The Commanders announced the signing of defensive tackle Byron Cowart on Tuesday morning and they added another player to the defense in the afternoon.
Linebacker Curtis Jacobs is the newest addition to the 90-man roster in Washington. The Commanders cut two players when they signed Cowart, so they did not need to make any more corresponding moves.
Jacobs appeared in three games for the Titans last season and played 39 special teams snaps. He had four tackles in nine games for the Patriots in 2024.
Jacobs’s most recent playing time came with the UFL’s DC Defenders. He had 42 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery in 10 games.
Titans Clips
The Titans plan to play their starters in Thursday’s preseason opener against the 49ers, but they won’t have many first-stringers lined up against them.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said at a press conference on Tuesday that the team will be sitting most of its starters.
“There won’t be many starters playing,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see, with injuries today and stuff — and that doesn’t mean none. But we’ve got to balance that out. We haven’t told the players yet, so we’ll wait until we do that with them this afternoon.”
Shanahan’s decision was likely impacted by Tuesday’s joint practice between the teams, but the 49ers have several players that would likely be sitting due to injury even if they went with a different plan. Wide receiver Mike Evans suited up for practice on Tuesday for the first time in over a week while running back Christian McCaffrey and defensive end Nick Bosa headlined the list of players who remained out.
The Bears signed defensive back Xavier Woods, the team announced Friday.
In a corresponding move, the Bears placed defensive back Dallis Flowers on injured reserve.
Flowers needed help getting off the field during Thursday’s practice after injuring his right leg. He appeared in one game for the Bears last season.
Woods, 31, spent last season with the Titans. He played 526 defensive snaps in 11 games, 10 of those starts, and totaled 39 tackles, two interceptions and three passes defensed.
The Cowboys selected Woods in the sixth round in 2017, and he spent four seasons in Dallas. Woods also played for the Vikings and Panthers before landing in Tennessee last season.
The Titans have made a significant commitment to one of their key offensive players.
Guard Peter Skoronski has signed a contract extension, the team announced on Friday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports the deal is for four years and $100 million, with $88 million guaranteed, which makes him the league’s highest-paid guard.
“We couldn’t be happier to keep Peter in Nashville. The goal will always be to retain people and players who are cornerstones of our organization, and Peter is certainly that for us,” General Manager Mike Borgonzi said in a statement from the team. “He has the work ethic to match his talent and a perpetual desire to win that we want permeating throughout our building. We’re excited to enter the season knowing he and his family will remain Titans for years to come.”
“This is a tremendous blessing. It’s a reflection of the work, sacrifice and support that has helped me get to this point, and I don’t take any of it for granted,” Skoronski said in a statement released by the team. “Thank you to Ms. Amy [Adams Strunk], Mike Borgonzi and coach [Robert] Saleh for believing in me. From the moment I got here, this is where I wanted to be. I love this organization, I love this city, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue representing this franchise. I appreciate the faith they’ve shown in me, and now it’s my job to earn it every day. I’m excited for what’s ahead, but more than anything, I’m ready to get back to work.”
The No. 11 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Skoronski has started 48 games over the last three seasons, including all 17 in each of the last two.
The Titans had picked up his fifth-year option in the spring, which put him in line to earn $19.072 million guaranteed in 2027.
The Titans made a change to their linebacker group on Thursday.
They announced that they have signed Dominique Hampton to the active roster. Shad Banks was waived with an injury designation in a corresponding move.
Hampton was a fifth-round pick by the Commanders in 2024 and he moved from safety to linebacker as a rookie. He played six special teams snaps in his only regular season appearance with the team and spent time with the Bears this offseason.
Banks signed with the Titans after going undrafted out of UTSA this April. If he clears waivers, he will revert to the team’s injured reserve list.
Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons made an early exit from Titans practice on Tuesday, but it wasn’t because of an injury.
