The Tennessee Titans may have found themselves a genuine roster steal in one of three waiver claims the team made after roster cutdown day. 

Tennessee added three defensive players to its 53-man roster Monday after Sunday’s cuts, but defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse is the name that deserves some attention. The former Georgia Bulldog and Green Bay Packer fills a specific need along the Titans defensive front, and a connection from head coach Robert Saleh may have helped Tennessee identify the opportunity.

Why Stackhouse caught my eye

I didn’t think the Titans were going to need another defensive lineman. They kept 10 on the initial 53-man roster, a number that already reflects Saleh’s preference for rotating bodies on a hockey-line-shift basis. 

Saleh has talked about the three different types of defensive linemen he groups them into, and the Titans were well stocked at most of those spots. Jeffery Simmons is an aggressive, upfield player. John Franklin-Myers is a tweener big end in Saleh’s system who can play inside and outside. Jermaine Johnson and Jacob Martin are the two starting rush ends, with second-year edge rusher Femi Oladejo. Solomon Thomas is a more athletic, aggressive interior rusher as a counterpunch to Simmons.

Tennessee was missing depth for a specific body type: the big, run-stuffing A-gap defensive tackle. The closest comparison on the roster to Stackhouse is Jordan Elliott, the free agent addition from this past offseason. Elliott is listed at 6-foot-4, 325 pounds. Stackhouse is nearly identical at 6-foot-4, 327. Elliott had a really good camp and didn’t face much competition from anyone who made the roster at that body type. Stackhouse changes that equation.

Kyle Crabbs identifies Stackhouse as a potential waiver wire success story

On the brand new 4th and Football podcast on A to Z Sports with Kyle Crabbs and Garrett Greenlee of Football Analysis, Crabbs brought up Stackhouse when discussing waiver claims that could be roster steals.

“He’s a guy who had some really pleasant, linear twitch to him for a bigger guy in a dense build. He’s got good length. He’s kind of a guy who pops at the point of attack. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, with Tennessee and what their defensive tackle room looks like, where it’s the standout guys are Solomon Thomas is more of a sub-rush guy, you’ve got, uh, John Franklin Myers who’s kind of a big end but can take down a play inside, they’re kind of a blank slate for A-gap snaps really. And I think that’s where this year Stackhouse is not going to give you 600+ snaps where you feel like you’re getting disruption and penetration into the backfield, but as a guy who I think had a functional baseline level skill set to be a player in the NFL. To end up finding out that he lands in a place where there’s very little in the way of contention around him to play, I think sets him up to potentially be one of these waiver wire success stories.”

Crabbs nailed a point that didn’t fully click for me until hearing him and Greenlee talk it through. The A-gap snaps are where Stackhouse fits, and Elliott didn’t have real competition at that spot from anyone who survived cuts.

The Robert Saleh and Matt LaFleur connection

There is a thread connecting Stackhouse to Saleh that makes this claim feel less random.

Stackhouse is just going into his second year out of Georgia. He was an undrafted free agent signed by Green Bay in 2025 and played in 13 games as a rookie, which is a solid showing for an undrafted defensive lineman. Saleh, of course, spent the back half of the 2024 season in Green Bay as a special offensive assistant to Matt LaFleur after the Jets fired him during the season. LaFleur is one of Saleh’s best friends.

Even if there’s no direct crossover between Stackhouse and Saleh in Green Bay, the connection to LaFleur is obvious. LaFleur had to cut Stackhouse after getting beat out for a roster spot in camp, but for a waiver claim you have to commit a roster spot and cut somebody else. I’m going to suspect Saleh got the download from LaFleur about what Stackhouse could bring.

The Titans now carry 11 defensive linemen on the 53-man roster, which sounds excessive. Rookie sixth-round pick Jackie Marshall spent much of training camp sidelined with an injury. Truman Jones provides additional depth at edge rusher alongside first-round pick Keldric Faulk. The depth is impressive, but I don’t know how long Tennessee can keep 11 of these players on the 53 once injuries inevitably stack up when the season begins.

For now, I think Stackhouse gives the Titans quality injury insurance and real competition for Elliott at a body type they needed more of. I like Elliott. I like the way this defensive line is setting up. Now they just have to go produce when the games count.