5 former Texas football still trying to find a home in the NFL in 2021

Kenny Vaccaro, S

One of the more surprising names that still remains available in free agency among former Longhorns in the NFL is the veteran former All-Rookie Team selection and safety Kenny Vaccaro. Last month, the Tennessee Titans officially cut Vaccaro after he spent three years with the team. And the Titans were only the second team that Vaccaro has played for in his more than seven year long NFL career.

The 6-foot and 215 pound Brownwood, TX, native and 30-year-old Vaccaro was the 15th overall pick of the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He wound up spending five productive seasons with the Saints at the outset of his pro career. And then in the summer of 2018, the Titans signed Vaccaro which marked his first stint playing for a team that wasn’t the Saints.

Vaccaro’s production did decline a bit last season with the Titans, but he still remained one of their more reliable defensive backs on a solid team in the AFC South. He started in 13 games last year, and registered 83 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack, one additional quarterback hit, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and one fumble recovery.

Last season marked the first year that Vaccaro didn’t get at least one pick since the 2015 season with the Saints. In his NFL career to date, Vaccaro registered more than 600 combined tackles, 35 tackles for loss, nearly a dozen sacks, 10 interceptions, 44 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.

It should only be a matter of time before Vaccaro finds his next landing spot in the NFL. He’s still one of the more reliable and proven veteran options available in free agency at the safety position at this point of the offseason.