It’s a Seattle reunion in Nashville. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, veteran safety Quandre Diggs has signed a one-year contract that will reunite him with his backfield mate of the past four years, Jamal Adams, in Tennessee. Diggs’ deal with the Titans will be worth up to $5MM, a bit more than Adams is expected to make in 2024. Diggs broke the news first on his personal X account. 
The 31-year-old was released alongside Adams around the start of free agency after just over four years with the team. The former Longhorn was drafted in the sixth round by the Lions back in 2015 and took a couple years before he earned a consistent starting role in Detroit. Finally a starter in his third season, Diggs recorded three picks, a minimum he would match every year after, up until that streak ended in 2023.
Prior to the final year of his rookie deal, Diggs signed a three-year, $20.4MM extension with the Lions. After only six games under his new contract, though, Detroit traded Diggs and a seventh-round pick to the Seahawks for a fifth-round pick. When Seattle traded for Adams the following summer, they formed their defensive backfield for the next four years, though Adams would struggle to stay on the field during that time.
In their first year on the field together, both players were selected to the Pro Bowl, and Adams earned second-team All-Pro honors. While Adams’ injury troubles would keep him from any other accolades during his time in Seattle, Diggs would find his way to two more Pro Bowls. After only amassing six interceptions in four-and-a-half years in Detroit, Diggs tripled that output with 18 picks in the same amount of time with the Seahawks. With the emergence of Julian Love last year and the signings of Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace, the Seahawks were clearly looking to move on from their veteran defensive backs.
Signing with the Titans, Diggs now joins a new-look defense in Tennessee that has added Adams, cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie, linebacker Kenneth Murray, and defensive tackles Sebastian Joseph-Day and rookie T’Vondre Sweat, all playing under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and head coach Brian Callahan. The Titans moved on from their own veteran All-Pro this past season, trading away Kevin Byard. As a result, they saw former cornerback Elijah Molden step up and take a starting role across from Amani Hooker.
It’s difficult to predict how this lineup plays out. A new-look secondary now sees Sneed and Awuzie starting at cornerback, while Roger McCreary returns to his primary nickelback role. At safety, Hooker and Molden may get the first crack at first-team snaps, due to their experience in the unit, though the scheme is set to change a bit with new coaching.
However Diggs and Adams fit into the new secondary, one can’t deny that the team has employed outstanding depth at the position. Having so many starting-caliber safeties on the roster should allow the Titans to roam their best players around the field in unique packages.
Interesting. Are Adams and Diggs competing for the same spot, and were they signed to play in a Seattle style safety role? Or are the Titans really planning to feature a lot of safety looks? Maybe this is a case of the former, which wouldn’t be so interesting, but if Tennessee is planning to actually use both players, it’ll be interesting to see how make use of both. I figure that it’ll be difficult to see the Titans keeping both players, in my mind-unless Adams wants to give linebacker a try.
At their heights, Diggs was the better coverage style safety while in Seattle, and that’s how he was used. I wouldn’t use Diggs and Adams in the same role, so it’s interesting to see them both added, and given the presence of Hooker and Molden as incumbents, it makes me intrigued to see what Tennessee is planning in the secondary.
This should be a top secondary unit once it gets some time under it’s belt. Adams can slide up and play some linebacker at times so that flexibility gives Wilson lots of options.
Awuzie sure looked like he had lost a little speed last year. Hopefully he has healed up more and gets his speed back