Tennessee Titans Make 3 Roster Moves on Defensive Line Including Promoting Kyle Peko & Waiving Jayden Peevy

The Tennessee Titans are shuffling their roster heading into a Week 3 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. We saw a trio of roster moves all affecting the defensive line on Tuesday including the promotion of Kyle Peko to the active roster, the waiving of Jayden Peevy and the release of Michael Dwumfour from the practice squad.

The obvious answer here is Peko is taking Peevy's place on the 53-man roster and Peevy will take Dwumfour's place on the practice squad. Peko has outperformed and outsnapped Peevy the last two weeks while being elevated from the practice squad, so it makes sense to the Titans would want Peko over Peevy at this point.

Why wait so long though? An NFL rule affecting veteran players is why. The NFL has a rule that any "vested veteran" has their salary guaranteed if they are on the active roster for Week 1 of an NFL season. A "vested veteran" is someone with four seasons of experience in the NFL.

Peko had played in 29 games over five seasons coming into this year, so he would qualify as a "vested veteran." By waiting until now to sign Peko to the active roster, the Titans don't have to guarantee his salary in the event of injury or poor play. It is clever accounting by the Titans.

Outside of the cap mechanics, Peko has just outplayed Peevy. Peko has put up four tackles in two games while playing 49 defensive snaps. He's a consistent run-stuffer that can be counted on to hold up against opposing offensive linemen.

It has to be disappointing for Peevy and the coaches. The second-year player was getting high praise from the coaching staff in training camp, but has only played 4 snaps all year after being inactive for a game.

Peko has experience and is more reliable as a veteran than Peevy is. Even if Peevy has the higher ceiling, the Titans don't have time to develop that on the field. That development will likely continue with Peevy on the practice squad. Peevy could go elsewhere if he is claimed or just decides to, but again, odds are he is back in Nashville.

As for Dwumfour, the third-year lineman had some good flashes in the preseason, but the Titans clearly were not impressed enough for it to help Dwumfour stick. The Titans love recycling former players when injuries hit, so keep an eye on Dwumfour later in the year.

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