Offseason In Review: Tennessee Titans

It is safe to say this is the worst period the Titans have experienced since relocating to Tennessee. The franchise’s Houston years produced a comparable three-year run in the early 1980s. The Oilers’ Warren Moon free agency addition helped pull them out of the NFL basement in the mid-’80s; the team is hoping its No. 1 overall Cam Ward investment will do the same 40 years later.

PFR’s Titans Offseason Outlook effort covered the team’s Robert Saleh-based staff reboot. The second-chance HC then used the offseason to reunite with many of his former Jets defenders, along with one recent 49ers charge, while he and GM Mike Borgonzi — who is now calling the shots after yet another major front office shakeup under Amy Adams Strunk — made two first-round picks. The Titans ran wild in free agency, using their considerable cap space to bolster a roster that completed a second straight 3-14 season. Will Saleh and the host of acquisitions produce an immediate turnaround?

Trades:

Switching to the 4-3 scheme he ran in San Francisco and New York, Saleh will have Johnson anchoring his edge-rushing corps. The Jets picked up Johnson’s fifth-year option months after firing Saleh, but the veteran defensive-based leader was Gang Green’s HC when they chose the defensive end 26th overall in 2022. Johnson, 27, will hope to bounce back in a familiar system.

On the whole, the Eden Prairie, Minn., native has not lived up to his first-round billing. But his 2023 season under Saleh offered promise. With Johnson having little chance to reveal that season was fluky — thanks to a September 2024 Achilles tear — the Jets exercised his $13.41MM fifth-year option. A down 2025 season followed, leading to uncertainty about his future.

Playing 14 games last season, Johnson registered just three sacks on six QB hits. The Jets were believed to be more open to trading Johnson than Will McDonald at an explosive deadline last fall, and months after unloading Gardner and Quinnen Williams, New York bailed on Johnson.

Saleh’s 49ers were among the teams to show interest in Johnson at last year’s deadline, foreshadowing this Jets acquisition. Like Williams, Johnson had been eager to be traded; a Nashville trek and reunion with Saleh was one of Johnson’s preferred outcomes.

Registering 7.5 sacks and 16 QB hits in 2023 — his first starter season — Johnson rewarded the Jets and helped Saleh’s defense rank third in yardage on a Jets team that somehow won seven games with Zach Wilson replacing Aaron Rodgers four plays into the campaign. With rookie Keldric Faulk profiling as the Titans’ long-term D-end pillar, Johnson will have 2026 to make a case for an extension — one that would complement Faulk’s rookie deal — while rushing alongside high-priced interior rushers Jeffery Simmons and John Franklin-Myers. The team’s DT payments, of course, could influence its plan with respect to a long-term Johnson accord.

The Titans’ used a 3-4 base defense for a while, and Sweat served as the team’s nose tackle over the past two seasons. The run-stuffing presence — chosen 38th overall in 2024 — struggled with weight issues in Tennessee and is joining a Jets team converting into a 3-4 look.

With Sweat two years younger than Johnson, the Titans are taking a gamble by moving on. Pro Football Focus graded the Texas product fifth among all interior D-linemen last season, with his top-shelf run defense responsible for that placement.

Sweat missed five games last year but played all 17 (with 16 starts) in 2024. That season produced an interesting second-place defensive ranking from a 3-14 Titans team, undoubtedly helping DC Dennard Wilson land on his feet (via a Giants DC hire). Glenn will attempt to further develop the 366-pound presence, who has two years remaining on his rookie deal.

Another part of the Titans grabbing all the ex-Jets D-linemen they could this offseason, Thomas played for Saleh in New York and San Francisco. While never coming close to living up to the No. 3 overall pick the 49ers invested in him, Thomas has remained a solid rotational D-tackle over his nine-year career. Thomas combined for 12 QB hits and 12 tackles for loss from 2023-24 as a Jet. The 30-year-old D-lineman — who has played between 40 and 43% of his team’s defensive snaps from 2023-25 — played for Saleh in San Francisco from 2017-20 and will soon be 8-for-10 in NFL seasons played in his system.

