A veteran center with a career's worth of quality production is headed to free agency.
The Tennessee Titans have released Ben Jones with a failed physical designation.
"I want to thank Ben for his time here with the Titans," a statement from head coach Mike Vrabel read. "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."
With a salary cap number that jumped from $3.4 million to $8.29 million in 2023, his failed physical and Tennessee working to create cap space to make necessary additions elsewhere, the Titans deemed now as the proper time to move on from Jones, a 33-year-old mainstay in Tennessee since 2016 who unfortunately doesn't fit into Tennessee's remodeling blueprint.
Jones began his career in Houston, where he entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2012 and proved himself as a reliable center who became a rock-solid starter over the next decade, especially after joining the Titans as a free agent in 2016. It took him until 2022, though, to finally earn recognition for his consistency in the form of his first Pro Bowl nod.
Jones played an important part in Tennessee's transformation into a perennial playoff contender, blocking for an offensive attack that leaned heavily on Derrick Henry, the NFL's rushing king in 2019 and 2020. With Jones at center and starting in all but one game from 2016-2021, the Titans reached the playoffs in four of six seasons, while Henry broke 1,000 yards on the ground in each season from 2018-2020, twice scoring 16-plus rushing touchdowns.
In 2020, Tennessee finished fourth in total offense, finished 11-5 and won the AFC South. A year later, the Titans earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record before bowing out in the Divisional Round. Jones started in every game in those two seasons.
He didn't miss multiple starts in a season until his 2022 year was cut short by a placement on injured reserve. Despite missing five contests, Jones played well enough to earn Pro Bowl consideration, and when Chiefs center Creed Humphrey needed a replacement, Jones finally received his first trip to the league's all-star showcase.
