-13 preseason win over the San Francisco 49ers Thursday night. Robert Saleh's group also had a joint practice with the 49ers earlier this week, and both teams learned a lot about themselves as training camp continues.

Though the Titans came away with the victory, it wasn't a pretty performance by any means. On offense, Tennessee failed to sustain drives for most of the night, and the passing game never really got going. As for the defense, the secondary's struggles in practice carried into the game, as the starting unit gave up a handful of explosive plays, with cornerback Cor'Dale Flott being the victim on several.

Flott was one of the Titans' marquee free-agent additions this offseason, as the former New York Giant signed a three-year deal worth $45 million to join Saleh's defense. However, his tenure in Tennessee got off to a rough start in the preseason opener.

Should We Be Worried About Cor'Dale Flott?

Tennessee Titans cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (18) goes through stretches during minicamp at Vanderbilt Health Football Center Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

During Thursday night's contest, Flott couldn't stay on his man. The 24-year-old allowed multiple catches to 49ers rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, including a 32-yard catch from quarterback Kurtis Rourke that set San Francisco up in Titans territory on a second-quarter series.

On that same drive, Flott also committed a costly pass interference penalty on second-and-goal that set the 49ers up on the goal line, leading to a Patrick Taylor Jr. rushing touchdown.

That was a poor drive for the #Titans defense. The secondary, specifically Cor'Dale Flott is struggling. He gave up a 34-yd catch to De'Zhaun Stribbling and Patrick Taylor Jr. drew a PI from him to set up the 1-yd TD run. The SF WRs are giving him work at the top of the route.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) August 14, 2026

Flott only played a few drives, so the sample size wasn't very large. But it's still fair to be concerned about the fifth-year cornerback's performance. Stribbling is a young receiver with a ton of promise, but the Titans will be counting on Flott to cover more proven and talented playmakers this year. He can't look out of sorts like he did on Thursday when the regular season arrives.

Additionally, Flott was going up against a third-string quarterback in Rourke, and the rest of the receivers on the field for Shanahan's team were depth players. There no way to ignore this underwhelming performance from Flott.

Overall, it's only the first preseason game, so we can't overreact too much. However, Flott needs to be better moving forward before many start wondering whether general manager Mike Borgonzi made a mistake by inking him to a lucrative deal in March.

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