Free agency additions:

• John Franklin-Myers, DT: Three years, $63MM ($42MM guaranteed)
• Alontae Taylor, CB: Three years, $58MM ($42MM guaranteed)
• Wan’Dale Robinson, WR: Four years, $70MM ($38MM guaranteed)
• Cor’Dale Flott, CB: Three years, $45MM ($32MM guaranteed)
• Daniel Bellinger, TE: Three years, $21MM ($14.01MM guaranteed)
• Mitch Trubisky, QB: Two years, $10.5MM ($6.83MM guaranteed)
• Jacob Martin, DE: Two years, $9MM ($4.5MM guaranteed)
• Jordan Elliott, DT: Two years, $8MM ($3.24MM guaranteed)
• Joshua Williams, CB: Two years, $8MM ($3.24MM guaranteed)
• Austin Schlottmann, C: Two years, $7MM ($2.99MM guaranteed)
• Tommy Townsend, P: Two years, $5MM ($2MM guaranteed)
• Cordell Volson, G: One year, $3.22MM ($2MM guaranteed)
• Tony Adams, S: One year, $2.14MM ($1MM guaranteed)
• Kylen Granson, TE. One year, $1.4MM ($625K guaranteed)
• Mohamoud Diabate, LB: One year, $1.63MM ($350K guaranteed)
• Austin Deculus, T: One year, $1.2MM ($25K guaranteed)
• Hendon Hooker, QB. Two years, $2.41MM
• Jalyn Holmes, DE: One year, $1.3MM
• Andre James, C: One year, $1.3MM
• Michael Carter, RB: One year, $1.22MM
• Malik Herring, DE: One year, $1.22MM

Free agents with ties to either Saleh or new OC Brian Daboll flocked to Nashville. Franklin-Myers, Martin, Elliott, Holmes and Adams joined trade pickups Johnson and Thomas on the Titans’ revamped defense (with ex-Jets RB Carter arriving as well). Daboll coached Robinson, Schlottmann, Bellinger and Flott with the Giants. He also mentored Trubisky in Buffalo. To top off this familiarity-flooded offseason, Borgonzi was in the Chiefs’ front office when the team drafted Williams and signed Townsend as a UDFA.

Although Ran Carthon‘s 2024 spending spree — completed as the team attempted to build around Will Levis‘ rookie contract — did not pan out, the Titans’ new regime went big on free agency. After all, they have another rookie-scale QB deal (Ward’s) to build around.

Like the Carthon/Chad Brinker FA splurge (feat. L’Jarius Sneed) in 2024, the Titans have a quarterback under rookie-deal control for at least two more seasons. This is familiar territory for Saleh, whose first two Jets rosters featured Zach Wilson‘s rookie contract, while Borgonzi was a Brett Veach lieutenant when the Chiefs loaded up their roster during Patrick Mahomes‘ two rookie-deal starter years.

Steady rumors connected the Titans to Robinson, and the team capitalized on the ex-Giants second-rounder’s status as a pure slot receiver. Robinson became the rare receiver south of 5-foot-9 (5-8) to score a big-ticket contract.

As they did with Calvin Ridley‘s deal two years ago, the Titans fully guaranteed two Robinson salaries without authorizing any money at signing beyond Year 2. That is undoubtedly aimed at complementing Ward’s deal, though teams do not make a habit of handing out Year 3 guarantees to free agents (the Saints’ David Edwards was a 2026 exception).

The Titans ended up with four free agents in PFR’s top 50, including three in the top 15. We ranked Robinson behind only Romeo Doubs at receiver, with the diminutive inside wideout’s age (25) working to his advantage. Robinson also excelled with subaverage quarterback play during his Giants run. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards and broke through from a yards-per-catch standpoint alongside Jaxson Dart, posting an 11.0-yard average in 2025. This topped the former second-rounder’s 2023 and ’24 numbers (8.8, 7.5) significantly and certainly upped his market.

