Robert Woods was supposed to be ballast to the Tennessee Titans’ passing game; a veteran presence capable of moving the chains and keeping a run-heavy offense balanced.
Instead, the two-time 1,000-yard receiver languished through the least productive season of his 10-year career. Woods recorded personal worsts in receiving yards per game and yards per target as the Titans fell apart en route to the first losing season of the Mike Vrabel era in Nashville. That’s saying a lot; this is a man who played for quarterbacks like EJ Manuel, Thaddeus Lewis, Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor at the outset of his career as a Buffalo Bill and still put up better numbers than he did in 2022.
So when the Titans released Woods, saving $12 million in salary cap space in the process, he didn’t wallow in shame of being cut. He basked in the sunlight of a fresh start.
Free!
— Robert Woods (@robertwoods) February 22, 2023
Losing Woods only highlights the ongoing lack of viable targets in the Titans’ depth chart. Acquiring Julio Jones in 2021 merely led to what was, at the time, the worst season of the future Hall of Famer’s career. Woods suffered through a similar spell and now the Tennessee depth chart at wideout is currently limited to Treylon Burks, Racey McMath, Kyle Phillips and Mason Kinsey.
Releasing expensive veterans like Woods and Taylor Lewan opened up nearly $27 million in cap space, but even now the team only has roughly $3 million in spending room this offseason, per Over The Cap. Tennessee has a gaping hole at wideout, but also has to address a defense that gave up more passing yards than anyone last season.
This is all to say, the Titans currently look like they’ll be a mess in 2023 before accounting for any age-related decline from Derrick Henry. You know, the kind of mess that makes a 10-year veteran celebrate his freedom after being released rather than dwelling on what could have been.