NFL free agent rankings. Our list of top 51 Titans targets in free agency

It’s time for the Tennessee Titans to spend some money.

NFL free agency begins with the early negotiation window, better known as the “legal tampering period” on March 9, followed by the official start of the 2026 league year and formal opening of free agency at 3 p.m. CT on March 11. The Titans have roughly $90 million to spend against the salary cap, up near the top of the league. The roster also needs a ton of help, coming off back-to-back 3-14 seasons and a series of scouting and developmental failures wherein no one drafted by the Titans since 2020 has been retained for a second contract.

Below is The Tennessean’s rankings of the 51 free agents who best help the Titans on their quest to improve in 2026 and beyond. Crucially, this is not a list of the 51 best free agents available, but rather the available players who’d be most beneficial for the Titans’ rebuild. For example: Since the Titans don’t need a starting quarterback, don’t expect to see Kyler Murray on this list. This also isn’t a list of “best players available.” There are some players who project to earn more lucrative contracts in the coming days who rank below less-attractive options because their positional fit, age profile or pure contract value aren’t as good of matches for what the Titans need.

With that in mind, here are the 51 free agents who Titans fans need to keep an eye on.

Tennessee Titans best free agents available: Our top 51 players, ranked51. Mitchell Trubisky

QB | Age 31 | Previous team: Buffalo

The Titans need a reliable, experienced backup QB. Trubisky knows Titans OC Brian Daboll’s system already and can help mentor Cam Ward.

50. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

WR | Age 28 | Previous team: Miami

See No. 49.

49. Corey Levin

G/C | Age 31 | Previous team: Tennessee

Nothing wrong with a couple of depth pieces who know your locker room and know what it feels like to win in your city.

48. Chris Manhertz

TE | Age 33 | Previous team: New York Giants

A blocking specialist at tight end who spent the last two years with Daboll. Easy fit for a strong role player.

47. Roy Lopez

DL | Age 28 | Previous team: Detroit

A versatile, multi-use defensive lineman who can play end, tackle or nose. Think of Lopez as Sebastian Joseph-Day insurance if he moves elsewhere.

46. Oli Udoh

OT | Age 29 | Previous team: Tennessee

Don’t waste a good swing tackle. Keep him around if you can and preserve continuity.

45. Ahkello Witherspoon

CB | Age 30 | Previous team: Los Angeles Rams

Witherspoon grew up in the league under Titans coach Robert Saleh’s wing in San Francisco. Could be a steadying presence in a cornerback room in need of several bodies.

44. Jihad Ward

DE | Age 31 | Previous team: Tennessee

Ward’s another holdover from the 2025 Titans who makes sense. Don’t sleep on how productive he was on last year’s beat-up defense.

43. Brian Robinson Jr.

RB | Age 26 | Previous team: San Francisco

Robinson’s a bruiser with starting experience who’s also been productive catching passes. He shouldn’t touch the ball 300 times, but he helps an offense.

42. Gabriel Davis

WR | Age 26 | Previous team: Buffalo

Can you believe Davis doesn’t turn 27 until April? The Bills veteran knows Daboll’s system and has plenty of experience running routes from the slot and perimeter.

41. Reed Blankenship

SAF | Age 27 | Previous team: Philadelphia

It’s not high on the Titans’ list of needs, but a reliable centerfielder of a free safety could help. Enter the former Middle Tennessee State player who’s started 50 games in Philly.

40. Dylan Parham

OG | Age 26 | Previous team: Las Vegas

A young four-year starter who can fill a hole at guard, if there ends up being one.

39. Tyrod Taylor

QB | Age 36 | Previous team: New York Jets

There aren’t many free agents around who’ve played for Saleh, Daboll and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Taylor’s the perfect blend of first-hand experience, mentorship for Ward and game readiness if needed.

38. Rasul Douglas

CB | Age 30 | Previous team: Miami

The Titans are going to need a veteran cornerback like Douglas who’ll help foster the rebuild on a short-term deal.