The former Kentucky pass catcher will team with Ridley and No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate, as the Titans made a concerted effort to upgrade Ward’s receiver cadre after rolling out a Ridley-reliant corps last season.

PFR’s No. 6-ranked free agent, Franklin-Myers hit the market as the clear-cut top prize among interior defensive linemen. While entering an age-30 season, Franklin-Myers benefited from both a thin DT market and a draft class lacking high-end prospects at the position. Saleh coached Franklin-Myers from 2021-23, and the former Rams draftee was a key part of the Jets’ defensive turnaround during this period. Working alongside Quinnen Williams, Franklin-Myers — who saw time at both D-end and D-tackle in New York — received a Jets extension under Saleh.

Not long after agreeing to acquire Haason Reddick from the Eagles in 2024, the Jets executed a salary-dump trade by sending Franklin-Myers’ $13.75MM-per-year deal to the Broncos for just a 2026 sixth-round pick. The Broncos reworked Franklin-Myers’ contract, which brought a substantial pay cut — albeit a better deal (two years, $15MM) than the Jets offered following their Reddick acquisition — but a starting role on what became a strong defense. Franklin-Myers used his time in Denver to boost his stock.

Working as a 3-4 D-end in Vance Joseph‘s scheme, Franklin-Myers combined to tally 14.5 sacks and 33 QB hits during his two Broncos seasons. An auxiliary rusher alongside All-Pros Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto, Franklin-Myers helped the Broncos threaten the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record in 2025. Although Denver’s group fell four sacks short, Franklin-Myers missed only one game in two Broncos seasons.

While Franklin-Myers expressed interest in staying, the Broncos had already paid several front-seven staples — including interior D-linemen Allen, D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach. This will lead the ninth-year veteran to a Saleh reunion, something our Nikhil Mehta forecasted in our Titans Offseason Outlook.

Having no history with Saleh or Daboll, Taylor became this market’s highest-priced cornerback. PFR’s No. 11-ranked FA, Taylor used a versatile skillset to attract considerable attention this offseason.

The former Saints second-round pick logged, per PFF, 1,664 career slot snaps and 1,597 boundary plays. That created a Byron Murphy-like profile, though Taylor fared much better than Murphy did when he first hit the market in 2023. Whereas Murphy needed to prove himself on a short-term Minnesota contract to cash in, Taylor — extreme Pro Football Focus skepticism notwithstanding — scored big on his first try.

While Murphy was entering an age-25 season when first in free agency, Taylor is 27. He needed to strike in this year’s FA period. Taylor’s $42MM guarantee at signing ranks seventh among all CBs; the top six came via extensions. Although Taylor’s sub-$20MM AAV number is now more than $11MM off the CB pace, a bidding war bumped up his guarantee.

PFF graded Taylor outside the top 100 among CBs each year from 2022-24, making his 2025 placement (53rd) seem promising by comparison. The Titans are obviously not the first team to be undeterred by a poor PFF assessment, and they will count on Taylor to replace Sneed.

The Titans may also not planning to take advantage of Taylor’s versatility. Saleh said the former Saints defender will primarily play on the boundary. Both he and Flott carry slot experience, with Taylor seeing extensive slot work over the past three seasons.

Flott moved outside early in his career, eventually wresting a Giants perimeter job — opposite ex-Taylor Saints teammate Paulson Adebo — from first-rounder Deonte Banks. After the previous Titans regime misfired on a Sneed-Chidobe Awuzie tandem in 2024, Borgonzi will nevertheless take a similar route. Awuzie was a third-contract corner upon signing in Tennessee, however; both Flott and Taylor are second-contract cogs.

Joining Robinson as a Day 2 pick in Daboll’s first Giants draft, Flott also carried an age advantage into free agency. The LSU alum is just 25, helping him score a strong guarantee. Like Taylor, Flott’s first two base salaries are fully guaranteed. No void years are present in either contract, as the Titans carried tremendous cap space.

