Backup Tackle Ty Sambrailo Retires

A second-round pick by Denver in 2015, he battled a foot injury since late last season.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Titans offensive linemen have been in and out of the training room plenty already during the 2021 NFL season.

Tuesday, one went in a different direction. Ty Sambrailo walked out the door and into his future. The Titans announced that the veteran tackle, their primary backup at that position, had retired after six-plus seasons with three different teams and placed him on the Reserve-Retired last.

His departure adds to the drama for a position group at which left tackle Taylor Lewan has missed one game and admittedly has been slow to regain his confidence after reconstructive knee surgery nearly a year ago while left guard Rodger Saffold and center Ben Jones have dealt with nagging injuries almost weekly.

Sambrailo was on and off the injury report in recent weeks with a foot injury. He was limited participant in practice last Thursday and Friday and did not play Sunday at Jacksonville. It was a foot injury that ended his 2020 season in Week 11.

In related moves, the Titans signed two offensive linemen, Derwin Gray and Jimmy Murray, to their practice squad Tuesday. Gray, a left tackle in college, spent part of this year’s training camp with the Titans after having spent time with Pittsburgh and Jacksonville in previous seasons. Murray is an interior lineman who has spent time with Kansas City and the N.Y. Jets over the previous three seasons.

Additionally, defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton was released, and punter Brett Kern was placed on the Reserve-COVID 19 list. Kern, who has missed the last two games with a groin injury, is the first Titans player to go on the COVID list since an outbreak in the two weeks prior to the season opener.

Sambrailo appeared in four of this season’s first five games and started at left tackle in Week 2 in place of Lewan. A second-round pick by Denver in 2015, he played 71 games with 19 starts, including a career-high five starts for Tennessee in 2020 after Lewan sustained a season-ending knee injury.

He signed with the Titans as a free agent in 2020.

Without him, Kendall Lamm and rookie Dillon Radunz move up the depth chart and in position to play. Lamm has appeared in all five games this season, primarily on special teams. Radunz, the second-round draft pick out of North Dakota State, has been a healthy scratch in three of the five games.