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There’s been plenty of speculation already about what the Tennessee Titans will do with the No. 1 overall pick. Is Shedeur Sanders part of their plans? But while they mull things over, here’s one Titans player who could be a surprise roster cut in the 2025 offseason.
An ugly season landed the Titans with a 3-14 mark in 2024. But the good news is a high draft pick and an easier schedule for 2025.
But like every other team, the Titans must make tough roster decisions. However, they do have more room to maneuver because of their $78.6 million cap space. That’s fourth highest in the NFL behind the Commanders, Patriots, and Bears.
The Los Angeles Chargers grabbed Murray with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started with a bang, totaling 107 tackles and defending three passes that season.
However, things didn’t go as well in 2021 and 2022. But he bounced back with 107 tackles and four passes defended in 2023. The Titans signed him as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and he responded with 95 tackles.
He stood up against head coach Brian Callahan late in the season when Callahan said his team didn’t meet the Chargers’ physical challenge, according to Sports Illustrated.
“That’s how you lose games on the road to good, physical football teams,” Callahan said. “Tip of the cap to them. They played well. They were physical. They were the most physical team today, which is one of the first times I’ve had to say that this year.”
Murray disagreed, saying, “I don’t think we were out-physicaled. They had some plays where they popped a little bit, but overall we can be better.”
Murray would be a $10.2 million cap hit. Cutting him would produce a $7.7 milliomn cap saving. However, Murray played over 75% of the defensive snaps in 2024.
Still, his Pro Football Focus grades don’t warrant paying him a big salary. His overall grade of 45.9 is poor, offset only slightly by a 67.7 pass-rush grade.
The Titans’ roster won’t be an easy fix. Things didn’t work this year, and the season took it’s toll on Callahan, who expressed his feelings after a late-season loss to the Jaguars, according to tennessean.com.
“It sucks,” Callahan said. “It’s terrible. There’s no joy in this process. There’s no fun in this. It’s terrible. I feel it every day when I walk into work. I feel it every day when I stand up here in front of (the media). There’s nothing enjoyable about this. So I don’t get numb to any of it. I would hope nobody gets numb to it.”
And the only way to fix an NFL roster is getting the right players on it. That’s why a guy like Murray hangs in the balance for 2025.
“Our job is to try and fix it,” Callahan said of the roster....
