The Tennessee Titans’ offseason is off and running with the team making four huge roster cuts on Wednesday.

Titans ILB Zach Cunningham is the latest player the team has released, following in the footsteps of LT Taylor Lewan, WR Robert Woods and K Randy Bullock.

JUST IN: #Titans have released LB Zach Cunningham pic.twitter.com/Ep9c6MhowW

— AtoZ Sports Nashville (@AtoZSports) February 22, 2023

Tennessee wasn’t left much of a choice with Cunningham, who would have carried a $13.4 million cap hit into 2023.

The former Vanderbilt standout signed with the Titans in the middle of the 2021 season. Cunningham made his way to Tennessee after spending over four seasons with the Houston Texans where he played under the direction of Mike Vrabel.

Cunningham was a part of the Texans pipeline that Vrabel has established since taking the head coaching gig with the Titans. However, this experiment didn’t go quite as planned.

Injuries contributed to Cunningham’s diminished role in the middle of the defense during the 2022 season. He started in each of his six games played this past season, compiling just 24 tackles on the year. It’s likely that Cunningham’s departure could have a ripple effect for the Titans.

What It Means

David Long Jr. is set to hit free agency when the NFL’s new league year officially begins in March. But without Cunningham, and young guys like Monty Rice and Jack Gibbens lacking experience, re-signing Long should become a priority for general manager Ran Carthon.

Long’s development over his four seasons with Tennessee certainly makes sense for the team to retain his services. However, Long’s durability must improve after playing just 22 games in the last two seasons.

Tennessee ultimately ends up saving nearly $9 million by cutting Cunningham. The Titans currently have the 13th-most cap space in the NFL ($12.408 million) after beginning the day roughly $23 million over the cap, per Over The Cap.

Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK