The Tennessee Titans are starting anew along the offensive line. On Friday, the club cut veteran center Ben Jones with a failed injury designation, ending his seven-year tenure with the organization.
"I want to thank Ben for his time here with the Titans," head coach Mike Vrabel said in a stratement. "He embodied a lot of the qualities we talk about when we describe a Titans player. He was a great teammate; his toughness was off the charts, and he had a leadership quality that was earned through the relationships he built and the dedication to the game he showed to his teammates."
The team had given Jones the option to either retire or be released and the 33-year-old has chosen the latter, so he'll now hit the open market.
Jones has been a key piece to Tennessee's offensive line since signing with the team in 2016 after a four-year tenure with the Texans to begin his career. The Georgia product was a fourth-round draft choice by Houston in 2012. Jones is coming off his first-ever Pro Bowl season in 2022 after starting 12 games for the team before being placed on injured reserve at the end of the year due to concussions. He had previously missed just one game in his career back to high school.
This appears to be a transformative offseason for Tennessee. Jones is now the fifth player to be released by the Titans this offseason as the club reshuffles its roster and clears cap space. Before Jones, Tennessee cut bait with left tackle Taylor Lewan, wide receiver Robert Woods, linebacker Zach Cunningham, and kicker Randy Bullock. The team is also likely to release linebacker Bud Dupree at the start of the new league year, according to reports.
On top of all those moves, rumors have recently circulated that the team was shopping star running back and franchise cornerstone Derrick Henry at the NFL Combine, so there could be even more changes on the horizon.
As it relates to Jones, the Titans will clear $3.7 million off the salary cap for 2023 by releasing him.
