Mack spent a season-plus with the Titans after being one of the team’s UDFAs.
Former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman, Isaiah Mack, has found a new home with the Denver Broncos after signing with the team in the last few days.
Mack was an undrafted free agent signing of the Titans back in 2019. He played in 13 games (one start) for Tennessee in his rookie season, and then another six games in 2020 before being waived.
Mack was quickly claimed by the New England Patriots off waivers, but was cut and then added to the practice squad after playing in two games with the team.
There was some buzz in Nashville about the Chattanooga product after he showed out during the 2019 preseason and notched an early-season sack in the weeks that followed, but that buzz fizzled out quickly and Mack never seized a regular role.
Mack joins fellow former Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey in Denver. Casey’s first season with the Broncos didn’t go so well, as he suffered a season-ending torn bicep just three weeks in.
The New England Patriots announced their inactives for Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Here are the Patriots who are out for Sunday’s game.
QB Brian Hoyer
RB J.J. Taylor (quadricep)
TE Jordan Thomas
DT Isaiah Mack
DE Tashawn Bower
SS Terrence Brooks
With Hoyer out, quarterback Jarrett Stidham will back up Cam Newton, who was listed on the injury report with an abdomen injury this week.
Rookie tight end Dalton Keene, who came off injured reserve on Saturday, will replace Thomas on the game day roster.
Receiver Donte Moncrief and defensive tackle Akeem Spence will be active after getting signed to the 53-man roster on Saturday night. Spence will play over Mack.
With safeties Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips playing substantial roles alongside Devin McCourty, it seems the Patriots are OK with sitting Books, a big contributor on special teams.
The Patriots added some much-needed depth in the trenches.
Depth for the defensive line is on the way for the New England Patriots.
Following the trade deadline on Tuesday, the Patriots claimed former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Isaiah Mack off the waiver list. Mack is a 2019 undrafted free agent who appeared in 13 games last season for the Titans. He’s a 6-foot-1, 299 pound run-stuffer the has some versatility along the defensive line.
This much-needed acquisition is coming after the announcement that Beau Allen won’t suit up this season. The Patriots drafted Allen to replace Danny Shelton, who’s now with the Detroit Lions. Lawrence Guy left the Week 8 matchup with a shoulder injury and Adam Butler has been banged up this season also.
The Titans let Mack hit the waivers on Monday, with hopes of signing him to the practice squad. New England swooped in on a player that could be crucial in the later part of this season.
#Titans hope to get Isaiah Mack onto the practice squad today.
The Tennessee Titans were planning on bringing back defensive lineman Isaiah Mack to their practice squad had he cleared waivers after the Titans cut him on Monday to make room for newly-acquired defensive back, Desmond King II, but that won’t happen.
According to the league’s transactions wire, Mack has been claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots.
Mack was an undrafted free-agent signing of the Titans last year out of Chattanooga. He played in 13 games (one start) for Tennessee last season, totaling 1.5 sacks, eight combined tackles (four solo, one for loss) and two QB hits.
Coming into 2020, Mack had an opportunity to become a starter upfront for the Titans, but ended up playing sparingly. The second-year pro took part in 17 percent of snaps over six games and tallied two combined tackles (one solo) and one QB hit.
With Mack gone, the Titans have five defensive linemen left on the 53-man roster: Jeffery Simmons, DaQuan Jones, Jack Crawford, Larrell Murchison and Matt Dickerson. Tennessee also has one defensive lineman on the practice squad in 2020 UDFA Teair Tart.
The Titans originally signed Mack as an undrafted free agent out of Chattanooga after the 2019 NFL Draft. Up to this point, Mack saw action in 29 games over the past two seasons, recording eight total tackles, three solo tackles and 1.5 sacks.
In 2020, he appeared in six games, with two total tackles and one solo tackle.
The Titans didn’t fare too well in PFF’s defensive line rankings.
The Tennessee Titans’ defensive line will look different in 2020 after the team traded long-time starter Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos during the offseason.
As it stands now, two of the team’s starters upfront are returning in 2019 first-round pick, Jeffery Simmons, who the Titans are hoping makes the leap in 2020 after an impressive rookie campaign, and nose tackle DaQuan Jones, who posted arguably his best season as a pro last year.
Beyond those two, the Titans have a question mark. It’s still unclear who will get the majority of the snaps alongside Simmons and Jones.
Veteran Jack Crawford, 2019 UDFA Isaiah Mack and 2020 fifth-round pick Larrell Murchison all figure to get snaps, but there’s no telling if any of those players will be able to adequately fill-out the defensive line.
Because of those question marks, the Titans didn’t fare too well in Pro Football Focus’ defensive line rankings, landing at No. 21 on the list.
Here’s what PFF’s Sam Monson had to say about Tennessee’s group upfront.
Jeffery Simmons had a debut to remember after recovering from an ACL injury that many thought would sideline him for the entire season. Simmons notched a sack, two hurries and three defensive stops in a performance that earned a PFF grade of 90.6 and set pulses racing, but he never quite hit those heights again over the remainder of the season. Simmons is hugely talented, and the team was confident enough in his ability to trade away stalwart defensive lineman Jurrell Casey for a throwaway late-round draft pick, but now is the time Simmons needs to prove them right.
Depth is a concern along this defensive line, with little in the way of proven quality or even players who have shown well across limited snaps. Rookie Larrell Murchison was a fifth-round pick who has solid but not spectacular grades over the past two seasons at NC State. And while he was more of a run defender than a pass-rushing force, he will hope to earn some playing time as a rotational body early on.
After the Titans failed to get a consistent pass-rush out of their defensive line in 2019, chances are the player who can stand out the most in that area between Murchison, Crawford and Mack will see the majority of snaps.
