Once the Tennessee Titans’ season came to an end and we started looking ahead to the 2023 offseason, one of the bigger question marks was center Ben Jones, who many thought could retire.
The 33-year-old suffered multiple concussions in 2022, leading to the veteran missing five games, marking the first time in his career he missed more than one contest in a season.
The overwhelming thought was that if Jones did return for another season, it would certainly be to Nashville, whether on his current deal or on an extended or restructured one.
Tennessee was heading for a rebuild of the offensive line no matter what, but Jones was one of the few retainable players from the 2022 group, a unit that was arguably the NFL’s worst.
And that was really the case with Jones for his Titans tenure. He was as consistent as they come, and Jones always played at a high level, even with everything and everyone going down around him with injuries and whatnot.
Sure, the age was a concern with Jones, but he didn’t display any signs of slowing down last season when not sidelined by the concussion, and he only had one more year left on his deal.
While all the signs were there that Jones would be someone the franchise would want to hang on to amidst an offensive line rebuild, it appears the Titans didn’t have that intention.
According to AtoZ Sports Nashville’s Buck Reising, who broke the news of Jones’ impending release, the Titans gave Jones the option to either retire or be released, and obviously Jones chose to be released.
“Jones was given the option to retire or be released by Tennessee and chose the latter option,” Reising wrote.
With so many question marks upfront, it’s hard to fathom the Titans parting ways with the one certainty and a player that embodied everything head coach Mike Vrabel wants his team to be.
And it’s not like cutting Jones is saving a boatload of money, either. Granted, the $3.7 million savings is notable with Tennessee’s cap situation, but not enough to fully get behind the move.
While this might look like a move a rebuilding team would make, it’s important to note that the Titans are cutting Jones pre-June 1, which saves less money but enables them to use the funds saved right away, an ideal scenario for a retooling team.
Maybe the pre-June 1 decision is the Titans doing Jones a favor by letting him out of a rebuild and giving him a chance to sign with a team quicker, something he’s earned.
It’s also possible this is simply a cost-cutting measure and a move the Titans are making with a cheaper replacement in mind, like Aaron Brewer, who the Titans may think will be better at center than left guard, where he struggled in 2022.
I don’t think anyone can say definitively what this move signifies, but it does muddy the rebuild/retool waters at least a bit after I made the argument prior to the unexpected release of Jones that cutting Bud Dupree pre-June 1 was a sign the team isn’t rebuilding.
Whatever the case may be, with Jones gone, an already daunting task of fixing the offensive line just became even more difficult.
