Tennessee bolsters its roster depth by adding undrafted free agents to replace key contributors lost to season-ending pectoral and ACL injuries.
With the season-ending injuries to Tennessee Titans edge rusher Jaylen Harrell and tight end Jaren Kanak, the team needed to find two players to fill their spots on the 90-man roster.
The Titans placed both of them on the injured reserve on Sunday. Kanak is done for the year with the torn pectoral, and Harrell tore his ACL, ending his season as well.
It's really sad that both of those guys are now out. Harrell was already trying to learn edge rusher after being an outside linebacker for most of his Titans career. The Titans are moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 under Robert Saleh, meaning that outside linebackers are a thing of the past and will now line up as edge rushers.
Kanak played one snap on offense before going down with his injury. He was fighting for a spot in the tight end rotation with Kylen Granson, David Martin-Robinson and Joel Wilson.
It wasn't long before Titans insider Jim Wyatt revealed who the franchise signed to fill the spots left by Kanak and Harrell on the roster. The Titans have signed tight end Matt Lauter and running back Dominic Richardson.
Lauter is an undrafted free agent out of Boise State. He played four seasons for the Broncos and finished his college career with 1,146 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Titans aren't Lauter's first NFL team.
He initially signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after not being picked in the 2026 NFL Draft in April. The Raiders decided to waive him just two days after signing him.
Richardson is also an undrafted free agent. He spent his college career with three different teams.
Richardson started out at Oklahoma State in 2020. He played three years there, but never really broke into the starting rotation at running back. He then transferred to Baylor in 2023, where it was more of the same.
The running back played in 11 games in his first season with Baylor, then only played in four games the next year. Richardson was sidelined for the 2024 season due to limited playing time and injury concerns.
He used his final year of eligibility to transfer to Tulsa, where he finally got what he wanted. Richardson played in all 12 games and finished the year with 1,065 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Richardson signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a UDFA and was waived in early August.
Both players have a chance to see action against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 23. Kalel Mullings is still recovering from a hip injury, and Lauter should be in the mix for a rotational role at tight end.
We'll see how much playing time these two get on Sunday, as the Titans kick off against the Seahawks from Nissan Stadium at 7 p.m. CT on Fox.
