Hard Truths about the Titans’ 2024 Season
The Tennessee Titans' 2024 season keeps getting worse and worse, as the team suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory to the Detroit Lions in Week 8. Tennessee is now 1-6 on the year, and there is little hope for the rest of the campaign.
With the Titans season dead in the water, it's time to realize some hard truths. Some of these truths are positive and negative, but they are all things Titans fans must accept.
The Titans committed the cardinal sin of rebuilding
After two consecutive losing seasons, which led to the firing of Mike Vrabel, it was clear the Titans needed a rebuild. The roster was one of the worst in the NFL, and the team's prominent members during the Vrabel era, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry, were scheduled to hit free agency and move on.
The Titans had a boatload of cap space to make moves in free agency and used those resources to bolster the roster with the additions of wide receiver Calvin Ridley, cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, and others. But these are moves you make when you are just a few pieces away from contending, and Tennessee wasn’t in that position.
Most of general manager Ran Carthon's acquisitions haven't panned out, as Ridley has been disappointing, Sneed is dealing with injuries and isn't playing at a high level when on the field, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has missed most of the season, and linebacker Ernest Jones isn't even on the roster anymore.
Carthon didn't make a humongous mistake adding these players, but it proved one thing: To construct a winning team, you must build through the draft. The Titans have to find foundational pieces through the draft, not free agency.
Jeffery Simmons has regressed and isn't living up to his contract
A fan favorite and one of the highest-paid players on the team hasn't been getting done on the field, as Jeffery Simmons isn't playing like an elite defensive tackle. The two-time Pro Bowler has posted just two sacks and 11 quarterback pressures in 2024 and got completely bullied on Sunday versus the Lions.
Simmons may do the "little things" and anchor the defensive line, but there is no doubt that he’s regressed. Don't get me wrong, he's still a good player, but he's getting paid elite money, and we aren't getting elite production or impact.
Brian Callahan isn’t on the hot seat
Despite a tumultuous start, giving up on Brian Callahan seven games in is completely foolish. Has he made some questionable play calls? Yes. Is his football team undisciplined? Yes. Did he make a mistake hiring Colt Anderson as special teams coordinator? Also yes. But he's a first-year head coach who has shown flashes of creativity stuck with a messy quarterback situation.
Callahan deserves another year to build this roster with Ran Carthon, but 2025 will be a pivotal year for the former Bengals offensive coordinator’s future in Nashville.
Taking a QB shouldn't be a guarantee in the 2025 Draft
There are only two quarterbacks worth taking with a top-ten pick in the 2025 NFL Draft: Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward. With how the season has transpired for Tennessee, the team will likely receive a top-three pick and have the opportunity to select Sanders or Ward. But if those two are off the board by the time the Titans are on the clock, quarterback shouldn't be the selection in Round 1.
Instead, Ran Carthon should consider adding another playmaker if the QB isn’t there, such as Colorado's Travis Hunter or Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan. Edge rusher could also be the pick, as the pass rushing class is also filled with exciting talent. Landing a quarterback on Day 1 would be the dream scenario, but Tennessee shouldn't draft a signal caller unless it's Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward.
