When the NFL schedule is released, the league inherently tells us what it thinks about how well a team may do in the coming year based on how many times it gets featured in a primetime window.
While each team used to play at least once on Thursday night, that’s no longer the case.
For 2025, the Titans, Saints, and Browns each do not have a primetime game.
Of those three teams, only Cleveland will play in a standalone window. The Browns will take on the Vikings in London in Week 5 at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network.
Otherwise, Cleveland has just two games that do not start at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday — a Week 11 home game against the Ravens (4:25 p.m. on CBS) and Week 12’s visit to Las Vegas (4:05 p.m. on CBS).
Tennessee plays all games on Sunday, with five games starting in the late-afternoon window. Of those, just one is in the Eastern or Central time zone, the club’s Week 8 visit to Indianapolis.
The Saints have six games starting in the late-afternoon window, with two of them visits to Seattle and Los Angeles.
With flexible scheduling, any of these three teams could play their way into a primetime slot later in the season.
With the NFL’s full 2025 schedule release on Wednesday, we now know where this year’s No. 1 overall pick will begin his pro career.
Quarterback Cam Ward and the Titans will play the Broncos on the road in Week 1 with a 4:05 p.m. ET start time on FOX.
Ward’s first home game will come the following week against the Rams at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, which means Tennessee’s first two 2025 opponents were in the postseason last year.
The Titans are not scheduled for any standalone games in 2025, though they do have two games currently in featured windows. In Week 8, Tennessee’s road matchup with Indianapolis is slated for 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. Then in Week 15, the Titans’ road matchup with the 49ers is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.
Additionally, Tennessee’s Aug. 22 preseason matchup with Minnesota will be broadcast nationally on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.
The Titans made several roster moves Tuesday.
The team announced it has signed veteran cornerback Amani Oruwariye and veteran defensive lineman Carlos Watkins. Oruwariye’s agreement previously was reported.
The Titans also claimed linebacker Amari Burney off waivers.
They cut defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson and cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr.
Watkins, 31, spent last season with the Commanders and the Cowboys. Dallas claimed him off waivers on Sept. 18 after he had played one game with Washington, and Watkins was on the field in 15 games for the Cowboys.
He has played 87 career games, with 37 starts, and has totaled 151 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and eight quarterback hits.
Watkins, a fourth-round pick of the Texans in 2017, has spent time with the Texans (2017-20), Cowboys (2021-22, ’24), Cardinals (2023), Rams (2024) and Commanders (2024).
Burney recently was waived by the Raiders, and the Titans are first in the NFL’s claiming order.
The Raiders made Burney a sixth-round pick in 2023, and he played 24 games the past two seasons, including all 17 games in 2024.
Burney has registered 32 tackles, including three for a loss, and a quarterback hit.
The Titans are adding a veteran cornerback.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Amani Oruwariye has agreed to sign with Tennessee.
Oruwariye, 29, spent last season with the Cowboys, playing seven games with four starts. He finished the season with 29 total tackles with three passes defensed.
A Lions fifth-round pick in 2019, Oruwariye has appeared in 61 career games with 40 starts for Detroit, Jacksonville, and Dallas. He’s recorded 27 passes defensed with 10 interceptions.
The Titans have announced a few roster moves on Monday.
The club signed tight end Drake Dabney and receiver TJ Sheffield. Both players participated in Tennessee’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
Sheffield’s signing was previously reported earlier in the day.
Dabney played his college ball at TCU in 2024 after transferring from Baylor. He caught 19 passes for 193 yards last season.
As corresponding moves, Tennessee waived cornerback Virgil Lemons and safety Jerrin Thompson. Both players had recently joined the team as undrafted free agents.
