Linebacker Cody Barton reached agreement on a three-year, $21 million deal with the Tennessee Titans, sources told ESPN's Turron Davenport on Monday, confirming multiple reports.
Barton, 28, turned out to be an important bargain in free agency for the Denver Broncos this past season.
The Broncos signed him to a one-year, $2.5 million deal last March, believing he'd be a potential core special teamer who would play situationally on defense. But Barton showed in offseason workouts and in training camp that he could be a reliable option at inside linebacker. And when linebacker Alex Singleton suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3, Barton immediately turned into a mainstay at the position.
He finished with a career-high 1,053 defensive snaps (91%), turning them into 106 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble return for a touchdown and five passes defensed.
After Singleton's injury, Barton wore the green dot on his helmet as the defensive player who took defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's playcalls and conveyed them in the huddle.
Barton largely had been a special teamer in his first three seasons in the league with the Seattle Seahawks, who picked him in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. But he's finished each of the last three seasons -- with the Seahawks in 2022, Washington Commanders in 2023 and Denver in 2024 -- with at least 100 tackles. All five of his career interceptions and 3.5 of his career sacks have come in those three seasons.
ESPN's Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.