What's Keeping Titans LB Cedric Gray Going in Diminishing Role

Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray entered his third season with the franchise after a breakout season. 

In 2025, he led the team with 164 total tackles and also accounted for seven TFLs, one sack and two forced fumbles. 

Just before the season opener, Gray was involved in a scary UTV accident during Labor Day Weekend. He sustained a concussion from the accident and was ruled out of the New York Jets game. 

This gave rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. an opportunity to step in and prove himself. He did just that against the Jets. 

Hill led the team with 16 total tackles in the 23-10 loss. 

Gray eventually cleared concussion protocol for the Philadelphia Eagles game. The Titans started Hill, Cody Barton, and Gray. 

Hill had another solid game, which started a trend with Gray. The Titans have used Gray less and less, based on snap counts over the past few weeks. 

Hill's usage has trended upwards, while Gray's has been down. It's clear that Gray's playing time has slowly decreased. 

The rookie linebacker has continued to string together solid performances, making it harder for the Titans to be motivated to put Gray out there more often. 

It must be frustrating for a veteran like Gray to lose playing time to a rookie, even if Hill has had an exciting start to his career with the Titans.

Hill is by no means a bad player. He is currently fifth in the NFL in total tackles (47) and leads the Titans. 

Gray recently spoke to the media about his experience. He is making sure to bet on himself and trust his faith. 

"Yeah, you know, it's funny you asked," Gray said. "I feel like one of the things I've been leaning on lately is just my faith. It's something that I've kind of been on to just, you know, mentally, you know, coming into the building and still putting 110% effort and still showing up competing and doing my role to the best that I can. Like you said, teams lose. Obviously, we want to win more games. I want to get more playing time, but, you know, none of that really matters at the end of the day. We got to get the job done." 

The veteran linebacker probably never would have imagined he'd be fighting for playing time at this point in the season. 

Hill has been a pleasant surprise for the Titans after being selected in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft out of Texas. Some predicted he would overtake Barton for a starting role, but not Gray. 

Gray went from being a consistent force in the linebacker room in 2025 to seeing his role decrease in 2026. 

Nothing is set in stone, obviously, with so many more games to go. Gray can reclaim his spot in the linebacker room, but it will be hard with Hill playing so well every week. 

The only thing that Gray can do is believe in himself and try to be the best version of himself every time he shows up at the Titans' facility. 

Gray's role will be something to monitor as we continue to go through the 2026 season. For now, the focus is on the Indianapolis Colts.