The Tennessee Titans are reportedly set to allow one of their restricted free-agent wide receivers to hit the open market when the new league year begins Wednesday.
According to Terry McCormick of Titan Insider, Tennessee will not place a tender on wideout Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. This means NWI will be free to sign with any team at 4 p.m. ET on the 15th.
Had the Titans placed the $2.6 million tender on the 2020 UDFA, it would have given them the opportunity to match any offer sheet Westbrook-Ikhine signed with another team, thus giving them some semblance of control.
However, if no offer sheet was signed, the Titans would’ve been on the hook for the $2.6 million, which is too rich for a player like NWI. It’s possible Tennessee will still bring him back at a cheaper price, though.
With Westbrook-Ikhine possibly heading for the exit, the Titans have two of their starting receivers to replace from last season in he and Robert Woods, who now resides with the Houston Texans.
With injuries and a lack of depth, NWI was forced into a bigger role than he should’ve had in 2022, but despite playing in one more game and over 100 more snaps than the year prior, the Indiana product actually saw a drop in production and was very much part of Tennessee’s issues at wide receiver.
Going into this offseason, the Titans needed a major overhaul of their wide receiver corps. after a dismal 2022 campaign. Cutting loose NWI and Woods is not surprising in the least, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the former brought back for a much lesser role than what he had last year.
