3 Titans cut candidates entering 2026 offseason

Can you believe that Calvin Ridley is already 31 years old?

Ridley will turn 32 in December and is firmly in the declining years of his career. His timeline no longer aligns with Tennessee’s, which makes this the perfect time to cut him and move on.

Honestly, cutting Ridley may be the most obvious choice the Titans make during the entire offseason.

The Titans can save $13.43 million in cap space by cutting Ridley. It gets even better in the future too. Tennessee will also get $27.25 million in cap relief in 2027.

Of course, the downside of cutting Ridley is losing a receiver who had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2023-24. But let’s not forget that Ridley broke his fibula in 2025, which is no easy injury to rebound from.

Ultimately, the Titans will be in the market for new offensive weapons this offseason either way. Cam Ward will be a big priority this offseason.

As a result, it wouldn’t change Tennessee’s plans too much to cut Ridley.

GM Mike Borgonzi won’t overthink this one.

Could Cody Barton become a cap casualty?

Some Titans fans may be surprised to see Barton on this list.

Personally, I’m not completely sold that Tennessee needs to move on from him. But let me make my case with the knowledge that it doesn’t start very convincingly.

If the Titans cut Barton, they will actually lose $1.38 million of cap space in 2026. So why even make the move?

One reason is it creates more space on the roster for Saleh to add younger players who fit his defensive scheme. That’s not saying Barton could not work in Saleh’s defense, but I imagine Tennessee would prefer to load up on rookies who can grow in Saleh’s program.

There’s also the fact that Tennessee would see $8.7 million in salary cap relief in 2027.

Personally, I think the Titans should be clearing as much cap space as possible to start their rebuild. So I may be more willing than some to part with a veteran like Barton simply for financial reasons.

I encourage Tennessee to embrace a youth movement and part ways with Barton. The rest can be fired out later this spring.

Titans should cut Tony Pollard, get younger at running back

Finally, there’s Tony Pollard.

The Titans can save $7.25 million in cap space by cutting Pollard this offseason.

Pollard will turn 29 years old just after the 2026 NFL Draft, which certainly puts him on the wrong side of the running back age cliff.

In fairness, Pollard did have 242 carries for 1,082 rushing yards and five touchdowns in 2025. So it’s not like he’s a completely worthless running back.

That said, running back is easily the most replaceable position in the NFL. The supply of available running backs greatly surpasses the available positions in the league. In essence, there is some truth to the analytics argument about running backs.

I might push back if Pollard were truly a special running back, but I don’t think that’s true.

If Pollard is just another back, I don’t see why the Titans should pay an extra $7.25 million just to have him for one season.

Let’s also remember that the NFL does have rollover cap space, which allows teams to carry over unused space from one league year to another. So there is an argument to be made that cutting Pollard also helps the Titans have more cap space in 2027 too.

Ultimately, it does no harm to keep Pollard on the roster for one more season. Let’s be clear on that.

But I would advise Tennessee to cut Pollard and draft a rookie running back (or two!) on Day 3 of the draft.