Titans Send Confusing Message By Cutting Preseason Starter: Why Corey Levin was released, what it means for Lloyd Cushenberry
The Tennessee Titans have jumped through the many hoops of roster cutdown week, and along the way we’ve seen some transactions that don’t immediately make much sense. They began making cuts on Monday, had their initial roster finalized by 3:00pm CDT on Tuesday, made some waiver claims and veteran signings by 11:00am CDT Wednesday, and […]
The Tennessee Titans have jumped through the many hoops of roster cutdown week, and along the way we’ve seen some transactions that don’t immediately make much sense. They began making cuts on Monday, had their initial roster finalized by 3:00pm CDT on Tuesday, made some waiver claims and veteran signings by 11:00am CDT Wednesday, and have engaged in some roster gymnastics all along the way to get this team to where they want it ahead of opening day. Take a peek at how the roster has already changed in just the first 24 hours of being down to 53 players:
Through it all, one of the most volatile positions has been the offensive line. They kept a shocking 11 linemen initially, keeping every last serviceable tackle on their active roster in an act of biblical greed. Teams across the league are desperate for tackles, and the Titans wisely hoarded theirs to shield them from waiver wire exposure. Read more on that linked here. But keeping that many linemen was never going to be a long-term situation. It was clear from the moment this was announced that roster gymnastics were at play. What most folks didn’t expect, though, was to see Corey Levin fall victim to them.
Why The Titans Cut Corey Levin
What’s going on here? Corey Levin was the Titans starting center all through training camp. He was praised by his coaches at every turn, has provided this team valuable reserve offensive line ability for years at this point, and was even expected to potentially start the first game or two in place of a recovering Lloyd Cushenberry. He was written in pen as a roster lock on everybody’s roster projection. Now he’s gone?
No. For starters, Levin is on the Titans practice squad (full list of those guys right here, by the way). That’s not quite official yet, but it’s been reported multiple times on Wednesday and I can confirm that it is happening. Perhaps the transaction has already been made by the time you’re reading this. If not, it’s coming soon.
Still, he’s this team’s backup center. And the starter he’s backing up is coming off of a pretty devastating injury (Achilles tear), which isn’t something you can just assume is a sure thing in his first season back. Does this mean rookie Jackson Slater is the backup center? No, Corey Levin is still that guy for the Titans. This is just more roster gymnastics with the help of a willing vested veteran. This has sort of become Levin’s thing in Tennessee, by the way. He’s been a part of more roster transactions than I can count. I specifically remember a time when he was cut one morning, we reported it, and then I walked into the Titans locker room to find him gearing up for practice.
So what’s causing his vested veteran status to be leveraged this time? UDFA rookie OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
Hiding Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson On the Active Roster
The answer to all of your questions this year is “hoarding tackles”. Crenshaw-Dickson was made the 11th and most surprising OL inclusion on the initial roster, and Tennessee continues to hide him there because of the interest he would garner if he hit waivers during cutdown week. The coaching staff and front office gave him a surprising chunk of money to sign in the first place, and have been even further impressed with him through Training Camp. Put simply, they can cut Levin without worrying they’ll lose him. They can’t do the same with Crenshaw-Dickson, who is subject to waivers and would likely be poached right now.
So the team surely had a discussion with Levin well in advance of this situation, and an agreement was made. Teams across the league do this every year. The hope is to retain Crenshaw-Dickson on the practice squad, where he can develop for a year. If that means keeping him on the active roster until after Week 1–or perhaps a week or two longer than that—then so be it.
I believe Levin will be a practice squad elevation on opening weekend, and probably end up back on the active roster once the Crenshaw-Dickson situation pans out. He is, after all, still this team’s backup center.
Lloyd Cushenberry’s Week 1 Status
None of this would be possible, however, without a starting center you’re at least somewhat confident will play in Week 1. Despite being a case of roster gymnastics, this is still a reflection on how the team expects starter Lloyd Cushenberry’s recovery timeline to pan out.
The coaching staff has spoken confidently about his progress coming back from an Achilles last year, and right now the plan is still for him to make his 2025 debut against the Broncos in Denver.
