The Lions added a couple of veterans on the defensive side of the ball on Wednesday.
They announced the signings of linebacker Joe Bachie and defensive lineman Jay Tufele to their 90-man roster.
Bachie split last season between the Colts and Titans. He had 26 tackles in five starts for Indianapolis and three tackles in 10 appearances with Tennessee. He spent the previous four seasons with the Bengals and played for the Eagles during his rookie campaign.
Tufele visited with the team earlier this month. He had 12 tackles in 12 games for the Jets in 2025 and was teammates with Bachie in Cincinnati for the previous three years.
Titans executive Chad Brinker has tendered his resignation.
“It has been an honor to serve as president of football operations of the Tennessee Titans,” Brinker said in a statement. “Over the years, I’ve understood and embraced my role as the leader of the football strategy, but as I’ve spent less time in personnel, I have a renewed conviction that it is time to return to what I love and move towards my next chapter. I’m grateful for Amy [Adams Strunk’s] understanding in my decision, and for allowing me to pursue other opportunities.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the past three years — under challenging circumstances — to begin the process of getting the Titans football organization back on track, not the least of which was last year’s General Manager search. I believe the Titans have exceptional people and long-term stability at the General Manager position and throughout the scouting department. While there is work to be done, I believe we’ve laid the foundation to restore the Titans to their rightful place as a sustainable, winning program.
“My family and I will always be grateful for Amy’s belief and trust in me, and for our time in Tennessee.”
Brinker joined the Titans in 2023 as assistant General Manager, and a year later, the team promoted him to president of football operations. Brinker provided executive leadership and direct oversight for the entire football staff, and he reported directly to Strunk.
It was Brinker who led the search and hiring process when the team tabbed Mike Borgonzi as General Manager in January 2025.
During his time with the Titans, Brinker also reshaped and refined the foundation of the team’s analytics department while playing a role in the offseason strategies for player acquisitions in both free agency and the draft.
“When we first met Chad, it was clear he was an exceptional talent with deep knowledge of the game and the ability to connect big-picture strategy to execution,” Strunk said in a statement. “While it is difficult to lose him, I understand his decision and will do whatever I can to support him. I wish he, Rachelle, and their family the absolute best as they prepare for what’s next and thank them for their dedication and loyalty to the Tennessee Titans.”
Brinker previously spent 13 years with the Packers in a variety of roles as a talent evaluator and strategic counselor to Packers leadership.
When the Titans were on the clock with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the consensus in their draft room was that wide receiver Carnell Tate was the player to pick.
Titans assistant GM Dave Ziegler said today that the team’s decision-makers were all on board with the kind of contribution they thought they could expect from Tate.
“At the end of the day with Carnell,” Ziegler said, “we just had a very good, consensus vision on what he is going to do, where he is going to play, how he is going to fit in and what he is going to bring to this team. We feel we are really getting a complete three-down player. . . . He was a clear guy for us to take and we are really excited about it.”
Tate is a big-play receiver who averaged 17.2 yards per catch and scored nine touchdowns last season at Ohio State. The Titans hope he and Cam Ward are making big plays together for years to come.
The Titans’ offensive line is not a finished product, even with the draft and free agency in the rear-view mirror.
Titans assistant GM Dave Ziegler said today that the offensive line is still an area of the team where the Titans think they can add players with the potential to play.
“There’s a level of competition that’s still going to be taking place there,” Ziegler said. “Whether it’s offensive line or other positions, we’ll continue to look to improve. Free agency is over and the draft is over, but there’s still an element of different areas of the team we will continue to add competition to. Offensive line will be one of those positions, along with some others. We’re going to give those guys an opportunity, they have the opportunity this spring, to prove themselves and earn the trust of the offensive staff, and have an opportunity to secure a role, but we’re also going to bring competition in, and if we can improve a position we’ll improve it.”
The Titans additions to the offensive line this offseason included center Austin Schlottman, guard Cordell Volson and tackle Austin Deculus in free agency, and guard Fernando Carmona and center Pat Coogan in the draft. More could be coming.
“We’re excited about the group that we have,” Ziegler said. “But understand that we’re going to look to bring competition in.”
ESPN won’t comment on whether it will be reviewing the reporting of former ESPN (and The Athletic) reporter Dianna Russini, given the photos published last week of Russini with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel in March 2020. That won’t stop others from reviewing her reporting as to matters relating to Vrabel’s team at the time.
As it relates to the 2021 trade that sent receiver Julio Jones from the Falcons to the Titans, it’s fair to wonder whether the reporting was calculated to help Tennessee secure the player under the most favorable terms.
Tony Farmer, who has been extensively covering the situation on Twitter, has found another report that objectively merits scrutiny.
As Farmer notes, Russini reported — only four days after the March 2020 photos reportedly were taken — that the Titans were “not interested” in quarterback Tom Brady, and that they were instead focused on extending the contract of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who had been named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2019.
While this item lacks the potential strategic benefits to the Titans of the Julio Jones reporting, it’s another bread crumb on a trail that people are now examining. And it’s fair to question whether the Titans were simply putting a positive P.R. spin on the possibility that the Brady had said “no thanks” to the Titans before the Titans created the impression that they were saying “no thanks” to Brady.
Although the 2020 negotiating window had not yet opened, rampant Brady tampering was happening. Teams were talking to him (and about him) before the official window for talking to him (or about him) had opened. It’s not unreasonable to think that, by March 15, he had crossed Tennessee off the list.
For now, it’s another piece of a puzzle that spans at least six years. And it underscores the reality that the NFL insider game isn’t about gumshoe reporting. It’s about leveraging the right relationships in order to be in position to be handed key pieces information, sometimes in ways that potentially benefit the source.
This latest nugget also helps explain ESPN’s relative silence regarding the entire story. ESPN largely ignored it until it had no choice but to cover it. While some have suggested it’s a result of the NFL’s recent acquisition of a 10-percent stake in ESPN, it’s possible ESPN doesn’t want to face the question of what it knew, and when it knew it.
