Titans to part ways with veteran DL amid rising tension

Tension between the Titans and Teair Tart will result in an unceremonious exit. The veteran defensive lineman has been ruled out for Week 15 due to personal (rather than injury-related) reasons.

Veteran Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky first reported Tennessee was set to move on from Tart after “season-long issues reached a breaking point.” Indeed, ESPN’s Turron Davenport confirms Tart has played his last game with the franchise. The 26-year-old will now head to waivers in a move which creates no dead money charge.

Tart joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2020, and he played sparingly during his rookie season. Since then, however, he has established himself as a key member of Tennessee’s defensive line rotation. The 26-year-old logged a snap share of 47% in the 2021 and ’22 seasons. His level of play in the latter campaign earned him a second-round RFA tender, and signing it locked him into a $4.3M salary.

After Tart set new career highs in several categories last year, expectations were high for a follow-up and a resultant boost in free-agent value. As Kuharsky notes, however, the Florida International alumnus’ conditioning and effort level have been a sore spot during the campaign. With his contract status looming over his immediate future, Tart has racked up 21 tackles (including eight for a loss) along with one sack while seeing an identical snap share to the past two seasons. Those figures have resulted in a PFF grade of 57.6, a stark regression from his career-best evaluation in 2022.

While the team's run defense suffered in the games Tart missed, his absence was not as impactful as expected given his previous performances. Between that fact, and the team’s status as presumed sellers ahead of the trade deadline, Tart was floated as a trade candidate. No takers emerged on that front, but interested parties can now add him by putting in a claim. If he passes through waivers, Tart will be a free agent.

Friday’s news leaves Tennessee without both Tart and All-Pro Jeffery Simmons along the defensive interior; the latter is set to miss a second straight game due to injury. Kyle Peko, meanwhile, is out for the season. Especially given the decision to move on from Tart, Thursday’s additions of Quinton Bohanna and Keondre Coburn to provide healthy bodies along the D-line make sense.

While the latter two are set to make their Titans debuts this week, Tart will turn his attention to his next chapter. A rebound in terms of performance with his next team, should he latch on to an active roster to close out the year, will set him up for free agency for the first time in his career.