There’s a silver lining for the coach of the worst team in the league. If, of course, the coach survives for the next season.
The team that finishes with the fewest wins gets dibs on all waivers claims, through the first three weeks of the ensuing regular season. This means that, as teams trim from 90 to 53 on Tuesday, the Titans will have dibs as to all players who have fewer than four years of experience.
“The benefit of being No.1 in the waiver claim is that you have first crack at anybody you think upgrades your roster,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said Saturday. “I know [G.M.] Mike [Borgonzi] and his crew have been hard at work, they’ve watched every player in the preseason, watched every preseason game of every team, and they have a really good feel for what’s out there. You never know what is going to shake free, or not shake free, so you do your due diligence and you are ready for it when it comes. There is going to be opportunities to claim some players that will help us, and that will be a part of the ongoing process through Tuesday to make sure we try to find the best 53.”
That reality should make some of the players who make the initial 53-man roster in Tennessee even more nervous. Their stays could be temporary; for each player the Titans add via their ability to claim anyone/everyone on waivers, someone one the team will have to go.
That’s the case in all teams. After the 53-man rosters are set, the bottoms of all teams will churn, throughout the season.