Two Find Familiarity With New Teams

Here is one for the “what else is new” file.

A former Tennessee Titans player has signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

Wide receiver/return man Cameron Batson and outside linebacker Tuzar Skipper each found familiarity with new teams Thursday, when the NFL officially announced the moves. Batson became the latest ex-Titan to reunite with former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as a member of the Falcons. Skipper signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team with which he spent time in 2019 and 2020.

Just as Titans coach Mike Vrabel has leaned heavily on connections he made in four seasons as an assistant coach with the Houston Texans, so is Smith relying on Titans ties as he prepares for his second season as Atlanta’s head coach. In recent weeks, quarterback Marcus Mariota, linebacker Rashaan Evans, tight end Anthony Firkser and running back Jeremy McNichols all signed with that team.

Batson (pictured) made the Titans as an undrafted rookie in 2018. Vrabel consistently praised his toughness, but at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, he took a beating. In four seasons, he appeared in just 27 games. He missed all of 2019 with a knee injury and spent the last 12 weeks of 2021 on injured reserve with another knee injury.

For his career, he has caught 22 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, rushed seven times for 36 yards, returned 16 kickoffs for an average of 19.4 yards and returned three punts for four yards. The Titans allowed him to become a free agent this offseason.

Skipper spent most of 2020 on Tennessee’s practice squad but routinely was named a gameday addition to the active roster. He appeared in four games (two starts) that season. He returned to the practice squad late in 2021 but did not appear in a game.

The Titans released him on May 2.

Skipper first joined the Steelers during the 2019 season, his second in the NFL, and agreed to a contract extension at the end of that season. Pittsburgh cut at the end of the 2020 preseason, however, and he never appeared in a regular-season contest for that team. Maybe this will be his chance.