On his X account at 2:53 p.m. Tuesday, Tennessee Titans linebacker Monty Rice posted: “Thank God.” At 3:14 p.m., the NFL team announced it had waived the former James Clemens High School standout, even though only two players have seen more action on special teams this season for Tennessee than Rice.

Did that indicate Rice was glad the Titans let him go?

In his third season since joining the Titans in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Rice had played in all 12 games in 2023. He had made 26 tackles in a reserve role while appearing for 86 defensive snaps and 184 special-teams plays.

Tennessee did not make a corresponding transaction to fill Rice’s spot on the 53-player active roster.

At James Clemens in Madison, Rice received second-team All-State recognition in 2015 and first-team in 2016, when he made 137 tackles and intercepted four passes.

At Georgia, Rice made second-team All-SEC in 2019 and first-team in 2020.

As a rookie, Rice played in 10 games, with four starts before an Achilles tendon injury caused him to miss the final five games of the 2021 campaign and delayed his start to the 2022 season as he spent the first four games on reserve/physically unable to perform.

Injuries to the Titans’ inside-linebacker starters Zach Cunningham and David Long opened an opportunity for more playing time once Rice returned last season. In 2022, Rice started six games and made 66 tackles while playing 366 defensive snaps in 13 games.

In the final five games last season, Rice had 47 tackles and 268 defensive snaps. But this season, Azeez Al-Shaair with 761 snaps and Jack Gibbens with 522 have gotten most of the work at inside linebacker for Tennessee. Al-Shaair joined the Titans as a free agent in the offseason. Gibbens is in his second season after making the Tennessee roster as an undrafted rookie last season.

As some responders on X backed the Titans’ decision or disparaged his play, Rice posted: “If you wanna know the truth just cut the tape on since I got here.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.