NASHVILLE – Former University of Tennessee receiver Josh Malone has bounced around the NFL since being drafted back in 2017.
Five years and five teams later, Malone now finds himself back in Tennessee, hoping to make a name for himself once again with the Titans.
At the NFL owners meetings this week, Titans General Manager Jon Robinson discussed the addition of Malone for the first time.
The Titans signed Malone, who is now 26 years old, last month.
"I liked Josh coming out," Robinson said of Malone, a fourth-round pick of the Bengals in the 2017 NFL Draft. "He has bounced around a little bit. We worked him out last offseason, and we talked about putting him on the practice squad and ending up holding on that back then. But I thought he had a good workout, and he'll compete. And he's from right up the road."
Malone, who attended Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee, played for the Bengals in 2017-2018 before spending time with the Jets (2019–2020), Broncos (2021) and Packers (2021). Malone spent time on the practice squads of the Broncos and Packers.
Malone (6-3, 205) has played in 26 career NFL games, and he has 11 catches for 91 yards in those contests. He last played in four games with the Jets in 2020, when he caught four passes for 16 yards.
In 39 career games at the University of Tennessee, Malone caught 104 passes for 1,608 yards and 14 touchdowns. Malone had 50 catches for 972 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Vols in 2016.
"He was worthy of a chance to be able to come in and create competition at that position," Robinson said of Malone. "You can never have enough receivers for training camp. So, I'm looking forward to watching him compete. We'll let them all compete, let the dust settle, and see where it goes."
In addition to A.J. Brown, Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the Titans also have receivers Dez Fitzpatrick, Racey McMath, Cody Hollister and Mason Kinsey under contract for 2022.
Cameron Batson, Marcus Johnson and Chester Rogers, meanwhile, are all unrestricted free agents.
The Titans could also draft a receiver in the upcoming NFL Draft, and others remain available in free agency.