Flott started 37 games in New York and played nearly 1,200 snaps on the boundary between the 2024 and ’25 seasons. PFF ranked Flott just outside the top 40 among CBs in 2025, when he started a career-high 14 games. The 6-2 defender broke up a career-high 11 passes and submitted his best coverage work (per Pro-Football-Reference) by allowing merely a 52.2% completion rate as the closest defender and holding QBs to 73.3 passer rating. After the Giants seemingly kept trying to demote Flott, he cashed in after continuing to force his way into the lineup.

The Titans, who have traded two slot corners (Elijah Molden, Roger McCreary) since 2024, have a question about who will patrol that position. The door is open to a veteran addition, per Saleh. Marcus Harris, a 2025 sixth-round pick, may have the early upper hand.

The Raiders opted for a radical reset of the center market, giving Tyler Linderbaum what looks like (based on contract structure) a fully guaranteed $81MM. Linked to Linderbaum, the Titans stood down and instead kept costs low with Schlottmann. Never previously a preferred NFL starter, Schlottmann resided as an interior swingman with the Broncos, Vikings and Giants in a seven-year career that included two New York seasons. Improbably, the 30-year-old blocker appears to have a real chance in Year 8.

A late-offseason James addition, however, complicates Schlottmann’s path. Cut by the Raiders a year after re-signing on a three-year, $24MM pact, the four-year starter caught on as a Chargers backup — at a veteran-minimum rate — last year. The Titans also used a sixth-round pick on Indiana center Pat Coogan.

Entering July, the number of ex-Saleh charges narrowly outflanks former Daboll cogs (8-5). But the OC also influenced the team’s tight end room. Bellinger brought a nice market but carries a thin statistical resume.

Working as a blocking sidekick to Darren Waller and then Theo Johnson, Bellinger — the Giants’ first Evan Engram replacement option — never eclipsed 275 receiving yards in a season. He logged a middling PFF grade as a run blocker last season. It is worth wondering if the Titans will try to make a veteran move for a pass-catching TE option, as they could miss Chig Okonkwo.

Extensions and restructures:

While Jon Robinson‘s seven-season tenure produced four playoff berths and five winning seasons, first-round misses became a concern. Corey Davis and Adoree’ Jackson produced modest success, while Rashaan Evans was a short-term starter. Robinson misfired on Treylon Burks, Caleb Farley and, infamously, Isaiah Wilson. As Farley and Burks could not avoid injury trouble, Robinson’s penchant for taking first-round risks paid off big with Simmons, who was coming off a pre-draft ACL tear in 2019. Simmons debuted midway through his rookie year and became one of the NFL’s best defensive linemen.

Joining Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown as Titans cornerstones during their three straight playoff teams in the Robinson-Vrabel years, Simmons signed a four-year, $94MM extension in 2023. Simmons’ first Tennessee extension was in line with the contracts handed to 2019 first-round DT peers Dexter Lawrence and Quinnen Williams that offseason, as that group helped form a second tier on the DT market behind Aaron Donald.

Over the past few years, however, some less accomplished DTs — like Milton Williams, Nnamdi Madubuike and Alim McNeill — surpassed Simmons’ second contract. Despite Simmons having no prior ties to Saleh, Daboll or Borgonzi, the Titans rewarded him early.

Two years remained on Simmons’ previous extension, but the Titans handed their top player a deal that eclipsed Chris Jones to make him the league’s highest-paid interior D-lineman. In terms of new-money AAV, Simmons’ $35.28MM number created considerable separation from a pack that only had one DT (Jones) earning more than $28MM on average.

The Chiefs’ Jones contract — designed when Borgonzi was still working under Veach in Kansas City — clearly framed the Titans’ Simmons talks. Simmons’ $60.2MM fully guaranteed was $200K more than Jones received at signing, while his $100MM guaranteed in total eclipsed Jones’ $95MM. No, Simmons has not approached where Jones has gone. But the Tennessee D-line dynamo is three years younger (29 this month) and coming off a career-best 11 sacks.

After two second-team All-Pro nods under Vrabel, Simmons earned first-team acclaim despite Tennessee finishing 3-14. With Saleh set to deploy Simmons as a penetrating DT in his 4-3 scheme, rather than as a 3-4 D-end with two-gap responsibilities at times, the Titans may have done well to lock in the durable performer before he debuts in a scheme that has helped the likes of Williams, Franklin-Myers, DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead.

