By Terry McCormick
The Titans organization should be at the point in this season at which they have to start sorting through who fits and who doesn’t for 2025.
For two and a-half years, the Titans have been in a free fall that no one – not Jon Robinson, Mike Vrabel, Ran Carthon, Brian Callahan nor Amy Adams Strunk – has been able to pull them out of.
And it hasn’t been for lack of trying. The Titans spent boatloads of free agent money in the offseason to try and bolster a roster riddled with three years of draft misses and questionable personnel moves.
The remainder of this lost season needs to be about taking a hard look at where this team is, how far it needs to go in order to compete and what players can help this team improve for 2025 and beyond.
Despite what the Titans attempted to sell us this season, they were not just a few big free agent adds away from being a contender.
Maybe things could have gone better had cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, center Lloyd Cushenberry and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie – all big free agent additions – not missed large chunks of the season on injured reserve.
But the truth is, shopping in free agency too often is like shopping on the Island of Misfit Toys. Teams wind up taking the best of what’s available and trying to make it work.
For example, Calvin Ridley is probably best suited as a No. 2 receiver. The Titans signed him to be a No. 1. He’s been OK at times, but probably isn’t cut out for that role.
The same thing goes for linebacker Kenneth Murray, who has been asked to be the nickel linebacker a lot this season, when his actual strong suit is being a downhill run stopper.
And so it goes for a team that still has major holes on the offensive line and needs another front-line receiver on offense. On defense, the Titans need an edge rusher, a starting-caliber safety and more inside linebacker help. And that’s just the obvious list beyond the need for better depth and special teamers almost everywhere.
What about the quarterback? That will be a big call based on Will Levis’ progress and the team’s situation as a whole. Levis still has some work to do, but he has made progress and probably deserves a chance to see how much better he could get with a stronger unit around him.
Sure, the Titans could go out and sign a bridge quarterback – maybe even a resurgent guy like Sam Darnold – to provide a quicker fix. But what do the Titans have to offer Darnold that would entice him to come here? He surely doesn’t want to run for his life behind this offensive line and relive the bad old days of when he did that with the Jets.
For now, I think Brian Callahan and Ran Carthon are both safe and, unless they are completely out on Levis, starting over with a rookie next year would put the Titans even farther behind. A veteran, as stated above, isn’t always an exact fit.
But they also have to be confident any roster moves will help Levis play better. If the improvements don’t start showing up in a big way in 2025, seats will quickly warm at St. Thomas Sports Park.