Veteran defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, a former Tennessee Vols football player, will sign a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans, ESPN reported on Aug. 26.
Tuttle, 29, was released by the Carolina Panthers on roster cutdown day after 32 starts over two seasons with the team. Before that, Tuttle spent four seasons in New Orleans where he initially made the final roster in 2019 as an undrafted free agent.
Former Panthers defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, released today, intends to sign a one-year deal with the Titans, per Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2025
The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman adds another experienced depth option for the Titans up front behind starters Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat along with veteran backups Sebastian Joseph-Day and James Lynch.
Tennessee’s roster will continue to churn between now and the Week 1 game at the Denver Broncos on Sept. 7, including the first waiver wire claim cycle post-cutdown on Aug. 27 in which the Titans own the top spot.
Tuttle played all four collegiate seasons at Tennessee, totaling 79 total tackles, six tackles for a loss and a sack in 35 career games.
Tuttle will always be linked to a Butch Jones press conference on Sept. 25, 2017. The former Tennessee coach was asked why Tuttle was unavailable for the previous game after reports surfaced the injury sustained to the player’s eye was from a teammate. Jones tried to explain it was from Tuttle landing on a helmet.
He then launched into a two-minute lecture of the media.
“Football is an emotional game. It is a competitive game,” Jones said. “The injury was caused not by a teammate. He landed on a helmet, and that’s the truth. And I think we have to understand, what do we want out of our media? This place, with the drama.”
“I love our kids, and I’m going to protect our players, and I’m going to protect our program,” Jones added. “And sometimes the negativity is overwhelming. If everyone is Vol fans, how do we let our opponents use this in the recruiting process with fake news?”