Simmons was sent off by head coach Robert Saleh for throwing a punch at right tackle JC Latham. Simmons was wrapped up with center Austin Schlottman before throwing the punch and he was taken out of the fracas by assistant defensive line coach Tanzel Smart.
“Our policy is if you throw a punch you’re ejected in the game, same thing with practice,” Saleh said, via Teresa Walker of the Associated Press. “If you throw punch, you’re out of practice. But rather than going to the locker room, he went to the other field. He still got his work in. So the projected reps and the work that he would have gotten, he got in off to the side.”
Saleh said that he wants the Titans to “toe a line of being aggressive and call it instigating if you want.” Simmons crossed that line on Tuesday and the Titans were down a key player on their defense for the rest of the workout.
Former NFL linebacker Jerry Wayne Hopkins has died at 85. His funeral was Monday in Hillsboro, Texas.
(Hopkins is on the left in the photo.)
He played center and linebacker at Texas A&M from 1960-62, earning first-team All-Southwest Conference honors in his final college season. Hopkins played in three college all-star games — Blue-Gray Game, the Southwest Challenge Bowl and the All-American Classic.
The Houston Oilers selected Hopkins in the fourth round of the AFL draft in 1963. He played four seasons for the Broncos, one for the Dolphins and one for the Raiders.
Hopkins had a team-leading eight sacks in 1964 with the Broncos.
After his retirement, Hopkins owned and operated Hopkins Oil Company.
He is survived by his wife, Joan Brooks Hopkins; his son, Jerry Hopkins, Jr. (Ali); his daughter, Allison Hopkins; his granddaughter, Parker Hopkins; and his sister, Judy Baker (Buddy).
The Cardinals claimed two players off waivers on Monday, according to the NFL’s personnel notice.
Running back Evan Hull and defensive tackle Cam Horsley now are Cardinals.
In corresponding moves, the Cardinals waived defensive tackle Coziah Izzard and wide receiver Tejhuan Palmer.
The Texans released Hull, who was a fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2023. He also has spent time with the Steelers and Saints.
In 2025, he appeared in six games for the Saints and rushed for 48 yards on 19 carries and caught one pass for 6 yards.
He has played eight career games.
Horsely signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and appeared in one game as a rookie, playing 14 defensive snaps.
The Titans waived him Sunday.
Calvin Ridley took a pay cut to remain with the Titans this offseason, but it wasn’t because he thinks he’s lost the ability that made him an offensive threat in past seasons.
Ridley only played seven games before he fractured his fibula last season and he had 17 catches in those games, which had him on track for his least productive full season since entering the NFL. Ridley said over the weekend that neither those results nor the injury have left him questioning if he can keep pace.
“Hell yeah,” Ridley said, via the team’s website. "[I] can still beat all of them, still as fast as all of them. . . . If I stay healthy, I am going to be a good player on this team. I am going to contribute on this team.”
Ridley is the most experienced member of the Titans’ receiving corps and he explained why he’s been able to act as a mentor to younger teammates like Carnell Tate, Chimere Dike, and Elic Ayomanor.
“That’s because I used to kick ass,” Ridley said. “And I still can.”
The Titans would love to see Ridley get back to his old ways as they try to make a jump up the standings in quarterback Cam Ward’s second season.
The Titans have two new defensive tackles in camp.
The team announced the signings of Khalen Saunders and Laki Tasi on Sunday afternoon. They also confirmed the previously reported signing of defensive back Derrick Canteen.
Saunders played for the Jets and Jaguars in 2025. He had 12 tackles and a sack in nine games for the two AFC teams. The 2019 third-round pick has also played for the Chiefs and Saints.
Tasi grew up as a rugby player in Australia and spent time on the Raiders’ practice squad last season. He is exempt from the 90-man roster limit as an international player.
The Titans waived safety Hudson Clark, defensive lineman David Ebuka Agoha, and defensive lineman Cam Horsley in corresponding moves.
