Titans' biggest loser from the preseason is painfully obvious

The Tennessee Titans concluded their preseason with a 23-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Friday evening. On Tuesday, general manager Mike Borgonzi will be tasked with submitting his initial 53-man roster. Friday's exhibition finale represented the final opportunity for Borgonzi and Brian Callahan to assess their offseason roster, and one of the bigger decisions surrounds undrafted wide receiver Xavier Restrepo.

The reaction was pure elation when the Titans signed Restrepo in undrafted free agency. His connection with No. 1 overall quarterback Cam Ward was electric at Miami last season. Unfortunately, we never saw it translate to training camp, as Restrepo wasn't given opportunities to work with the first-team offense.

Restrepo spent the majority of his reps at practice and in the preseason working with the third-string offense. The Titans consistently played him alongside obvious roster cuts like Jha'Quan Jackson and Mason Kinsey. With the preseason officially over, it's become crystal clear that Restrepo was among the team's biggest disappointments.

Xavier Restrepo among Titans' biggest preseason disappointments

Restrepo didn't play until the fourth quarter of Tennessee's opening preseason game, a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He registered zero receptions on two targets. Restrepo again made his first appearance on offense in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons in the second half, recording two receptions for 18 yards. The former Hurricanes standout managed one catch for eight yards against the Vikings.

It's difficult to imagine the Titans keeping Restrepo on the 53-man roster. Even when projecting them to keep seven receivers, Bryce Oliver and James Proche II seemingly played their way onto the team. In May, it was impossible to imagine Restrepo wouldn't be one of Tennessee's top seven pass catchers, but that's how the summer developed.

Restrepo simply never separated himself from the Titans' roster-bubble receivers. The expectation is he'll be among the Titans' final cuts at Tuesday's 53-man roster deadline. The Restrepo underdog story just wasn't to be.