Clowney arrives as Titans trim roster to 53
Plus, Ja Morant takes home Rookie of the Year and College Football is back!
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The Titans, who were this week’s Nashville Scene cover story subjects, had a busy week. The biggest news came from the long-awaited signing of Jadeveon Clowney, former Pro Bowl DE/OLB most recently with the Seattle Seahawks. Clowney is a big name in the NFL and some experts think he could be what puts the underrated Titans defense over the top.
In what could prove to be an even more valuable move, the Titans signed longtime Patriots kicker and former Memphis Tiger Stephen Gostkowski. The kicking game was an absolute dumpster fire for the Titans last season, by far their biggest weakness. Adding a 4-time Pro Bowler should help.
It was cut week in the NFL, so the Titans also had to trim their roster down to 53 players. 13 of the cuts were signed to the practice squad. Here’s a look at the Titans updated depth chart prior to Cameron Batson being let go.
Also, in one last piece of NFL news, five Metro school alumni made NFL rosters: Ke’Shawn Vaughn (a rookie RB with Tampa Bay out of Pearl-Cohn AND Vanderbilt), Jets DE Kyle Phillips (Hillsboro), Browns rookie LB Jacob Phillips (East Nashville), Jags CB Chris Claybrooks (McGavock AND Memphis), and Seahawks S Ugo Amadi (Overton).
In non-NFL news, Ja Morant was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. He received 99 out of 100 first-place votes.
College football is back! Well, at least a full slate of college football was on this weekend, as we all remember Austin Peay as part of the only game on last weekend. The local schools had mixed results as Memphis defeated Arkansas State 37-24, but MTSU lost to Army 42-0.
RIP to TSU’s Catana Starks, the first Black woman to coach a men’s college golf team.
A slew of recent stories to check out from The Athletic: A Conversation with Lester McClain - the first Black player in UT football history, the dawning of a new MLB star in former Vandy boy Mike Yastrzemski, on the significance of Rick Barnes signing Kennedy Chandler, the state of Vanderbilt’s men’s hoops program, and On the Fringe with Titans roster hopefuls.
Dull’s Dozen’s highlighted how Blackman’s Crystal Dangerfield is tearing it up in the Wubble.
A touching story from the Tennessean on how Pearl-Cohn QB William Griffin-Parker went from homeless to a UT commit.
Nashville SC drew twice this week: 1-1 at home vs Orlando City and 0-0 at Inter Miami.
The Music City GrandPrix is close to finalizing a deal to host an IndyCar Series race in 2021.