Buster Skrine was one of the players Mike Vrabel labeled “stray cats” last season.
The veteran cornerback was among the several veterans who were unsigned for a significant portion of the 2021 NFL schedule before the Tennessee Titans brought them in to help offset a seemingly endless string of injury issues. In Skrine’s case, he arrived in late November and appeared in the final six games of the regular season as well as the playoff loss to Cincinnati.
He won’t have to play the waiting game this season.
The Titans announced Friday that they agreed to terms with Skrine as well as running back Jordan Wilkins – another late-season addition – on contracts for the coming season. Both have ties to Tennessee. Skrine played college football, and Wilkins is a Memphis native.
Skrine, 32, started three games in place of the injured Jackrabbit Jenkins, whose release earlier this week added to Tennessee’s need for cornerbacks, beginning Dec. 12, 2021, his second appearance for the Titans. His fourth-quarter interception in that contest was his first since Oct. 25, 2017, when he was with the New York Jets. That ended a streak of 53 straight games – with four different teams – between picks.
In his six appearances, he was credited with 17 tackles and three passes defensed.
Wilkins, 27, had no trouble finding work in 2021 but did not play much. He appeared in four games for the Indianapolis Colts early in the year and did not see the field again until he made his Titans debut (he played exclusively on special teams) in the regular-season finale at Houston.
The Titans signed him to their practice squad on Dec. 8, one day after the Jacksonville Jaguars waived him from theirs. Jacksonville signed him in early November, just over a week after Indianapolis released him.
Wilkins rushed for 951 yards and four touchdowns in 49 games over three-plus seasons with the Colts. A fifth-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2018, he played at least 14 games in each of his first three seasons. His first career touchdown was an 18-yard run against the Titans during his rookie season.
More must-reads: