Mandatory Minicamp is this week for the Tennessee Titans, and they’re looking to finish their spring session on a high note. We’ll get our best look yet at look at Cam Ward and company on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at St. Thomas Sports Park. And as somebody like me gears up to be at Titans HQ for much of the week, it’s impossible to miss this stark fact about the Titans roster: it keeps changing. A ton.
That happens when you’re bad, and the Titans certainly have been the past two years. So much so that they’ve gone through two quarterbacks, a head coach, and a GM in that span. It’s been ugly. And when things are ugly, with decision makers and their personal preferences constantly changing in and out, it leads to violent roster churn.
When I sit down and stare at the roster provided to me at practice, it’s pretty unrecognizable year-over-year. There are far too many new names and numbers to learn. That’s not just anecdotal, either.
The Titans have the 2nd fewest returning players this spring: 59.4%. They’re only beat out by the Jets, who have a brand new HC/GM/QB regime which typically warrants such turnover. And shockingly, the rest of that list isn’t a murderers row of teams. The franchises returning the most players include the likes of Denver, Green Bay, Buffalo, and Detroit. In other words, good and ascending teams.
And for the Titans, this isn’t new. Take a look at last year’s same list:
They returned the 6th fewest player, just 63.2%. Now, I don’t point this out to say they need to stop churning a bad roster. They certainly do. But what it does demonstrate is just how much stability and continuity matter. They need to take a long-term approach to team building that brings guys in, keeps them, and develops them. And the way to do that is by drafting and developing first and foremost. That’s the message the new Titans front office is preaching, and they seem to be off to a good start. For Tennessee to take the leap out of these tumultuous, bad-team water, they’ll need their returning player number to start rising.
Hopefully, thanks for the past couple draft classes, I’ll sit down this time next year and recognize the roster in my hand a bit more.