In addition to the position-record guarantee, Simmons will see his $29.8MM in 2028 compensation lock in on Day 5 of the 2027 league year. The eighth-year vet will see a $10MM 2029 guarantee vest on Day 5 of the ’28 league year. This represented a player-friendly deal for a pillar who has toiled on downtrodden teams since his three-sack performance in the 2021 divisional round.

Although a Ridley release emerged as an early expectation this offseason, the team reached a reworked agreement to retain the rehabbing wideout. Ridley sustained a broken fibula midway through last season, a seven-game campaign for the former first-round pick.

The Titans had swooped in to win the Ridley sweepstakes in 2024, outflanking the Jaguars and Patriots, with a four-year, $92MM deal. Missing much of the 2021 season due to a mental health issue before a full-season 2022 gambling suspension, Ridley cashed in despite being on the older end for a first-time free agent (29). He is now 31 and potentially a candidate to be moved at the trade deadline a la DeAndre Hopkins in 2024.

This rework amounted to a pay cut, but the Titans did authorize new 2026 guarantees. No guarantees are in place for 2027, when Ridley’s cap number rises from $15.2MM to $29.8MM. This season, Ridley also should have much more help than he did in 2025, with the Titans signing Wan’Dale Robinson and drafting Carnell Tate.

Re-signings:

Unsurprisingly, the incoming coaching staff did not retain many free agents from a 3-14 roster. Cox is heading into his 17th NFL season and sixth with the Titans. The veteran snapper, whose five Pro Bowls make him one of the most accomplished players at this niche position throughout NFL history, turned 40 in April. Slye is back for a second season. Responsible for the longest field goals in New England and Washington’s history — 63 and 61 yards, respectively — Slye made 80% of FG tries in his first Titans season.

Notable losses:

• Brandon Allen, QB
• Darrell Baker, CB (nontendered as RFA)
• Lloyd Cushenberry, C (released)
• Kaiir Elam, CB
• Ali Gaye, DE (waived)
• Kemon Hall, CB
• Blake Hance, OL
• Johnny Hekker, P
• Van Jefferson, WR
• Sebastian Joseph-Day, DT
• Arden Key, DE
• Corey Levin, C
• James Lynch, DT
• Chig Okonkwo, TE
• Anfernee Orji, LB
• L’Jarius Sneed, CB (released)
• Oli Udoh, G
• Jihad Ward, DE
• Blake Watson, RB (waived)
• Xavier Woods, S (released)
• Kevin Zeitler, G

The Titans either adjusted or jettisoned the three biggest contracts they authorized in 2024; Ridley is back on a pay cut while Cushenberry and Sneed are gone. The Carthon/Brinker regime signed off on a tag-and-trade move for Sneed, who cost a 2026 third-round pick and then a four-year, $76.4MM extension. At the time of signing, Cushenberry’s four-year, $50MM deal brought top-three center money. His $26MM guarantee at signing ranked second at the position at that time.

Maximizing cornerbacks’ cost-controlled years, the Chiefs let other teams pay them. With Borgonzi in his final year as Kansas City’s assistant GM, the then-defending champions sold high on Sneed.

Sneed missed 22 games in two Titans seasons and ran into an off-field issue — one that eventually saw charges dropped — that clouded his 2025 offseason. Far from the reliable boundary corner that complemented Trent McDuffie on two Super Bowl-winning teams, Sneed became a sunk cost in Nashville.

Sneed was due a $7.5MM guarantee on Day 5 of the league year; the Titans escaped the deal before that pivotal date and took on just $8.12MM in dead money. They did not designate Sneed as a post-June 1 cut, keeping the financial burden confined to 2026.

