Robert Saleh Shares Titans' Plans for Alontae Taylor in Week 7

The Tennessee Titans are trying to find out where to best use cornerback Alontae Taylor. 

Taylor joined the team in free agency, signing a three-year, $58 million deal per Spotrac. Taylor has not lived up to expectations thus far. 

Now, the Titans are weighing the options on where to play him. The team benched him in Week 6, which Robert Saleh described as an opportunity for Taylor to reset. 

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley later said at a press conference that the team was looking into all options when asked whether Taylor would play outside or inside cornerback. 

Before coming to the Titans, Taylor played for the New Orleans Saints from 2022-25. He played mostly slot corner in New Orleans, but with the Titans, he's transitioned to playing on the outside. 

This has been a change of pace for Taylor and definitely isn't what he's used to. 

It sounds like the team is trying to work with Taylor to find the best spot for him, especially after what Robert Saleh said at Friday's press conference. He was asked how Taylor was doing and shared that the cornerback will be getting reps at nickel in the near future. 

"You know, he played both nickel and corner, and I've always been a big, firm believer that if you can just play one position, let's see how good you can get," Saleh said. "But at the end of the day, he got here because of the ability to play nickel, and we felt like he could still go play corner, and he can go play corner. He still can, but at the same time, there's just a, you know, what is his fastball? And as coaches, we've gotta recognize what his fastball is. I mean, shoot, the highest-paid corner in the NFL plays nickel only over there in Seattle. So, he's very talented in that regard. And he's not just going to play nickel. I just want to make sure he can still play corner, and he's done a lot of really good things for us." 

If the Titans start giving Taylor more looks at nickel corner, it puts the team in an interesting spot. Lately, Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott have been the corners, and Marcus Harris has been the starting nickel. 

So, if the Titans move Taylor to his natural nickel position, what do they do with Harris? Does Harris then move to the outside? Or does he start coming off the bench as a relief option? 

There's also a chance Taylor rotates in at nickel corner, and if so, the Titans need to find another player to start on the outside with Flott. 

There are a lot of ways that the Titans can mix and match things in the secondary based on this recent admission from Saleh. 

Erick Hallet just returned to the practice squad, so the reserve corners right now are Micah Robinson and Jaylon Jones. Robinson has started one game this season, and Jones hasn't played meaningful snaps in two years. 

One thing we do know is that Taylor had a lot of success when he played nickel for the Saints. It's why he ended up at the Titans in free agency. 

Taylor had 293 total tackles, four interceptions, seven sacks and 21 TFLs from his time with New Orleans. 

This decision could have ripple effects in the secondary as the Titans try to find the right cornerback combination. Sunday will show us how the Titans plan to approach this going forward. 

All eyes will be on Taylor on Sunday as the Titans take on the Cleveland Browns.