NFL Trade Rumors
Projected Cap Space: $42.7 million
Draft Picks: 8
Notable Free Agents:
1 – Quarterback
No three-win team like the Titans ever has just one issue. But it’s hard to argue the biggest problem in Tennessee last year wasn’t the quarterback position. Second-year QB Will Levis got the nod for first-year HC Brian Callahan with all parties understanding it was an evaluation year. Levis could have asserted himself as a long-term solution with a good year.
Instead, he struggled with turnovers and sacks and was in and out of the lineup for injury and performance reasons. Levis threw 12 interceptions, fumbled 10 times and his sack rate of 12 percent was worse than every other quarterback besides Deshaun Watson. It wasn’t just the raw numbers, it was how Levis compiled those stats, becoming a meme for ludicrous decisions like trying to a pitch a ball to a teammate while in the grasp of a defender.
Levis is under contract for two more years and the Titans have told him he’ll have a chance to compete for a role. But it’s hard to imagine Callahan wanting to tie his fate to Levis again if he can avoid it — and make no mistake, after all the changes in Tennessee over the past two years, Callahan is on the hot seat if things don’t improve. Tennessee turned the ball over a staggering 34 times in Callahan’s first year and the quarterback was responsible for most of those.
Expect the Titans to be among the most highly motivated teams to find an alternative at quarterback this offseason. They do have an advantage over the numerous teams in the QB market by having the No. 1 pick — it just happens to be a year where there are serious doubts about whether there’s a quarterback worth that pick.
2 – Offensive Line
There are few different pithy turns of phrase that capture how the discourse surrounding the NFL has changed dramatically in the last several years. One is “Sacks are a QB stat.” For ages, the blame for all sacks was laid at the feet of the offensive line without understanding that some quarterbacks inherently cause more sacks by holding onto the ball longer or not managing the pocket as well. You can’t discuss the Titans’ offensive line without noting that Levis had the second-highest sack rate in football.
But the offensive line isn’t blameless either. Tennessee...
