Xavier Woods, former Carolina Panthers safety, signing with Tennessee Titans | Source

The Tennessee Titans have come to an agreement with veteran safety Xavier Woods on a two-year, $10 million contract on Tuesday, a source told The Tennessean.

Woods, who previously played for the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, is heading into his ninth year in the NFL. He has started 111 games and had a career year in 2024 statistically with 119 tackles and three interceptions.

Woods will join Amani Hooker and Mike Brown at safety in a Titans secondary that also features cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary, Jarvis Brownlee Jr., and Chidobe Awuzie.

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Woods was an ironman for the Panthers in 2024, leading the NFL in total snaps played at 1,218. That sort of volume paid off in a big way on the stats page, where Woods set or matched career highs in tackles, solo tackles, assisted tackles and interceptions. He’s generally been a player capable of staying on the field throughout his career, never missing more than three games in a season since his rookie year in 2017.

Versatility was a key for Woods in 2024, who split time between strong safety, free safety, nickel cornerback and linebacker. He’ll be able to rove around the Titans’ defense as well, but with the depth the team has built at cornerback, it’s more likely he’ll stick as a safety and coverage linebacker than it is he’ll take reps in the slot.

The Titans had a big need at safety going into this offseason, with former contributor Quandre Diggs heading for free agency. Woods, who turns 30 in July, helps the Titans get a little bit younger without sacrificing much experience or expertise.

Woods and Sneed were teammates for one season at Louisiana Tech, when Woods was a senior and Sneed was a freshman.

Since 2021, Woods has logged the seventh-most tackles and played in the seventh-most games of any safety in the NFL.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

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