Tennessee Titans waiving Teair Tart, but defensive tackle says he requested his release

The Tennessee Titans are waiving defensive tackle Teair Tart because of issues with his attitude and playing effort, according to multiple reports Friday.

Tart joined the Titans as a former undrafted signee who had become one of the team's most counted upon interior run defenders the past two seasons.

He had been on the injury report leading to Sunday's game against the Houston Texans for non-injury related reasons.

As those reports were surfacing during the afternoon, Tart himself addressed the situation on social media, with a post saying he had requested to be released.

When asked earlier Friday about Tart's status with the team prior to the news of his release, Titans coach Mike Vrabel had said, "Don't read too much into that one."

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Tart did not immediately respond to The Nashville Tennessean's request for comment.

Tart played in 45 games and started 36 in four years with the Titans, including nine starts this season with 21 tackles, a sack and eight tackles for loss.

During the offseason, the team signed him as a restricted free agent with a second-round tender, locking him in for a base salary of $4.3 million in 2023.

Even before waiving Tart, the Titans were already thin on the interior defensive line. All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is out with a knee injury and regular contributor Kyle Peko landed on injured reserve this week with a calf injury.

To counteract some of these depth concerns, the Titans added defensive linemen Quinton Bohanna and Keondre Coburn off the practice squads of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions this week.

Tart had 76 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in his time with the Titans. He ranked second in defensive run stops in 2022, per Pro Football Focus, but his numbers as both a run stopper and pass rusher have fallen off slightly in 2023. This season he has logged just seven quarterback pressures after posting 26 in 2022, and his defensive run stop percentage has dropped from 9.5% to 7.2%.

The Titans (5-8) host the Houston Texans (7-6) at Nissan Stadium on Sunday (noon, CBS).

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick atnsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.