Also not designated a post-June 1 release, Cushenberry joined Sneed in wildly underwhelming on a lucrative contract. An inconsistent Broncos center before a solid 2023 contract year, the former third-round pick missed 11 games in two seasons. Pro Football Focus graded Cushenberry 34th among 37 qualified centers last season. Tennessee took on $9.1MM in dead money by cutting Cushenberry, who is on a one-year, $1.4MM Buffalo pact.

A February report indicated the team wanted to retain Okonkwo and Zeitler. Okonkwo, who worked as a key option in a Ward rookie year that saw Ridley go down early, signed with the Commanders on a three-year deal worth $27MM. A Titans team that gave Wan’Dale Robinson a $17.5MM-per-year deal and Cor’Dale Flott $15MM per annum curiously let Okonkwo walk for lower-middle-class tight end money. Considering the Titans’ current TE situation, it is worth wondering if they will regret that decision.

Okonkwo, 26, caught a career-high 56 passes for 560 yards last season. The former fourth-round pick, in Evan Engram/Kyle Pitts fashion, has been a low-volume touchdown scorer. He has just eight in four seasons (42 starts). Still, the Titans look to be downgrading by a notable degree at tight end. This area is poised to be a prime 2027 need.

Zeitler, 36, remains in free agency after playing for $9MM in 2025. The ultra-durable guard could be an option for the Titans if their right guard competition underwhelms. Zeitler has made 213 career starts. He moved from eighth to third in NFL history among guards in starts last year, now trailing only Hall of Famers Will Shields (223) and Randall McDaniel (220). Zeitler, who has not missed more than two games in a season since 2014, could move to the top spot with one more contract. The well-regarded blocker has not indicated he intends to retire.

PFF ranked Zeitler 11th among guards last season; the advanced metrics site has viewed him as a top-15 guard in each of the past five seasons. The former Bengals, Browns, Giants, Ravens and Lions interior presence would make sense for a contending team. Though, the Titans may still have a right guard opening.

The Titans are believed to have attempted to trade in front of the Texans at No. 26 for Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge, who is now in place as a Houston center. No trade-up commencing will produce a lower-profile RG competition. Ex-Bengal Cordell Volson, who missed all of last season due to injury (after taking a pay cut), is battling 2025 fifth-round pick Jackson Slater. The team used a fifth-round pick on Arkansas’ Fernando Carmona.

Key played out a three-year, $24MM contract, outlasting former EDGE cornerstone Harold Landry in Nashville. The veteran pass rusher produced moderate success with the Titans, tallying 15.5 sacks in three seasons. Key, 30, signed a two-year Colts deal worth $16MM. The Titans addressed the position early in the draft.

Draft:

• Round 1, No. 4: Carnell Tate (WR, Ohio State) (signed)
• Round 1, No. 31 (from Patriots via Bills): Keldric Faulk (DE, Auburn) (signed)
• Round 2, No. 60 (from Bills via Bears): Anthony Hill Jr. (LB, Texas) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 142 (from Jets via Ravens): Fernando Carmona (G, Arkansas) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 165 (from Bears via Bills): Nicholas Singleton (RB, Penn State) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 184: Jackie Marshall (DT, Baylor) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 194 (from Ravens via Jets): Pat Coogan, C (Indiana) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 225 (from Chiefs via Cowboys): Jaren Kanak (TE, Oklahoma) (signed)

One of the teams linked to Jeremiyah Love, the Titans were left in the on-deck circle when the Cardinals chose the dynamic Notre Dame running back at No. 3. Tennessee then made a decision on two of the draft’s Ohio State standouts, going with Tate over Arvell Reese. Viewed as a player who could go as high as No. 2 overall, Reese fell to No. 5.

Rumors about positional uncertainty affected a Reese-Tennessee partnership. A player who spent most of his Ohio State tenure as an off-ball linebacker — though, he has been viewed as a potential high-upside EDGE prospect — will begin his career at the lower-profile position, with the OLB-rich Giants drafting him after the Titans passed.

Although Jordyn Tyson was viewed by some as a higher-ceiling receiver prospect, the Titans went with Tate — the Buckeyes’ No. 2 wideout over the past two seasons. Complementing near-lock 2027 top-five pick Jeremiah Smith, Tate took a “30” visit with the Titans, who were listed as a suitor weeks before the draft. They now have the 6-foot-2 talent signed through 2029 (with a fifth-year option for 2030).