37. Quincy Williams

ILB | Age 29 | Previous team: New York Jets

Williams was an All-Pro under Saleh’s watch in 2023. Inside linebacker isn’t a huge need for the Titans, but the reunion makes sense.

36. Nahshon Wright

CB | Age 27 | Previous team: Chicago

Wright might end up being one of the highest-paid free agents on the market this year, but he’s a classic boom-or-bust coverage option with really only one year of starting experience. A lot of risk for a huge investment.

35. Jamaree Salyer

OL | Age 25 | Previous team: Los Angeles Chargers

Having a swing lineman who can fill in at both guard and both tackle spots is an immense luxury. Salyer’s that guy in this class.

34. Tyler Allgeier

RB | Age 25 | Previous team: Atlanta

The fact that Allgeier was as productive as he was playing behind Bijan Robinson shows he deserves a chance to be a starter somewhere, or at least a rotational one.

33. John Simpson

OG | Age 28 | Previous team: New York Jets

Starting guards are getting more expensive, but Simpson’s a reasonable investment with past Saleh ties.

32. Bradley Chubb

Edge | Age 29 | Miami Dolphins

If Chubb’s willing to sign on a short-term prove-it deal, he’d be a great asset as a productive player and mentor in this Titans rebuild.

31. Kirk Cousins

QB | Age 37 | Previous team: Atlanta

Consider Cousins the best backup QB on the market. He’d be one heckuva mentor for Ward.

30. Chig Okonkwo

TE | Age 26 | Previous team: Tennessee

Okonkwo was the Titans’ leading receiver last year. Depending on the new regime’s feelings about TE Gunnar Helm, Okonkwo is an option worth considering keeping around.

29. Travis Etienne

RB | Age 27 | Previous team: Jacksonville

The Titans’ needs at running back are hypothetical but feel real. Etienne improves the room, but the question is who’d be released to make space.

28. Sebastian Joseph-Day

DL | Age 30 | Previous team: Tennessee

See No. 27.

27. Kevin Zeitler

OG | Age 35 | Previous team: Tennessee

Good quality starters who’ve seemingly enjoyed their times in Tennessee. The Titans don’t get worse for retaining them.

26. Cade Otton

TE | Age 26 | Previous team: Tampa Bay

Again: It’s tough to weigh the Titans’ need for tight end depth against the investment in Helm. Otton’s an all-around good player though.

25. Alontae Taylor

CB | Age 27 | Previous team: New Orleans

Taylor’s a local kid made good who’d improve the cornerback room. The question is how well he’d fit as a nickel in Saleh’s defense.

24. Romeo Doubs

WR | Age 25 | Previous team: Green Bay

The first in a long line of free agents in this top 25 who fall in the bucket of “how much do you want to pay for a No. 2 receiver?”

23. Kevin Byard

SAF | Age 32 | Previous team: Chicago

Too good, too valuable, too beloved and too easy of a PR move to not at least consider bringing back.

22. Riq Woolen

CB | Age 26 | Previous team: Seattle

There’s no denying how dominant Woolen is at his best. There might be questions about how to count on Woolen being at his best often enough to justify a big contract.

21. Cordale Flott

CB | Age 24 | Previous team: New York Giants

Flott was quietly a very effective rotational cover corner for the Giants last year and deserves a chance at a long-term starting role.

20. Dre’Mont Jones

Edge | Age 29 | Previous team: Baltimore

The Titans got a fifth-round pick for trading Jones in November. Now they can bring him back and he’ll factor in as a No. 1 edge option again.

19. Kenneth Walker III

RB | Age 25 | Previous team: Seattle

It’s hard to imagine the reigning Super Bowl MVP hitting the market, but the Titans would have to explore adding him if such an event comes to be.

18. Jauan Jennings

WR | Age 28 | Previous team: San Francisco

Another local kid, and another No. 2 receiver option. He helps the team for the right price.

17. Alijah Vera-Tucker

OG | Age 26 | Previous team: New York Jets

Vera-Tucker missed all of 2025 with injury. There’s clearly risk involved to bringing him in, Saleh connection or not, but he’s clearly also a starting-caliber interior lineman.

