Mabin Always Fits In, Wants to Settle In

Over five NFL seasons, the cornerback has been with nine different teams and consistently created opportunities for himself.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today

NASHVILLE – Every time Greg Mabin goes to a different team, he does the same thing.

“Really, I just follow the leaders,” he said. “You know, follow the leaders on the team and just kind of fall in line.”

From there, things tend to follow the same path.

In an NFL career that began in 2017 as an undrafted rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 28-year-old cornerback has spent time with seven different franchises. Four added him to their practice squad only to promote him to the active roster less than a month later.

The Tennessee Titans altered that script sightly last October when they beat the Arizona Cardinals to the punch. Tennessee signed him to their active roster off the Cardinals’ practice squad, where he had spent two weeks.

It was the third time in just over a year that Tennessee signed Mabin and the first time he changed teams under those circumstances.

“I was hyped,” he said. “I felt like a sick kid going back to school the next day and everybody missed me. Came back like I never left.”

Every team that has had Mabin, however, eventually released him – some more than once. The Titans, for example, have turned him loose during each of the last two seasons.

In all, he has been waived nine times – six during the regular season, twice during training camp/preseason and once during the offseason. His longest stint with any organization was with the 49ers. From Oct. 18, 2017 through Aug 16, 2019 he went from the practice squad to the active roster twice.

Always, though, there is another teams that wants him.

Mabin has played at least five games in each of his five NFL seasons. Only once, though, has he played for the same team in two different years. That was San Francisco – six games in 2017 and 13 more in 2018.

“I think [it is] his ability to just kind of step in and do his job,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said. “You don't notice him a whole lot because he's usually doing what he's supposed to be doing. He's coachable. He's got good size.

“If he can stay healthy and be available, he can compete.”

The question is whether he can stick around for an extended period.

Even after he finished last season with the Titans (he played five games with two starts), Mabin started this offseason as a free agent. Tennessee finally called again in early May and added him to the roster.

His chances to survive the post-preseason cuts improved slightly when veteran Buster Skrine retired on the first day of camp. But the focus in training camp has been on a host of young players – five draft picks in the last three years – who are at the heart of an overhaul of the secondary.

So, it’s possible that Mabin will be released once again before the start of the regular season.

“I feel like we’re setting a good foundation,” he said “… We’re building something special here, and hopefully I’ll be a part of it.”

Of course, if he is not, more than likely someone else will want him.

“I don’t really let negative thoughts enter my mind,” he said. “It kind of helps me stay sane. But everywhere I go, I always compete. Coaches always know I’m always going to give my hardest. And I always get respected where I go. So, that’s all I care about.”