Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images

Titans' Cedric Gray Makes Franchise History

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 2:10 PM ET

Given their consistent struggles on the offensive side of the ball, nobody would be remiss to lump the Tennessee Titans' composite output on the gridiron into the "hopefully it gets better next year" category. A 1-6 team usually has a lot more going on than one singular problem, and in Tennessee's case, that is certainly true.

Better Than Dead Last

But between their various issues, both individualistic and widespread, the lesser of the Titans' worries seems to be their somewhat subpar, occasionally surprising defensive squadron. In comparison to their total offense - ranked dead last according to FOX Sports - the Titans' defense ranks a fair bit higher at the 24th spot.

Sure, that's still comfortably in the bottom-half of the league, but the navy and blue ball-stoppers still stand out as a highlight more often than their rookie-dominated scoring unit, representing something of worth to hold onto for the franchise as they trend towards another rebuild under a still-unchosen head coach.

Among their defensive pieces, a specific standout for the Titans has been second-year linebacker Cedric Gray. Taken in the 2024 NFL Draft with the in the fourth round with the 106th overall pick, Gray's immediate impact stands as a beacon unlikely to be moved by a roster that is set to change under the eventual leadership of a new coach, as they all do.

Making Team History

In the past four weeks in particular, Gray's whopping 50 total tackles (that's 12.5 per game on average, for the number-crunchers) makes him just the second Titans player since 2011, in addition to Azeez Al-Shaair in 2023, to notch 10 or more tackles in four consecutive games.

The team celebrated Gray's accomplishment with an official post on their X account:

Big moves in Year 2 @cedthr33 | @FedEx pic.twitter.com/e3lLBt5wOd
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 21, 2025

Zooming out on the team as a whole, it's easy to miss individual accomplishments for players who are likely to define the franchise in the coming years. Gray, especially, is forming a cornerstone of the Titans' steadily improving defense; leaving a mark between the historical margins in only his second year could just be the beginning of the LB's impact going forward.

For the Tennessee Titans, at this point, smaller wins for diamonds in the rough-type players like Gray represent larger victories in the context of their ominous impending reset. It's a focus, and rewarding, of these specific playmakers that will bode well in the future for a team that won't get any better by worrying about their inescapable present failures.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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