Regardless of who gets the nod there, Simmons will be the biggest factor in the Titans’ success upfront — and the arrow is certainly pointing up for Big Jeff going into 2020.
After not feeling totally comfortable thanks to added weight, having to wear a knee brace and not getting a full training camp, Simmons has dropped weight, lost the knee brace and will get a full training camp in 2020.
The Tennessee Titans will have big expectations going into the 2020 season after making it all the way to the AFC Championship in 2019, but on a smaller scale the team will have certain players with more to gain than others.
For the most part, the players who fall under that category are in a contract year and are trying to show they are worth big money in 2021 and beyond.
Here’s a look at seven Titans with the most to gain this coming season.
Corey Davis
After three years of lackluster production for a receiver who was taken with a top-five pick, there’s nowhere to go but up for Davis.
The Titans declined the Western Michigan product’s fifth-year option after his production took a step back in 2019 and he took a backseat to rookie standout, A.J. Brown
Davis is now in a contract year in 2020 and is auditioning for teams that will be in the market for a wide receiver in 2021. If Davis can have the breakout year we’ve all been waiting for, he could shed the bust label en route to securing a lucrative, long-term deal next offseason.
And he has a great chance to do so, with opposing defenses likely to focus on stopping Brown, which should open things up for Davis. Adding to that, quarterback Ryan Tannehill has talked about improving his chemistry with Davis, and if successful it could lead to a huge season for the wideout.
Who is going to make the cut along the Titans’ defensive line in 2020?
After previewing every Tennessee Titans offensive position group, we’re now moving on to the defense and starting with the defensive line.
The Titans saw a major subtraction from the group upfront this offseason after trading Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos. As a result, there will be a competition for snaps in training camp.
Here’s a look at the roster locks on the defensive line, players on the bubble at the position, and a prediction for how things will shake out.
Note: In case you missed any of our other training camp previews, we’ve linked to them at the end of this article.
Roster locks
Jeffery Simmons
DaQuan Jones
Larrell Murchison
Jack Crawford
Isaiah Mack
Analysis for Jones and Simmons: Two players are already locked-in as starters from this group in Jones and Simmons, both of whom were impressive last season.
Jones had his best season as a pro in 2019, grading out as the No. 30 interior defensive lineman, per PFF. He particularly excelled in run defense, but wasn’t great at generating pressure on passing plays.
Simmons will be tasked with taking the torch from Casey, who was a stalwart on Tennessee’s defense for nine seasons.
The good news for Simmons is that he’ll have the benefit of a full training camp in his second season, which wasn’t the case in his rookie campaign with him having to rehab from a torn ACL.
Simmons made it clear he wasn’t comfortable at his playing weight last year, so his focus was on dropping weight this offseason with the hope that it would help improve his play.
Judging from a recent photo, Simmons looks to be in great shape.
Competition analysis: A competition for snaps will take place between Mack, Crawford and Murchison, all of whom have flashed pass-rush skills in the past. That’s important to point out because the Titans struggled to generate much of a pass-rush from their defensive line last season.
The player who can stand out the most in that area has the best chance to dominate snaps — and each player from this trio has shown in the past that they have the potential to make a dent in 2020.
Mack totaled one sack last preseason and followed that up with 1.5 in limited action during the regular season. Crawford had his best season in 2018 when he started a career-high 11 games and finished with a career-high six sacks.
Murchison, who is known for his high motor, looks to have the chops to be an effective interior pass-rusher after he totaled 11 sacks in two years at NC State, although there’s no telling how far along the rookie will be when training camp arrives thanks to an abbreviated offseason.
No matter who emerges from this group — Mack and Crawford are the favorites — all three will be on the initial 53-man roster, and it’s quite possible we see a rotation at the final starting spot on the defensive line.
Here are four bold predictions for the Titans’ 2020 training camp.
The Tennessee Titans are going to have quite an interesting training camp in 2020, as there are multiple starting and backup spots up for grabs on both sides of the ball.
With the Titans’ training camp set to take place at the end of July and inching ever closer, let’s take a look at some bold predictions for what will happen.
Amani Hooker wins slot CB job
Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The abbreviated offseason is going to be particularly tough on rookies, as there will be less time to develop on the practice field. That could hinder Kristian Fulton’s chances of becoming the slot cornerback in 2020.
Hooker, who already has a year under his belt in the Titans’ defense, was an elite slot cornerback in college and is poised to take the same role with Tennessee in 2020.
When it’s all said and done, Hooker is going to win the job at slot cornerback and fill in the role left vacant by the departure of Logan Ryan.
These six Titans all have the potential to make a major impact in 2020.
While it’s easy to point to the Tennessee Titans’ best players as those who will be vital to the team’s success in 2020, there are others who are flying under the radar that could make a major impact this season.
None of the players listed here are expected to be full-time starters at the moment, but each guy could play his way into a significant role if they can prove to fill a need at their respective positions.
Of course, there isn’t enough room for each and every one of these guys to make a major impact in 2020, but even if a few can get it done, the Titans are going to be a tough team to beat.
Let’s see who makes the list of under-the-radar Titans that have the potential to make a major impact in 2020.
DB Amani Hooker
Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Titans drafted Kristian Fulton with the idea that he could play slot cornerback in 2020, but there’s no guarantee that the rookie will be ready to take on such an important role right away.
Along with Fulton, Amani Hooker should be considered one of the favorites to come away with the job, as he was graded as an elite slot cornerback by Pro Football Focus during his college days. He also has an edge over Fulton in terms of NFL experience.
At the very least, the Titans are likely to deploy multiple players in the slot in 2020, and Hooker could be one of those players, if not the main guy.
