Fan favorite Marc Mariani is without a team since the Titans released him last week.

-- Ap Photo/Mark Humphrey

What exactly does it say about the Tennessee Titans that, after they made their own cut to 53 players, they were still sifting through the scrap heap of other teams’ cuts and making five more moves?

It says the Titans are still very much a team in transition in the first year of the Ken Whisenhunt Era, and perhaps fewer pieces from the previous regimes actually fit into the system than we were previously led to believe.

In making those five moves, the Titans picked up receivers in Kris Durham and T.J. Graham, added a pass-rushing linebacker in Quentin Groves, obtained some depth at cornerback with Brandon Harris and solved the kicker issue with Ryan Succop.

Even Whisenhunt admits that maybe he wasn’t prepared to make as many moves as he did, but was simply trying to find the best fits for a team that is moving in a different direction on offense with more of a vertical and timing passing game and a defense switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 system.

“We’ve said we’re trying to get this team better, and we’ve had opportunities because of who was out there. That’s what we were trying to do,” Whisenhunt says.

“I don’t think you ever really know for sure how many moves you’re gonna make. It’s the first year, so there’s a lot of turnover.

“We’re asking different guys to play different spots. Hopefully, as we go forward, we won’t make as many moves, but I felt it was something that would make us better this year.”

It also makes a statement that only one player released from the Titans’ 90-man training camp roster has been claimed by another team and placed on its 53-man roster.

That player, tackle Jeff Adams, who didn’t exactly seem like he was the 54th player here in Tennessee, but was picked up by Houston.

There were a number of Titans players who had made varying degrees of contributions in the past few years who were sent packing over the weekend. Those cuts include fan favorite Marc Mariani and underdog defensive back Tommie Campbell, as well as a former starters in linebacker Moise Fokou and reigning special teams captain Patrick Bailey.

All were shown the door, and none yet to have resurfaced on other NFL rosters.

Sure, some of them will get a look later as injuries and ineffectiveness begin to take their toll around the league. But for now, all are out of work.

It kind of lets you know where the Titans stand as teams sort through the cuts to try and find a little wheat among the chaff.

“We’re just looking to get our roster better from top to bottom,” Whisenhunt proclaimed at his press conference Monday afternoon.

In making the late moves, the Titans seem to have bolstered themselves in a few areas.

Succop had been a success with the Kansas City Chiefs before losing his job to a strong-legged rookie named Cairo Santos, who will work much cheaper than the veteran Succop.

Receivers Kris Durham (38 catches last year) and T.J. Graham (23 catches) would certainly seem to offer more, at least in terms of track record than Mariani and Michael Preston, who had 15 career receptions between them.

Defensively, journeyman Groves, who has been with defensive coordinator Ray Horton in two previous stops, was an easy call to add as depth after being let go in Houston.

And Harris, despite some rough times with the Texans, will probably be a better fit than Campbell as a backup cornerback and special teams contributor.

It all adds up to this: The Titans are a work in progress. Whisenhunt says he isn’t asking for time for the team to improve, and he expects it to be competitive in 2014.

But it makes you wonder just how much more adjusting needs to be done in order to reach that goal.

Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com and is a blogger for National Football Post.