Mohamoud Diabate’s move to the practice squad clears a direct path for a rookie to seize a high-impact role in the defensive rotation.
Tennessee Titans fans went through a rollercoaster of emotions recently.
One feel-good story this offseason has been the resurgence of receiver Xavier Restrepo. I wrote about his journey in my previous article.
Restrepo had a solid college career but underperformed at Miami's Pro Day due to hamstring issues. He then went undrafted in 2025 and joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent.
He worked very hard to get back to his standard and had a good preseason. He initially made the 53-man roster but was waived on Monday. Luckily, the Titans just wanted him to clear waivers and signed him to the practice squad on Wednesday.
Restrepo's story has been great to follow, but something else caught my eye when looking at who else the Titans put on the practice squad that day.
Aside from Restrepo, the Titans added Jerrick Reed II, Erick Hallett II and Mohamoud Diabate. They also waived Hank Beatty, Derrick Canteen and Mani Powell to make room for the moves, per Titans insider Jim Wyatt.
The decision to put Diabate on the practice squad stood out to me.
Diabate was very active in the second preseason game with the Seattle Seahawks. He recorded four total tackles and 0.5 sacks.
He was even listed ahead of Anthony Hill Jr. on the initial preseason depth chart.
Diabate isn't a bad player by any means.
Before joining the Titans, he spent three years with the Cleveland Browns. His best season was in 2024, when he recorded 70 total tackles and five tackles for loss.
At first, it didn't make sense to me that the Titans wouldn't at least keep him around as a rotational linebacker. Then, I realized why the Titans could have wanted to make that move.
It has to do Hill, the promising rookie out of Texas.
Diabate did have his moments in the preseason, but Hill overshadowed him in the second game.
Hill had seven total tackles and one interception.
In my eyes, if the Titans are putting Diabate on the practice squad, it could signal that Hill will have a bigger role.
Hill may not be a starter for the Titans off the bat, but he will now be one of the first names called off the bench. The linebackers for the Titans now include Cody Barton, Cedric Gray, Hill and Owen Pappoe.
This puts the rookie in a position to potentially overtake Barton now that Diabate is no longer on the active roster.
With Barton, the Titans can continue using him as the middle linebacker until Robert Saleh is ready for Hill to take over.
Moving Diabate to the practice squad might seem like a small, insignificant move at first, but it could really open a door for a player like Hill.
There's now one less player in the linebacker room that Hill has to compete with for snaps.
This could be the start of something great for Hill.
