Today, ESPN reported that the Titans officially released wide receiver Julio Jones. The move frees $9.5 million in cap space for the Titans in 2022. While shocking, the move is a good one that should benefit the Titans in the future. 

This past season, injuries hampered Jones’ playing time and he was only able to play in ten games, recording just 434 yards and one touchdown (Pro-Football-Reference.com).

While the former Atlanta Falcon is a sure-fire hall-of-famer, releasing the legend is the best possible move for the Titans’ receiving group. Despite the group being very weak (outside of A.J. Brown) the paycheck that Jones received, along with his declining performance, was plenty of reasoning for the release. Lower on the depth chart receivers should have a decent chance to prove themselves to coaches (all while at much less of a price tag than Jones).

With the added cap space, the Titans will be able to bolster their defense, add younger talent to the receiving core and make their team much better than it was while Jones was on the team. The struggling veteran only held back the development of the younger receivers on the team by remaining high on the depth chart simply due to his name. 

If the Titans can add JuJu Smith Schuster, Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr or another receiver with their additional money, then the Julio Jones release will be a massive win for Tennessee. 

Worst case scenario, we get to see more of Nick Westbrook-Ihkine in 2022, a decent young receiver that played well last season. Regardless, I think that the Titans can not go wrong after making this move.