16. Daniel Faalele

OG | Age 26 | Previous team: Baltimore

Maybe not significantly better than Vera-Tucker, but also not coming off an injury.

15. David Onyemata

DL | Age 33 | Previous team: Atlanta

If anyone can be “famously underrated,” it’s Onyemata. Pair him with Jeffery Simmons for a mean interior duo.

14. Odafe Oweh

Edge | Age 27 | Previous team: Los Angeles Chargers

Whoever signs Oweh is going to have to pay him like a No. 1 edge rusher. While it doesn’t feel aligned with the Titans’ strategy to do so at a premium position, Oweh’s got tremendous upside.

13. David Edwards

OG | Age 28 | Previous team: Buffalo

Edwards is going to demand a hefty price, but that’s fair for a cornerstone option on the offensive line.

12. Eric Stokes

CB | Age 27 | Previous team: Las Vegas

Stokes is a former first-round pick coming off arguably his best pro season after taking a few years to figure things out. This might be the right time to buy on talent that’s always been obvious.

11. Rashid Shaheed

WR | Age 27 | Previous team: Seattle

Speed. Invest in it. Rebuild your team around it. Shaheed knows how to get behind defenders like very few others can.

10. Boye Mafe

Edge | Age 27 | Previous team: Seattle

Mafe’s always been a better eye-test edge rusher than production-based edge rusher. The lower sack count helps the Titans court a player who might be worth as much as Oweh for a lower price tag.

9. Jamel Dean

CB | Age 29 | Previous team: Tampa Bay

Dean is the epitome of reliability, and he’s been this reliable playing his whole career in one of the blitz-heaviest defenses possible that asks more of him than the average cornerback.

8. Connor McGovern

C | Age 28 | Previous team: Buffalo

McGovern hasn’t allowed a sack in 1,350 pass blocking snaps over the last two years. How’s that for a sales pitch?

7. Trey Hendrickson

Edge | Age 31 | Previous team: Cincinnati

Hendrickson might just be the most valuable player in free agency, but it’ll be a little out of character for the Titans to give a long-term, big-money contract to a free agent on the wrong side of 30.

6. Jaylen Watson

CB | Age 27 | Previous team: Kansas City

Don’t be scared off by the idea of another Kansas City cornerback. Watson is less of a boom-or-bust option than L’Jarius Sneed ever was, and if he hits the open market he likely does so as CB1.

5. Wan’Dale Robinson

WR | Age 25 | Previous team: New York Giants

See No. 4.

4. Alec Pierce

WR | Age 25 | Previous team: Indianapolis

Pierce had 1,003 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. Robinson had 1,014 yards and four touchdowns. The difference was Pierce did so on 47 catches, while Robinson did his work on 92 catches. It’s a battle between the game-breaking field stretcher and the game-managing drive extender for top Titans receiver target.

3. Jaelan Phillips

Edge | Age 26 | Previous team: Philadelphia

Phillips is about to be a very, very rich man, and deservedly so. It’d be malpractice to not at least see what the asking price is.

2. John Franklin-Myers

DL | Age 29 | Previous team: Denver

A central cog in Denver’s dominant pass rush the last two seasons, Franklin-Myers is a hyper-productive interior lineman with Saleh ties who hasn’t exactly hidden his allegiances to Saleh and some of his former teammates who’ve resurfaced with the Titans on social media. Pair him with Simmons and the Titans easily have the best defensive interior in the NFL.

1. Tyler Linderbaum

C | Age 25 | Previous team: Baltimore

Linderbaum might just be the NFL’s best interior lineman. He’s only missed two games in four years. He’s made three straight Pro Bowls. He’s only allowed 15 quarterback hits and sacks in his whole career. It’s hard to imagine a better gift for Cam Ward than the gift of almost automatic security up the middle.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Top NFL free agents available. Our best 51 targets for Tennessee Titans

NFL free agent rankings. Our list of top 51 Titans targets in free agency

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