Titans make roster cuts following preseason finale against Bears
NASHVILLE, Tn. – Saturday evening, the Tennessee Titans ended the 2026 preseason falling 24-15 to the Chicago Bears in Nissan Stadium.
Just under 24 hours later, the team released it’s initial 53-man roster for the regular season.*
For some, the action against the Bears, and in prior preseason games, was enough to land back in the building.
Running back Julius Chestnut, a former undrafted free agent who’s been with the team since 2022, was in that mix.
Although Chestnut falls a little lower within the RB depth chart, his energy and intensity in the special teams unit made him a lock on the team.
“When I first got here, I was playing behind Derrick (Henry), and he’s gonna get all the carries, you know, as he should. He’s one of the greatest ever, I believe. When I dealt with that, it was just an adjustment. You’re not gonna get all the carries, it is what it is. Just go out there when you get the opportunity and show what you can do,” Chestnut said on Saturday. “In the preseason, that’s when I get my opportunity, so I just try to go out there and ball.”
For others, performance in the preseason just wasn’t where it needed to be, or at least where the organization felt reasonable keeping a spot open.
Quarterback Will Levis falls into that category.
Levis, the 33rd overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, had spent three seasons with the Titans, appearing and starting in 21 games.
Over that time, a combination of his play, his health, and the overall trajectory of the organization led to a revamped QB room and his departure from the franchise.
“(I’m) very, very grateful. Miss Amy brought me in here and welcomed me with open arms as well as everyone else here in Nashville and with the team, and I was able to grow a lot just throughout the couple seasons that we had while I was playing here and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Levis said postgame Saturday night, hours before he was waived by the Titans.
“This is always the hardest part of camp. There’s so many guys who you know you’re telling them for last time that it’s probably over versus there’s some guys who you just know will get claimed or you know their career’s not over, and those conversations, those are hard conversations regardless of who you have them with,” Titans head coach Robert Saleh said on Saturday. “It’s been over 20 years in this league (for me) and it never gets easier.”
Now the countdown is on, with Week 1 of the regular season officially up next.
The Titans will have one more Sunday off before they welcome the New York Jets to town to open a new year.
Kickoff in the season opener is scheduled for noon CT on Sunday, September 13.
*The initial roster has since seen changes, with some members of the list been released/waived and others previously not listed added to the team’s practice squad.
