Sebastian Joseph-Day

AFC South Rumors: Autry, Titans, Jags, Colts

March 26th, 2025 at 12:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Denico Autry‘s first Texans season did not go according to plan, with the AFC South nomad incurring a six-game PED suspension. Several months later, Autry looks to have taken a bit of a pay cut. Having signed a two-year, $20MM deal in 2024, Autry is now tied to a one-year contract worth $7.5MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. This is down from $9MM in 2025 base value. Autry will see his base salary reduced from $8.5MM to $3.5MM, and while $3MM of that has gone into a signing bonus for restructure purposes, the rest shifts to incentives. Overall, Autry’s 2025 cap hit will drop from $10.3MM to $6.6MM. Autry, who will turn 35 this summer, totaled three sacks in a mostly rotational role last season. He is one of four 30-somethings on the Texans’ D-line, joining Danielle Hunter, Sheldon Rankins and Mario Edwards.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

The Titans would appear to have some work to do at wide receiver. Although they added auxiliary pass catcher Van Jefferson as a roster hopeful, the team is bringing in Terrace Marshall for a Wednesday visit, Wilson tweets. Marshall played three seasons with the Panthers and one with the Raiders, moving from Carolina trade candidate to a player eventually cut. The former second-round pick has not lived up to expectations but, after auditioning for the Steelers, has drawn the Titans’ attention. As for Jefferson, Wilson adds his contract is worth just $1.79MM and carries $1.17MM guaranteed.
Mike McCoy will change AFC South addresses in 2025. The former Chargers HC will shift from a Jacksonville assistant to a Tennessee staffer. The Titans hired McCoy as a senior offensive assistant, veteran reporter Paul Kuharsky noted earlier this month. McCoy, 52, spent the past three seasons as the Jaguars’ QBs coach under Doug Pederson. McCoy was in place as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator when Brian Callahan broke into the NFL; the two overlapped in Denver from 2009-12.
Tank Dell went through a key step during his latest rehab process, undergoing surgery to repair a December ACL tear, per Wilson. The Texans receiver was set to undergo multiple surgeries after suffering immense damage while scoring a touchdown against the Chiefs in Week 16. He had already undergone a previous operation to address his latest significant injury. Dell tore an ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus on the play, requiring ambulance transportation from Arrowhead Stadium. The 2023 third-round pick, who sustained a broken leg as a rookie, faces an uphill battle to play at any point in 2025. Dell is under contract through the 2026 season.
Circling back to some Titans contract matters, the team has one of the most decorated special-teamers in the fold for nearly the veteran minimum. Johnny Hekker, a four-time first-team All-Pro punter, signed a one-year deal worth just $1.42MM ($1.19MM guaranteed), Wilson tweets. A 13-year veteran, Hekker played out a three-year, $7.62MM Panthers pact. Tennessee’s Sebastian Joseph-Day contract checks in at $6.5MM in base value, per Wilson, who adds the Titans’ Brandon Allen accord is worth $1.42MM. This is slightly down from Allen’s 2024 49ers pay ($2MM).
The Jaguars‘ Chuma Edoga contract is worth $7MM over two years, Wilson adds. The veteran swingman will see $3.2MM guaranteed at signing. Nothing is guaranteed beyond Year 1 for the former Jets, Falcons and Cowboys blocker, who will take his place behind Walker Little and Anton Harrison on Jacksonville’s depth chart. Additionally, the Jags’ two-year, $5MM Hunter Long deal will come with $3MM guaranteed at signing, Wilson adds. That includes a $1MM guarantee in 2026.
Wrapping up this contract roundup, Ashton Dulin secured similar Colts terms from his 2023 deal. After playing out a two-year contract worth $7.2MM, the backup wideout recommitted to Indianapolis on a two-year, $6.5MM deal, Wilson tweets. Dulin, who bounced back from a 2023 ACL tear last year, will see $2.94MM guaranteed at signing.

Titans To Re-Sign Sebastian Joseph-Day

March 10th, 2025 at 2:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sebastian Joseph-Day spent last season with the Titans, and he will remain in place for 2025. The veteran defensive lineman is re-signing in Tennessee, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Rapoport adds this will be a one-year pact including $5MM guaranteed. The deal can max out at $7.5MM. Joseph-Day started 12 games in 2024 and he will be counted on to remain a key presence up front for the Titans.

Tennessee is bumping Joseph-Day’s base value up by $1MM from his 2024 arrangement. While Joseph-Day’s years of commanding the kind of deals he did from the Chargers (3/24) are probably over, the former Rams cog is coming off a solid season. Joseph-Day, 30 later this month, finished with six tackles for loss — six more than he compiled during a 2023 season that involved an in-season release.

Waived by the Chargers shortly after they fired Brandon Staley and GM Tom Telesco, Joseph-Day resurfaced with the 49ers before making his way to Nashville as a free agent. A role player in two Super Bowls — the first of which because the usual Rams starter was a late-season IR activation — Joseph-Day joined Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat on a defensive line that was probably a 3-14 team’s bright spot. The Titans managed to rank 30th in scoring defense and second against the run. Pro Football Focus rated Joseph-Day as a top-10 run defender among interior D-linemen.

For his career, Joseph-Day now has 80 starts, 13 sacks and 24.5 TFLs. The Titans are changing up their edge-rushing equation, having cut Harold Landry, but they will run it back up front with Joseph-Day and Sweat complementing Simmons.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post

Titans DL Sebastian Joseph-Day Drawing Interest; Arden Key Still A Trade Candidate

November 5th, 2024 at 10:02am CST by Adam La Rose

The Titans’ offense was altered ahead on the trade front with DeAndre Hopkins being dealt to the Chiefs. As the deadline approaches, the team’s defensive front is worth watching closely.

Defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day is drawing trade interest, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. That is also the case for defensive end Arden Key, who was recently added to the list of trade candidates. Fowler adds nothing is imminent on either front at this point, but time still remains for negotiations to take place with contending teams.

Joseph-Day began his career with the Rams, and his time with them allowed him to establish himself as a high-end presence against the run. The Chargers inked him to a three-year, $24MM pact in 2022, but that investment did not produce the desired results. Shortly after the Bolts fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco last season, Joseph-Day was waived in a move which allowed him to return to the West Coast.

The 29-year-old quickly caught on with the 49ers to close out the campaign, but he was once again on the move in free agency this spring. Shortly after visiting the Titans, Joseph-Day inked a one-year deal. That pact includes a base salary of only $1.38MM, and paying out the remainder of that figure would be feasible for any number of teams looking to add along the D-line for the second half of the campaign. The former sixth-rounder has collected 21 tackles this season, along with 2.5 sacks.

Key was linked to the Cardinals over the weekend, with Arizona being one of several teams in the market for an addition along the edge. Given yesterday’s acquisition of Baron Browning, though, they are unlikely to make a further move on that front, especially since Key is not a rental. The former Raider, 49er and Jaguar nearly set a new career in sacks last year with six, and he is on his way to a new personal mark in 2024 (four in eight games). Key is on the books through 2025, and he is owed $7MM total that year along with a scheduled cap hit of $9.3MM.

Sitting at 2-6 on the year (despite boasting the league’s No. 1 total defense), the Titans represent obvious sellers for players who are pending free agents in particular. That makes Joseph-Day a strong candidate to be moved in the coming hours, but calls will no doubt continue coming in for Key as well.