Tate is the third Titans first-round receiver pick since 2017, following Corey Davis and Treylon Burks. This Titans regime will expect more from Tate. Totaling 733 receiving yards in 2024 and 875 — to go with nine touchdowns — in 2025, Tate posted an unremarkable 4.53-second 40-yard dash time at the Combine. Curiously, a host of teams had him in the mid-4.4s. Arguing against an official Combine time is definitely an unusual way to go, but the Titans were certainly unmoved by any speed concerns. The 192-pound pass catcher’s press coverage work intrigued the team, likely mattering in the seminal Tate-Reese final debate.

With Ridley turning 32 this year and Robinson offering modest success before a breakthrough contract year, Tate becomes Tennessee’s clear centerpiece receiver. The team has lacked such a presence since trading A.J. Brown. Daboll coaxed a quality rookie season from 2024 No. 6 overall pick Malik Nabers in New York. Though, he was deemed a flashier talent than Tate two years ago. If nothing else, the Titans have the makings of a quality receiver trio. That is something that has eluded the team for many years.

A bigger-bodied defensive end compared to Reese and David Bailey, Faulk does not have the pass-rush stats the two top-five picks produced. After a seven-sack 2024, the Auburn product managed just two — to go with five TFLs — last season. The Titans traded up four spots with the Bills to draft Faulk. With Johnson signed for one season and a host of rental types accompanying him, Faulk is the new Tennessee edge-rushing pillar.

Simmons and Franklin-Myers will help his cause, but the Titans are betting on potential here. Faulk’s versatility may have mattered more at Auburn than it will in Nashville — at least, for a while. Simmons and Franklin-Myers will be inside staples on passing downs, with Faulk — who checked in at 276 pounds at the Combine — likely concentrating on his D-end role. A year after Landry’s release, Tennessee will attempt to build around another early EDGE draftee — as his rookie deal will supplement the Simmons and Franklin-Myers accords.

Tennessee was mentioned as a Tremaine Edmunds suitor, but the veteran linebacker ended up forming an all-Titans what-if ILB duo in New York. Tennessee, which signed Cody Barton last year, brought in Hill late in Round 2. Just as Saleh has been key in developing DTs in his career, the veteran DC/HC has overseen breakouts from Fred Warner and Quincy Williams. Both soared to the first-team All-Pro level under Saleh, who also formed a top-tier ILB duo with the Jets (Williams-C.J. Mosley) while beginning Dre Greenlaw‘s development from fifth-rounder to upper-crust starter.

The Titans had not used a first- or second-round pick on an inside ‘backer since drafting Rashaan Evans in the 2018 first round. Hill brings tremendous college production to Tennessee. At 21, he also could provide considerable value as a two-contract player.

Hill tallied 113 tackles, including a whopping 16.5 for loss, in helping Texas reach the 2024 CFP championship game. Showing tantalizing form as a blitzer, Hill totaled an impressive 17 sacks in three Austin seasons. Not generating hybrid buzz nearly on a Reese level, Hill has a similar skillset. Motoring to a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine (third among off-ball LBs), Hill has a clear path to a starting role for a Titans team that does not have much in the pipeline at the position.

Other:

After six-plus years of Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson coexisting, the Titans keep changing course. Here are the changes made since Vrabel and Robinson’s 2022 extensions:

• December 2022: Strunk fires Robinson, giving Vrabel more organizational say while Ryan Cowden becomes interim GM
• January 2023: Ran Carthon is hired, against Vrabel’s wishes, and Cowden — a seven-year Titans staffer — exits
• February 2023: Chad Brinker takes over as one of two assistant GMs
• January 2024: Strunk fires Vrabel, opting against a trade plan
• January 2024: Brinker promoted, and Carthon gains control of Tennessee’s 53-man roster
  • This development eventually leads to Carthon losing power in 2024 and Brinker gaining some
• January 2025: Strunk fires Carthon and officially promotes Brinker to football ops president; team fires AGM Anthony Robinson
• January 2025: Brinker confirms personnel control, announces GM hire Mike Borgonzi will oversee draft
• October 2025: Team fires HC Brian Callahan after 4-19 record
• January 2026: Titans give Borgonzi personnel control
• April 2026: Brinker steps down from role as team president

