The Cincinnati Bengals have actively been revamping their offensive line and that included moving on from right guard Cordell Volson over the offseason. The Bengals let Volson walk after he missed the entire 2025 season due to a shoulder injury that he sustained before the season got underway.
Volson found a new home with the Tennessee Titans and will have a chance to win their starting right guard job. The keyword there, however, is 'chance'. Volson is not a lock to win the job by any stretch and will be fighting for his football life in Nashville this summer.
Justin Melo of Titan Sized recently wrote about Volson and described him as a "polarizing veteran" on the Titans' roster. He also said that the former Bengals fourth-round pick has "everything to prove." He's not wrong with either claim:
"Naming Volson the starter would come with significant risk...Volson will head into training camp having not played football in over a year. His results as a Bengals starter were also extremely lackluster... Perhaps working with Titans offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo will reinvigorate Volson. The Bengals haven't exactly been known for developing offensive linemen throughout the Joe Burrow tenure."
Ouch but also accurate.
Can Cordell Volson actually start on the Titans' offensive line?
Volson was a part of a weak Bengals' o-line, one that saw Joe Burrow getting tossed into the dirt more often than those in Cincinnati would like to see. Will his luck change in Nashville? Maybe it will but he'll have to earn the job first.
Melo also discussed Volson's competition for the starting gig. That competition is second-year player Jackson Slater, a fifth-round pick by the Titans in last year's draft. Slater appeared in 12 games a season ago with zero starts under his belt. Slater sitting back and learning from the sidelines a year ago definitely gives Volson the edge in the right guard battle right now, but, as Melo mentioned, starting the former Bengal is a risk.
Volson hasn't played a snap of regular-season football since 2024 and, while that doesn't sound like a long time ago, in football terms, it certainly is. Volson also wasn't dominant during his time as the Bengals' starting right guard so if Slater outshines him in training camp and preseason, it wouldn't be crazy to see Tennessee go with the young player instead.
Cincinnati was willing to let Volson walk in free agency for a reason. Will he be able to redeem himself with his new team, or will the Bengals be vindicated?
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