Tennessee reshaped its trenches by signing veterans Jalyn Holmes and Andre James, shaking up the center competition as Cam Ward finds his rhythm during mandatory minicamp.
The Tennessee Titans just held mandatory minicamp for the first time on Tuesday.
It was a chance for fans to see veterans like John Franklin-Myers, Cor'Dale Flott, Jeffery Simmons and Dan Moore Jr. at practice. Flott has been dealing with an injury lately, so he missed the last couple of weeks.
Quarterback Cam Ward looked more comfortable compared to last week, when he struggled and had a few rough practices.
With a few hours to go before practice, the Titans were busy making roster moves. According to Titans Insider Jim Wyatt, the team made four decisions.
The Titans signed former Washington Commanders defensive end Jalyn Holmes and former Los Angeles Chargers center Andre James. To make room for them, Tennessee waived defensive lineman C.J. Ravenell and released center Trey Hill.
Ravenell played his first year with the Titans last season. He was used as a reserve defensive lineman, with 14 games and one start. He accounted for six total tackles and one forced fumble.
Ravenell dealt with a toe injury late in the season, and it carried over to the offseason.
Hill joined the Titans this offseason after three years with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Holmes has multiple years of NFL experience under his belt, and, you guessed it, he played for Robert Saleh at the New York Jets.
Saleh and Holmes briefly overlapped at the Jets. Holmes played a full season with the Jets in 2023 and was eventually traded to the Commanders five games into the 2024 season.
So far in his career, Holmes has accounted for 104 total tackles, four sacks and 13 TFLs.
James has plenty of experience, too.
He started his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders in 2019 before they moved to Las Vegas. He worked his way into a starting center role in 2021 and held the position with the Raiders through the 2024 season.
However, James dealt with injuries in 2024 and played 13 games, including 11 starts. He then joined the Chargers and saw less playing time, appearing in 17 games with one start.
Holmes will definitely bring depth to edge rusher, but James may have just made things interesting with the offseason battle at center.
Austin Schlottmann and Pat Coogan were expected to be the ones competing for the starting job at center, but now James is in the mix. James has many more starts at center under his belt than Schlottmann, who had four during his time with Brian Daboll at the New York Giants.
While Schlottmann looked solid in his four starts, James is much more tenured. The road will be tougher for Coogan to win the job, but he has the support of General Manager Mike Borgonzi, who believes the Indiana Hoosiers product can compete for it.
We're still a couple of months away from training camp, but things could be heating up on the offensive line.
