Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi totally revamped the cornerback room this offseason. It was necessary after he gutted the position by trading Jarvis Brownlee and Roger McCreary, and cut L’Jarius Sneed. As soon as free agency began, Borgonzi signed Alontae Taylor, Cor’Dale Flott, and Joshua Williams to be the Titans‘ top three new boundary corners.
Now, a fourth addition has arrived. The Titans agreed to terms with cornerback Nazeeh Johnson before training camp opened. Johnson marks the second former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback to sign with the Titans this offseason, joining Williams.
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It seems that Borgonzi is very content to rely on familiarity to remake the Titans’ depth at cornerback. He didn’t know Flott and Taylor from Kansas City, but still signed them to very lucrative contracts to be the new starters. But when it came to supporting Flott and Taylor, he felt comfortable calling on Williams, and now Johnson.
Borgonzi was with the Chiefs when they drafted both Williams and Johnson. That certainly isn’t a coincidence. He’s also signed defensive end Malik Herring and punter Tommy Townsend this offseason, two other players he spent time with in KC.
Essentially every free agent the Titans signed this offseason had ties to Borgonzi or the new coaching staff. Daniel Bellinger, Flott, Austin Schlottmann, and Wan’Dale Robinson have connections to Brian Daboll. John Franklin-Myers, Jacob Martin, Solomon Thomas, Tony Adams, and Jordan Elliott are among those with connections to Robert Saleh.
Williams is essentially guaranteed to be the Titans’ primary backup cornerback on the outside behind Flott and Taylor. Johnson probably isn’t assured a 53-man roster spot, but he has a decent chance to compete for the fifth cornerback role with Micah Robinson, Keydrain Calligan, and a bunch of undrafted free agent rookies.
Johnson will arrive at training camp with designs on making the 53-man roster.
