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Under head coach Mike Vrabel, the Tennessee Titans made the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. So there was plenty of hope heading into the 2021 campaign, in spite of the fact that general manager John Robinson stupidly traded away AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles before the draft. It turns out, that kind of set the tone for the entire campaign.
In spite of losing their first two games, the Titans entered November 5-2, even after rookie Malik Willis was called into start for an injured Tannehill. They dropped a close game to the Kansas City Chiefs, and there’s no shame in that, and once Tannehill returned, reeled off two straight victories to post a 7-3 record before Thanksgiving. And that’s when the wheels came off.
Tennessee did not win another game in 2022, dropping seven straight to end the season. Tannehill ended the year on injured reserve, rediscovering the injury woes that wrapped his career in Miami. Willis proved that everyone who felt he was a potential first round pick should turn in their draft analysis cards and Robinson was fired. Deservedly so.
High points? There were none, frankly. Every win came against a team that finished with a losing record. They did keep it within a score in their losses to the Chiefs, Los Angles Chargers, New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals and the Jacksonville Jaguars once. The Jags swept them and teams like the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles obliterated them. They also managed to lose to the Houston Texans on Christmas Eve, something that will be tough to forget and not hang around Vrabel’s neck, regardless of who he was starting at QB (It was Malik Willis).
Tannehill finished the season 6-6 as a starter, completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 2.536 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He rushed for a couple of touchdowns too. Joshua Dobbs, now with the Cleveland Browns, was 0-2, completing 58.8 percent of his passes for 411 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. Willis was 1-2 with a 50.8 completion percentage, 276 passing yards, no TDs and three picks. Derrick Henry rushed for 1,538 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 33 receptions for 398 yards. Robert Woods, now with the Texans, caught 53 passes for 527 yards and two scores.
Denico Autry led the defense with eight sacks to go with 27 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, four passes defended and two forced fumbles. Kevin Byard had 198 tackles, four interceptions and six passes defended.
TENNESSEE TITANS
2022-23 Record: 7-10
Playoffs: N/A
2023 AFC Championship Odds: +5000
NOW WHAT?
Before the 2022 season ended, Mike Vrabel won his power struggle with his crappy general manager and John Robinson was canned before most of us put up our Christmas tree. Ron Carthon joined the team in the offseason as its 14th GM, coming over from the San Francisco 49ers where he helped build one of the best rosters in the league as their Director of Player Personnel. This is not a completely terrible team, but they underperformed last year and the AFC is just too tough for multiple AFC South teams to make it into the postseason.
Going through their schedule, with all the health caveats, it’s a tough one. Tennessee could very well open the year 1-5 thanks to games at the New Orleans Saints, hosting the Los Angeles Chargers, at the Cleveland Browns, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals and then, in Week 6, hosting the Baltimore Ravens. The only cupcake in that first month and a half is a game on the road against the Indianapolis Colts.
It does get easier after their bye, but they’ll still play five games against 2022 playoff teams and another against a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that finished with a winning record and nearly made the playoffs. Wrapping their season with a home game against the Jaguars could be a gift, as Jacksonville might have already sewn up its playoff positioning at that time. A 7-10 finish is possible again, but 9-8 with a break or two isn’t out of the question. That probably won’t be good enough to make the postseason.
THE DRAFT
While Robinson deserved to be fired out the airlock, Tennessee’s first draft without him did not go well, earning them a “D” grade from the guy typing this out right now. Offensive tackle Peter Skoronski out of Northwestern was a perfectly fine pick in the first round. It was the rounds after where the Titans went off the rails. Tennessee traded up to select quarterback Will Levis out of Kentucky. To do that, they traded the 41st and 72nd (third rounder) to move up to No. 33 to make that pick. If they hadn’t traded up, and kept those selections, they could have nabbed two of the most popular players to come from the University of Tennessee in recent years, Hendon Hooker at 41 and Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt at 72. No team, on Planet Earth, would trade Hooker and Hyatt for Levis today. But that’s exactly the trade Tennessee made on Day Two of the NFL draft. Just unconscionably stupid. In the third rounder they kept, the Titans selected running back Tyjae Spears out of Tulane, a position they had no need for at all. Tennessee’s roster isn’t strong enough to waste a third rounder on a special teams and depth guy. They needed a starter there and whiffed.
FREE AGENCY
Tennessee didn’t add a lot in free agency, outside of making one of the marquee signings in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Arizona Cardinals. They also brought in outside linebacker Arden Key from the Jags, tackle Daniel Brunskill and linebacker Azees Al-Shaair from the San Francisco 49ers, linebacker Luke Gifford from the Dallas Cowboys, wide receiver Chris Moore from the Houston Texans, fullback Trevon Wesco from the Chicago Bears, defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson from the Atlanta Falcons, linebacker Ben Niemann from the Cardinals and tackle Chris Hubbard from the Cleveland Browns.
AFC SOUTH
I feel as if the Jaguars will rule this division for a while. The Titans are probably the second-best team, currently, and if Anthony Richardson faceplants in Indianapolis, they’ll stay that way. But there are only so many playoff spots available in the AFC and Tennessee doesn’t look like a team that can claim one.
Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.
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