Tag: Kenny Vaccaro

Kevin Byard has appropriate reaction to Titans gutting secondary

Byard’s reaction says it all about the Titans’ current situation in the secondary.

The Tennessee Titans have almost completely gutted their starting secondary from the 2020 season after announcing the release of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson on Tuesday.

Prior to the release of Jackson, the Titans also parted ways with cornerback Malcolm Butler and safety Kenny Vaccaro, two moves that were expected going into the offseason.

The last man standing is safety Kevin Byard, who had quite the appropriate reaction once the news of Jackson’s release broke.

While the Titans releasing both of their starting corners is a surprise, the massive overhaul currently taking place on defense isn’t exactly shocking.

After all, Tennessee’s defense was among the worst in the NFL last season, particularly against the pass, partly because everyone in the secondary but Butler regressed.

However, it’s important to note that coaching was another issue, as Titans players constantly pointed to communication issues on defense and adjustments were never sufficiently made in-game.

Despite all that, the Titans actually promoted the man in charge of calling plays, Shane Bowen, to the official title of defensive coordinator after he served in the role without the title in 2020.

Clearly, general manager Jon Robinson is placing the blame on the players rather than placing any semblance of fault on Bowen’s shoulders. We’ll see just how right Robinson is when the Titans have an almost completely new cast of characters on defense in 2021.

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Titans currently among leaders in dead money for 2021

The Tennessee Titans are racking up dead money ahead of the 2021 season.

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The Tennessee Titans have made four significant moves so far this offseason that has the team among the leaders in dead money ahead of the 2021 season.

Those moves were the releases of safety Kenny Vaccaro, cornerback Malcolm Butler, wide receiver Adam Humphries, and the trade of 2020 first-round pick and offensive tackle, Isaiah Wilson, to the Miami Dolphins.

According to Over the Cap, Tennessee currently stands to pay out a total of $17.2 million in dead money in 2021, which ranks as the sixth-highest total in the NFL.

The five teams ahead of the Titans are the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints.

We are still early in the process, so that number could certainly go up, or other teams could pass the Titans with more cuts, but that’s a significant chunk of change no matter where Tennessee ultimately lands.

However, all of the aforementioned moves were necessary ones, as the Titans didn’t start with much cap space and desperately needed to free up money in order to make improvements to their pass rush, among other areas.

We’ll see what general manager Jon Robinson does with his newly-found cap space once free agency begins next week.

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Titans’ updated cap space figure after release of Kenny Vaccaro

An updated look at the Tennessee Titans’ cap space.

The Tennessee Titans made yet another expected move on Wednesday by releasing safety Kenny Vaccaro after he spent three seasons with the team.

It was expected because not only did Vaccaro have a down year in 2020, but the Titans also have a replacement already in-house in 2019 fourth-round pick Amani Hooker, who obviously comes cheaper than the veteran.

Releasing Vaccaro, who was due to make $6.9 million this season, will save the Titans $3.9 million against the cap, while forcing them to pay $3 million in dead money in 2021.

Vaccaro is the third notable player to get released by Tennessee early this offseason, along with cornerback Malcolm Butler and wide receiver Adam Humphries.

Cutting those three players is saving the Titans a total of $18.5 million, but we can shave about $1.8 million off that total thanks to the dead money coming from the Isaiah Wilson trade.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans have about $16.7 million in cap space and so far are doling out a whopping $17.2 million in dead money this year, currently the sixth-highest total in the NFL.

It doesn’t appear that cap space figure includes Tennessee’s cap carryover money, which is about $2.3 million, per the NFLPA. If not, the Titans actually have about $19 million to work with right now.

Just a disclaimer: the cap space numbers are extremely fluid, so these figures aren’t always perfect, but are at least in the ballpark.

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Twitter reacts to Titans releasing safety Kenny Vaccaro

Here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to the move.

The Tennessee Titans made their move to release safety Kenny Vaccaro official on Wednesday after three seasons with the team.

With his release, the Titans will shed $3.9 million in 2021, while carrying a dead-money hit of $3 million. Vaccaro is the third player to get released by Tennessee this offseason, along with cornerback Malcolm Butler and wide receiver Adam Humphries.

After originally getting signed in 2018 following an injury to Johnathan Cyprien, Vaccaro made up one half of an impressive safety tandem during his three seasons in Nashville, along with Kevin Byard.

Like the vast majority of the defense, Vaccaro didn’t play up to the standards we’ve come to expect last season, and with the Titans strapped for cash, he became a prime candidate to get cut.

