On Tuesday, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that the team has been giving cornerback Elijah Molden reps at safety this offseason.
Molden, who had a very good rookie campaign before seeing his sophomore season cut short due to injury, has played in the slot when healthy, but he was billed with the versatility to play safety as well coming out of college.
And it looks like Vrabel and the Titans are going to see if that’s the case.
This is significant for a few reasons, with the first being Molden will give himself a chance at more opportunities for playing time, which could be limited otherwise if the Titans deploy Roger McCreary in the slot.
On top of that, the Titans’ depth at the safety position is sorely lacking behind Amani Hooker and Kevin Byard, something that’s particularly a problem given Hooker’s inability to stay healthy the past two years.
Speaking of Byard: his status remains up in the air following his refusal to take a pay cut earlier this offseason. Adding to the drama of that, the veteran has not arrived at OTAs yet, which is a departure from years past.
Mike Vrabel admitted to working Elijah Molden in at the back of the defense (safety). Wanted to further give Molden another role outside of just nickel. #Titans
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) May 23, 2023
While I believe Byard will ultimately be with the Titans for all of 2023, there remains at least a slim chance he’s not on this team when the season starts, or perhaps during it if Tennessee falls out of contention and decides to deal him at the trade deadline.
Even if he remains on the team all year, things aren’t looking good for Byard’s future in Nashville, and the same can be said for Hooker, who may become a cut candidate in 2024 if he has another injury-plagued campaign.
If Molden can prove he’s capable, he’d give himself another avenue to get on the field while also becoming a reliable depth piece at the position. Perhaps most importantly, he’d give Tennessee an insurance policy for Byard or Hooker should the team move on from either player sooner or later.
