Titans part ways with former first-round pick

Benched last season, Andre Dillard will not make it to Year 2 with the Titans. The team announced Friday it has parted ways with the former first-round pick. This move had been expected.

Tennessee gave the ex-Philadelphia draftee a three-year, $29M contract to succeed Taylor Lewan at left tackle. While a recent report suggested there was a chance Dillard could stay, he was due $9M in base salary next season.

Amid a cost-cutting spree last year, the Titans cut both Lewan and center Ben Jones. They also let four-year right guard starter Nate Davis sign with the Bears. The team brought in low-cost starters in Chris Hubbard and Daniel Brunskill but gave Dillard a midlevel accord despite his failure to commandeer an Eagles starting job. With Brian Callahan (and his acclaimed O-line coach father, Bill) coming in, the Titans will look elsewhere to fill their blindside post.

Dillard, 28, started 10 games for the Titans last season. Although two of those were the team’s final two contests, the then-Mike Vrabel-led staff benched the 2019 first-rounder around midseason. The team moved RT Nicholas Petit-Frere to the left side to take over for Dillard, keeping Hubbard on the right side following Petit-Frere’s reinstatement from a gambling suspension. When Petit-Frere and Hubbard went down with injuries, Dillon Radunz and sixth-round rookie Jaelyn Duncan were summoned as patchwork tackle solutions.

Unless a post-June 1 cut is coming, this move will cost the Titans nearly $8M. New staffs are generally more willing to take on dead money, and with the Titans carrying more than $49M in cap space even after the Calvin Ridley signing, it would not surprise if they took their Dillard medicine now.

Carthon mentioned Peter Skoronski as a tackle solution but later said the team believes it is best if the 2023 first-rounder sticks at guard. The team lost center Aaron Brewer but paid up for his replacement, in Lloyd Cushenberry. Tennessee also added ex-Washington guard Saahdiq Charles. As for its left tackle future, the draft represents a likely avenue here. A deep tackle class awaits, and the Titans hold the No. 7 overall pick.