With Vaccaro gone, the Titans will have to replace their former starting safety, but the good news is there is an in-house solution in 2019 fourth-round pick, Amani Hooker, who played well in limited action in 2020. Hooker’s cap hit will be a little over $1 million in 2021.

Shortly after the news broke of the Titans’ plan to release the veteran safety, Twitter wasn’t surprised and remembered him fondly, while fans of other teams are already looking for their squad to sign him.

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Tennessee Titans to release S Kenny Vaccaro after 3 seasons

Vaccaro’s time in Nashville is over after three seasons.

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly expected to release safety Kenny Vaccaro after three seasons with the team, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Vaccaro was set to count as $6.9 million against the Titans’ salary cap in 2021 but none of that was guaranteed, so this amounts to a clean break.

This move isn’t surprising for a few reasons. For starters, Vaccaro, like much of the rest of the defense, regressed in 2020, and with the emergence of 2019 fourth-round pick Amani Hooker as a viable starter, he became expendable.

Vaccaro was signed by the Titans as a free agent back in 2018 following an injury to fellow safety, Johnathan Cyprien. After playing well that season, he parlayed his performance into a new four-year, $24 million deal in 2019.

While Vaccaro and fellow safety Kevin Byard have made up an impressive tandem during their time in Nashville, this was a decision the team had to make considering the circumstances.

The only question is: who’s next?

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Titans snap count takeaways from 40-14 loss to Packers

Adoree’ Jackson saw a big uptick in snaps in Week 16.

The Tennessee Titans had a few different faces getting an opportunity on defense in Week 16 versus the Green Bay Packers, but unfortunately they weren’t able to help a listless unit that got demolished on Sunday night.

With outside linebacker Derick Roberson out, we saw outside linebackers Wyatt Ray, who notched the Titans’ first sack in 14 quarters, and Brooks Reed both get action in his place.

The question is: who saw more snaps?

In the secondary, we were keeping an eye out for how involved cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was in his second game this season, as well as how much playing time safety Kenny Vaccaro got after missing the last two games.

We’re going to take a look at the snap counts for Jackson, Vaccaro, Ray, Reed and the rest of the Titans on both sides of the ball from the embarrassing 40-14 loss at the hands of the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Titans Week 15 injury designations: Rodger Saffold, Kenny Vaccaro listed as Questionable

The Detroit Lions (5-8) Week 15 opponent, the Tennessee Titans (9-4), have released their injury designations ahead of Sunday’s game.

The Detroit Lions (5-8) Week 15 opponent, the Tennessee Titans (9-4), have released their injury designations ahead of Sunday’s game and only four players are listed as questionable.

Here’s a look at the Titans’ full injury designations list.

Injury status

Player Injury Position Designation
Rodger Saffold Toe LG (starter) Questionable
Geoff Swain Ankle TE Questionable
Adoree Jackson Knee CB Questionable
Kenny Vaccaro Illness S (starter) Questionable

Saffold did not practice all week, but Mike Moraitis of Titans Wire suggests that may not prohibit him from playing on Sunday. Starting right tackle Dennis Kelly and starting center Ben Jones also missed practices this week, but both got in at least one full practice and neither are listed with an injury designation. If all three are ready to play, the Titans will enter the game with their starting offensive line intact.

Swaim missed Wednesday and Thursday but returned able to return to a limited practice on Friday and carries a questionable label. The Titans will use all four of their tight ends, but if Swaim is forced to miss, they still have three available on the active roster.

Jackson, who has been on IR most of the season, has yet to play in 2020 and was limited all week. But there is some optimism in Tennessee that he could make his debut versus the Lions this weekend.

Vaccaro missed Wednesday, was limited Thursday and Friday, and carries a questionable tag into this game. With two partial practices this week, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern surrounding the starting safety.

Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro downgraded to OUT vs. Jaguars

This is the second game Vaccaro will miss this season.

Tennessee Titans safety, Kenny Vaccaro, was added to the injury report on Saturday with an illness and has now been ruled out for the Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

For Vaccaro, this will be the second game he misses this season, with the first coming in Week 11 versus the Baltimore Ravens when he was dealing with a neck injury.

In his place, the Titans will likely deploy 2019 fourth-round pick, safety Amani Hooker, who saw 98 percent of the snaps when Vaccaro last sat out.

