The Titans' rebuild may take longer than initially believed
It won't make the Tennessee Titans any more watchable right now, but the slow start to the 2024 campaign has proven that the team remains at the beginning of a lengthier rebuild. Perhaps expectations were misguided entering the new season after the acquisitions of Calvin Ridley, L'Jarius Sneed, and others.
If your expectation was to make the playoffs in 2024, we need to reevaluate what was important to this franchise this season.
The Titans are three games into a two-year rebuild and they are going through some evident growing pains. The most obvious issues have been Will Levis and the offensive line, but they aren't the only issues on this team right now. Perspective says Levis just came off his 12th career start and that the struggling offensive line is the youngest unit in the entire league according to median age.
An 0-3 start is basically a death sentence to any NFL playoff hopes. Unlike the other 0-3 teams (the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals), the Titans shouldn't panic about being in this position. The Bengals and Jaguars have far more reason to be disappointed, we assure you.
Brian Callahan is calling plays for the first time in his career, and he is doing that while also learning how to be a head coach. That is a lot on his plate, and there have been some hiccups in playcalling when the Titans are forced to play from behind.
In addition to Levis' general inexperience, he's also learning his fifth offense in five years, dating back to Kentucky. Levis ranks second in the NFL in interceptions (behind Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson), but he is also tied for ninth in touchdown passes. Right now he is a volatile gunslinger being asked to play in a rhythm-and-timing offense, so perhaps a painful adjustment period was to be expected.
We're not in the business of telling you how to feel, but perhaps patience would be the most-effective emotion on Sunday's.
In addition to a new coaching staff and a second-year quarterback, more than half of the starters on offense and defense weren't on the roster to start the 2023 season. And the ones that were on the team in 2023 have been a mixed bag at best. We're looking at you, Nicholas Petit-Frere, Peter Skoronski, and Dillon Radunz.
While Callahan learns who he can trust and who he has to coach around, it's going to be hard to find any sort of consistency. It might be better for fans to view this season as an extended job evaluation period.
If the Callahan and Carthon partnership is going to turn this franchise around, they need to get extensive looks at the roster and figure out which players fit what Callahan wants to do and who doesn't. Obviously, Levis is at the top of that list.
Levis should start all 17 games for the simple reason that this team shouldn't even be thinking about the playoffs right now. The playoffs are already a pipe dream at 0-3, so the Titans should either sink with Levis at QB, or learn how to win games with him as their quarterback. Barely surviving and going 7-10 with Mason Rudolph hurts you in the short-term and the long-term.
Aside from Levis, this is an evaluation period for other players on the roster. The offensive line has been disappointing, but they're young and working through a system change under Bill Callahan. The right tackle definitely needs replacing, and the right guard may as well.
The defense is mostly locked up for 2025, but Quandre Diggs and Ernest Jones IV are both working to earn second contracts with the Titans. How good can those two be by the end of the season? Jones has looked like a long-term building block. Things are less certain with Diggs given his advancing age, but he plays a replaceable position.
Should DeAndre Hopkins get a new deal with the Titans, or should they try to trade him at the trade deadline? Do they think he still has enough left in the tank for 2025 and beyond? If the Titans let Hopkins go, they'll be in the market for a new "X" receiver next offseason. The draft and free agency may be loaded with them.
These are the kinds of questions that are going to get answered during the 2024 season. If the Titans make a magical run to finish the season, that is great and they should embrace that success. However, winning immediate games isn't as important as finding answers to these long-term questions, and those questions only get answered through trial and error. The Titans need to maintain patience.
Have patience and try to enjoy the highs of this season while having perspective during the lows.
