The Titans’ top edge-rusher for nearly his entire career, Harold Landry is now available in free agency. After giving Landry permission to seek a trade during Combine week, the Titans are cutting him, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.
Landry joins Joey Bosa and Jonathan Allen as standout pass-rushers cut this week. A year younger than both, Landry stands to generate considerable interest ahead of his age-29 season. Landry made it back from the ACL tear that wiped out his 2022 season, having played in all 34 Titans games since coming back.
As the Titans repeatedly tried to find outside help to complement Landry — from Vic Beasley to Cameron Wake to Jadeveon Clowney to Bud Dupree — the team could not find a solid complementary rusher. Arden Key remains in Tennessee, and he has been the best of this bunch, totaling 12.5 sacks over the past two seasons. But the Titans now have work to do at OLB, with Landry anchoring this group since becoming a 2018 second-round pick.
The Landry cut, assuming no post-June 1 designation is on tap, will save the Titans $10.95M while leaving $13.1M in dead money. No guaranteed salary remained on Landry’s five-year, $87.5M deal, but two years of signing bonus proration will leave the dead cap. This move will bump the Titans beyond $60M in cap space.
Cutting Landry with two years left on his deal signals big-picture changes for a team coming off a 3-14 season. The Titans are now two GMs removed from the one (Jon Robinson) who authorized Landry’s extension, with the team hiring Mike Borgonzi to work with Chad Brinker (after Ran Carthon‘s ouster) this offseason.
Chosen 41st overall out of Boston College, Landry teamed with 2019 first-rounder Jeffery Simmons to form a quality inside-outside tandem. The Titans paid both, but Simmons is all that remains from the pass rush that sacked Joe Burrow nine times during a narrow Tennessee divisional-round loss three seasons ago. Landry posted a career-high 12 sacks that year, leading the Titans to pay him just before he hit free agency. While the ACL tear sapped his momentum, Landry had inked his extension months before going down.
Landry posted 10.5 sacks in 2023, also posting his second-most QB hits (21) that season. He tallied nine sacks, including a safety, in 2024. That production did not exactly matter much for the Titans, who obtained the No. 1 pick after their downward spiral continued. Although Landry has only forced three career fumbles, the productive OLB has 50.5 career sacks despite missing all of 2022. Landry will join Bosa, Josh Sweat and Khalil Mack as productive veteran OLBs seeking third contracts in free agency.
Players given permission to shop at the Combine are starting to be released or traded. The 49ers found a taker for Deebo Samuel, while the Rams reunited Jonah Jackson with his former OC (new Bears HC Ben Johnson). Others in this position have been released (Allen, Landry, Rayshawn Jenkins) so far. More such resolutions are coming, with the 2025 league year starting Wednesday.
