Cincinnati torched Tennessee's secondary in a 43-36 overtime loss, and a familiar name from Mike Borgonzi's Kansas City days just got a clean bill of health.
The Tennessee Titans are 1-7 and heading into their Week 9 bye with problems all over the roster. The most glaring one is the secondary. Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw for 462 yards on 38 completions with five touchdown passes against the Titans' defense on Sunday.
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 21 catches, 296 yards, and three touchdowns. The Titans' offense scored 36 points in Cincinnati, and Tennessee still lost 43-36 in overtime. The defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, let alone three players who have been producing at a high level for years.
Tennessee could use some help on the field after the bye. It might be coming.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning that a Titans cornerback connection is back healthy at a time when help is needed in Nashville.
"Free agent CB Nazeeh Johnson, who just finished serving a 6-game suspension for violating NFL policy on PEDs while also rehabbing an ankle injury, has been cleared for football activities, per source. Johnson had ankle surgery in August."
If you remember, Johnson's suspension stemmed from fertility treatments he and his wife were pursuing to grow their family. The Titans were aware of the potential suspension when they signed Johnson right before training camp opened in late July. The ankle injury was the unforeseen part.
According to The Football Database , the Titans released Johnson from injured reserve on Aug. 30, which makes him a free agent. With the suspension already served and doctors clearing him, the timing works. Tennessee is reeling on defense, and the cornerback room is a mess.
Alontae Taylor's free agent deal hasn't started the way anyone needed. The Titans gave him $42 million guaranteed to play outside corner. Instead, Taylor was benched against the Indianapolis Colts in Tennessee's first win of the season. He was active the following week against the Browns but didn't play a single special teams snap.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh then confirmed Taylor's move to the nickel spot, where he played more during his first four NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Taylor was busy in Cincinnati. He started in a part-time nickel role before an injury forced him into more snaps, and he finished with five total tackles, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, and a forced fumble. That fumble came on a botched exchange between Burrow and running back Chase Brown, and Titans S Kevin Winston Jr. recovered it.
The injury belonged to Marcus Harris. He's probably been the most consistent Titans cornerback, and he'd earned rave reviews from the coaching staff throughout the offseason and into the season as the starting nickel. Harris got clipped by a teammate diving to make a tackle and appeared to be in significant pain. He walked off under his own power but didn't return.
Josh Williams took over at outside corner after Taylor's benching. Against the Bengals, Williams was tasked with covering Higgins and Chase. That went about how you'd expect against two of the best receivers in the game.
Williams allowed nine receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 10 targets. He allowed all six of his targets against Higgins to be completed for 85 yards and a touchdown. He allowed Chase to catch three of four targets for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Williams was also flagged for pass interference in the end zone right before halftime. It was a late flag and an iffy call at best . . . but it didn't help.
To be fair, Williams is playing far more than he ever did in Kansas City, where he entered the NFL under then-Chiefs executive and current Titans GM Mike Borgonzi.
Johnson also came up through Kansas City during Borgonzi's time there. The Chiefs drafted him in the seventh round in 2022, and he played 11 games as a rookie, mostly on special teams, as part of a Super Bowl championship team.
His career since then has been a battle with the injury bug:
– 2023: Tore his ACL in training camp and missed the entire season
– 2024: Played in 16 games with six starts, three passes defended, and one sack
– 2025: A preseason shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve for most of the season, though he played in two games late before his rookie contract ran out
He reunited with Borgonzi in July. Then the suspension came down, and then the ankle injury.
Now he's medically cleared, eligible, and available as a free agent. Johnson isn't going to fix everything that went wrong in Cincinnati, but he could give the Titans depth and potentially more consistent play on the outside. How much Tennessee needs him depends on how Taylor settles in at nickel and how Harris' injury situation evolves over the bye.
The Titans' secondary can't look like it did Sunday again. Adding a guy the GM already knows feels like the most logical first step.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Help could be on the way for the Titans defensive backs after Bengals dice up the defense heading into the bye week
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