The loss of Vaccaro leaves the Titans’ secondary even more short-handed, as both Breon Borders and Adoree’ Jackson were ruled out on Friday. Borders has since been placed on Injured Reserve and will miss the next three weeks.

Earlier in the week, the Titans activated defensive back Chris Jackson from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and on Saturday cornerback Kareem Orr was activated from IR. Both could see an expanded role on Sunday, along with Tye Smith.

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Titans put Breon Borders on IR among several roster moves

Placing Borders on IR was one of several roster moves the Titans made on Saturday.

The Tennessee Titans have lost cornerback Breon Borders (hip) for at least the next three games after placing him on Injured Reserve, a move the team announced on Saturday afternoon.

Borders, along with Adoree’ Jackson, were both ruled out on Friday for the Week 14 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars, leaving the Titans thin in their secondary.

On top of the move to place Borders on IR, the Titans activated cornerback Kareem Orr from the list. Orr will provide some depth at the position if he’s active on Sunday.

Another concern has popped up for Tennessee, though, as safety Kenny Vaccaro has been added to the injury report with an illness and is now questionable.

Here’s a look at the rest of the moves Tennessee made on Saturday:

  • Outside linebackers’ Tuzar Skipper and Wyatt Ray have been elevated from the practice squad for Week 14. Both players will revert to the practice squad after the game.
  • Defensive lineman Teair Tart, who was suspended for one game for stepping on Cleveland Browns guard Wyatt Teller in Week 13, has been moved to the Reserve/Suspended list. He will return for the Week 15 game against the Detroit Lions.

The Titans and Jaguars will meet at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday, with kickoff set for noon CT.

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PFF: Marcus Williams ranks 4th-best in tackling efficiency in 2020

New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Williams has caught heat for his missed tackles, but Pro Football Focus is encouraged by his 2020 stats.

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Free safety Marcus Williams has caught heat from New Orleans Saints fans for his missed tackles over the years, but Pro Football Focus is encouraged by his 2020 performance. As first pointed out by Andrew Bell over at Canal Street Chronicles, PFF has negged Williams with just two misses this season — on 45 attempts, a rate of one miss per every 22.5 tries.

It’s good enough for fourth-best in the league among 66 qualifying safeties (those who have played 50% or more of the position’s snaps leader, Tre Boston, at 757 snaps played; for context, Williams has played 643 snaps, or 84.9%). That group includes his teammate Malcolm Jenkins, who has averaged a missed tackle every 11.0 attempts, and former Saints starters Kenny Vaccaro (5.8) and Vonn Bell (22.8).

And it’s a marked improvement over his past results. In 2019, Williams averaged a whiff every 6.2 attempts, worse than his 2018 rate (7.9) and a far cry from his 2017 rookie performance (15.6). That’s because he has put in the work; Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football spoke with his position coaches and personal trainers to get into the lengths Williams went to improve that aspect of his game.

For the curious, the other Saints defensive backs are all across the spectrum. Second-year starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson is worst (5.0), though he also leads the secondary in total defensive stops, defined at PFF as a loss of field positioning, not just yards, for the offense (26). Cornerback Janoris Jenkins is also kind of erratic (8.0), but his tag-team partner Marshon Lattimore sets the team’s standard (45.0). It’s easy to see why Lattimore is in the thick of the Pro Bowl voting campaign with other contenders.

But let’s circle back to Williams. He’s set to play out the final weeks of his rookie contract before testing free agency in the spring, where he could be a hot commodity despite the expected salary cap depression. Missed tackles have been his Achilles’ heel throughout his career. If he’s proven he’s cleaned up that aspect of his game, there should be plenty of interested teams.

Ballhawks like Williams don’t become available often. He’s intercepted 14 passes since entering the league in 2017, including the playoffs, more than top-paid safeties like Justin Simmons (13 in the same time frame), Tyrann Mathieu (11), Eddie Jackson and Anthony Harris (10), Devin McCourty (9), Landon Collins (3), and Budda Baker (2). Simmons and Harris are playing on the expensive $11.441 million franchise tag this season, which is the lowest number in this group; of the eight highest-paid safeties, only Kevin Byard has more career interceptions (18) than Williams since 2017.

The Saints may not be able to assign Williams the franchise tag next year, especially if its value increases once Simmons and Harris sign new deals. Not with the salary cap falling and Trey Hendrickson emerging as a star pass rusher competing for the league lead in sacks. If Williams continues to make clean open-field tackles and minimize his flaws, he’ll be richly rewarded in the free agent market next March. He’s certainly on the right path.

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