The Tennessee Titans, fresh off their first win of the season, have seen no shortage of headlines this past week. We'll get to Alontae Taylor's unexplained absence, but the big note was the dismissal of DT Jordan Elliott after a firearm-related incident at the Titans' facility.
It's a busy time for a 1-5 football team. A 1-5 football team that, with a win this week, could open the door to a more redemptive season than it seemed they were headed for through the first month of the 2026 NFL season.
Heading into Week 7, here's a midweek report covering all the latest for Tennessee. We'll start with Sunday's matchup.
Titans must find a way to beat Browns due to their schedule
After the Titans host the Browns in a few days, the team will face the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Dallas Cowboys, and then the Jaguars again. Gone are the days of games against the Jets and Giants in a three-week span.
Cleveland is good this year, but they appear very much beatable. The Jaguars are leading the AFC South at 4-2. Cincinnati, on the heels of their offense, are 3-2 and haven't scored less than 20 points in a single game this year. The 2-4 Cowboys are struggling, but that game is on the road.
When Deshaun Watson marches into Nissan Stadium in Week 7, Robert Saleh needs to run his aggressive d-line showing from last week back in the biggest way. Another six sacks would certainly do, although that may be lofty.
Either way, the 4-2 Browns, in their first year with Todd Monken leading the way, represent a prime opportunity for Tennessee to beat a good team before their schedule ticks up even more. Another leading defensive performance may be the key to making the most of that opportunity.
Calvin Ridley joins potential trade candidates
FOX Sports just listed WR Calvin Ridley at the top trade candidate on the Titans, citing his "career-low 13.5 receiving yards per game" and snap share that barely breaks the 50% mark. "Ridley would be best utilized on a contending team with a receiver need."
Our own Shaun Calderon agrees, suggesting Tennessee move Ridley to the Rams for a sixth-round pick in next year's draft. Anything in that ballpark would appear acceptable for the Titans.
With guys like Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson being brought in to hold down the pass-catching fort, Ridley's role already looked limited heading into this season. It's become clear through six weeks that even second-year WR Elic Ayomanor has more stake in the unit than Ridley.
His offseason paycut isn't a good enough argument to keep Ridley aboard in Nashville. His complimentary role could unsurprisingly give way to a move before November 10 if Tennessee makes a move on the market.
Robert Saleh shines light on Alontae Taylor's absence
Robert Saleh said Taylor was deactivated vs. the Colts last Sunday to give him a "reset." The Titans' secondary, and really defense as a whole, went on to have their best game of the season without the recently-signed CB.
DC Gus Bradley said today that Tennessee still has confidence in Taylor, and that he'll be playing meaningful snaps for the defense moving forward. Could him being sat have just been a fluke as a result of recent bad performance? Sure, even if that seems a tad extreme for a guy you paid $58 million.
Now, at least, it seems that Tennessee isn't keen on moving on from Taylor. A trade is still possible, but perhaps this whole scenario really comes down to Saleh trying to give the Tennessee native a clean slate moving forward.
Of Saleh approaching Taylor with the decision to bench him, Taylor said "you gotta take it to the chin." At least Taylor is a team player, and right now, appears bought in to the process that Saleh is selling him. If it works and Tennessee wins, it's hard to complain about what we don't know.
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