While the Titans will yet again adjust their power structure, Brinker exiting the picture could clear up matters. Borgonzi will lead the front office, doing so a year after riding shotgun alongside Brinker. It was a bit strange Strunk promoted Brinker after the team went 6-11 and 3-14 during he and Carthon’s two seasons together.

Brinker was to oversee cap management in his adjusted role, as Borgonzi received the keys to the 2026 roster and now reports directly to ownership (after reporting to Brinker last year). That plan did not last long.

Skoronski was probably Carthon’s best investment. The former college tackle has become a quality guard, giving Borgonzi an easy fifth-year option decision. The Titans are naturally interested in extending their left guard. That would bring a change of pace for a team that has missed on some key O-linemen in recent years while letting others walk after one contract.

Robinson opted against exercising Jack Conklin‘s fifth-year option in 2019 and let him walk a year later. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition in Cleveland and eventually an extension (before injuries intervened down the road). The 2020s Titans also made Nate Davis and Aaron Brewer one-contract blockers; Brewer became a 2025 All-Pro in Miami.

They missed on early-round picks in Isaiah Wilson, Dillon Radunz and Nicholas Petit-Frere. The jury is out on 2024 first-rounder JC Latham, while the Titans were off in their Andre Dillard and Lloyd Cushenberry free agency assessments.

A Skoronski payday, as a homegrown first-rounder signing up long term, would remind of Taylor Lewan‘s 2018 extension. It has been a while since the Titans had such a piece to build around. The team needs continuity up front, and moving past $20MM per year — probably well past it — will be a luxury for which Ward’s rookie contract will allow.

Trade rumors followed Levis, drafted three Titans HCs and two GMs ago, once again. With Trubisky entrenched as the new regime’s QB2, a Levis trade would obviously not surprise. The Kentucky product (21 career starts) is now in a contract year. With Hendon Hooker acquired by this front office, the Tennessee alum could become the team’s third-stringer — be it on the active roster or practice squad.

Top 10 cap charges for 2026:

1. Dan Moore Jr., LT: $26.35MM
2. Jeffery Simmons, DT: $22.06MM
3. Calvin Ridley, WR: $15.2MM
4. John Franklin-Myers, DT: $14.96MM
5. Alontae Taylor, CB: $14MM
6. Jermaine Johnson, DE: $13.41MM
7. Amani Hooker, S: $11.96MM
8. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR: $11.27MM
9. Cam Ward, QB: $11.1MM
10. Cor’Dale Flott, CB: $10.74MM

We have seen some notable worst-to-first seasons in the recent NFL, highlighted by the Commanders’ 2024 surge and Patriots’ unexpected Super Bowl appearance. This is probably too high a bar for the Titans, even as they loaded up their roster around Ward’s rookie contract. Back-to-back 3-14 seasons would make even appearances on “In the hunt” graphics a win for this franchise. The AFC South also looks tougher than it has in recent years, with the Jaguars joining the Texans as a strong team.

Nothing will matter more than Ward development. The three-school quarterback ranked last in 2025 QBR, but the Titans did not have a good skill-position setup last season. Their Tate and Robinson additions should make a considerable difference. While some questions exist along the O-line and certainly at tight end, defensive improvement should be expected. Saleh is a proven defensive boss, and the Titans flooded the unit with additions.

A much better roster awaits Ward in Year 2. The team bungled this strategy around Levis and has failed in first-round QB development thrice post-Steve McNair, with Vince Young, Jake Locker and Marcus Mariota not justifying their draft slots. Will Borgonzi’s Ward-centered roster overhaul — which involves a far more proven HC commodity compared to Brian Callahan — work out better?