The Tennessee Titans were officially eliminated from postseason contention following a Week 13 loss to Jacksonville. Cam Ward’s debut season at the helm was a bit of a rollercoaster, especially as it pertains to the firing of previous Head Coach Brian Callahan, putting the stability of the franchise in question heading towards the offseason.
Financially speaking, the Titans hold a league-high $120M of 2026 cap space against a projected $307M NFL salary cap. Tennessee currently has 37 contracts on the books for next season, though one (Arden Key) is void hit that will convert to dead cap without a preceding extension.
The Titans hold 8 draft picks right now, including the Jets 5th-rounder, Baltimore’s 6th-rounder and a legitimate shot at the #1 overall pick (again).
RELATED: Manage the 2026 Titans Roster
Early Questions
Who will be the next Head Coach?
Did Cameron Ward show enough to begin to aggressive build out around him?
Are the OL/DL trenches deep enough to begin paying for less premium positions?
Will Jeffery Simmons attempt to force his way out?
Notable Free Agents
(Current Spotrac APY Valuation)
ED Arden Key ($12M)
G Kevin Zeitler ($8.8M)
IDL Sebastian Joseph ($7.2M)
5th-Year Option Decision
OL Peter Skoronski
The #11 overall pick out of Northwestern has been solid (and improving) at left guard since 2023, and should be in line for a contract extension in the coming months (currently valued at $19M per year in our system). The 5th-year option decision could be interested if it gets to that point, as the number for Skoronski will be derived from ALL offensive lineman (not just guards), potentially making this an expensive guarantee for Tennessee. Again, an extension should render this moot.
Extension Candidate
DL Jeffery Simmons
The 28-year-old has 2 years, $44M remaining on his contract, but the early vesting guarantee portion of the deal has now expired. The Titans will likely need to take a page out of Cleveland/Myles Garrett’s playbook here, fully compensating their best player in order to keep him through a tumultuous rebuild window. Simmons projects toward an historic 3 years, $94M extension in our system ($31.3M APY).
Bubble Candidates
DB L’Jarius Sneed
Release Candidate
Poor play and injuries have led to a disastrous tenure for Sneed in Tennessee, who have paid the 28-year-old over $43M since acquiring him from KC in March of 2024. The Titans can move on from this contract before a $7.5M guarantee locks in (March 15th), taking on $8.1M of dead cap ($12M saved).
WR Calvin Ridley
Release Candidate
Ridley was underperforming before an awful leg injury parked his 2025 season for good.The almost 31-year-old has a $3M guarantee on his $21M salary in 2026, but Tennessee may choose to eat that in order to move off of the contract entirely. An outright release would leave behind $13M of dead cap, freeing up $13.7M of cap space.
RB Tony Pollard
Release/Trade Candidate
Pollard has been both reliable and available for Tennessee since joining in 2024. It might simply just be time to flip the position over to younger/less expensive players going forward. The 28-year-old has 1 year, $7.25M remaining (non-guaranteed) on his current contract, and could be a welcome addition to a legitimate contender in 2026.
Potential Cap Conversions
With $100M+ of projected cap space, Tennessee shouldn’t have a need to push any cap down the line, but a full conversion for OT Dan Moore (who’s fully guaranteed through 2026) would free up another $15M. S Amani Hooker is also fully guaranteed through 2026, and a full conversion on that salary would open up $6.25M of cap space next season. Additionally, an extension for DL Jeffery Simmons would almost certainly lower his current $25.6M cap figure.
RELATED LINKS
2026 NFL Salary Caps
2026 NFL Free Agents