The number one question for the Tennessee Titans in the upcoming offseason will be what the team does at quarterback for 2025.
Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what's best for the Titans. Some believe in drafting a top rookie like Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward (but likely can't agree on which prospect they prefer). Some are hoping for a big free agent signing of someone like Sam Darnold. Others make the case for the "bridge quarterback."
A bridge quarterback would be an older, veteran QB that comes in to start for the 2025 season and can hold things down until the Titans are ready to bring in the QB of the future.
The idea is that the Titans don't have a roster in place to support a rookie quarterback and put them in a situation to succeed. A bridge quarterback can help establish culture within the organization while the front office builds up a more competitive and sustainable roster. Once your roster is "a quarterback away," you go get the franchise quarterback on a rookie contract and open your competitive window.
It can be a sound process for some organizations. But for where the Tennessee Titans are right now, signing a bridge quarterback and playing a veteran in 2025 would make no sense. That means no Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, or Derek Carr. I'm not interested.
Rare Opportunity
I think it's important to remember that a top pick in the NFL Draft does not come around very often. In the last 40 years, the Titans/Oilers have picked in the Top 2...one time (Marcus Mariota, 2015). Tennessee traded out of the first overall pick in 2016 and has selected quarterbacks at third overall - Steve McNair (1995), Vince Young (2006) - on multiple occasions. But picking at the top of the draft is anything but a regular occurrence for this organization, and that's a good thing.
If the Titans were to bring in a veteran bridge quarterback, I have a hard time seeing how they get in a position to get a top rookie the next season. You're not going 3-14 with Matthew Stafford or Kirk Cousins at quarterback. They'll win you enough games to keep the fans engaged, but when it's all said and done, you'll be left in no man's land.
"Trade back and wait for Arch Manning" is an argument I hear a lot. And while the Chicago Bears were able to trade the number one overall pick in 2023 for a king's ransom and still stumbled into the number one overall pick via Carolina in 2024, that's an anomaly.
The Titans were blessed with an opportunity to draft the top quarterback in the upcoming draft class. Shedeur Sanders was gift wrapped by Giants quarterback Drew Lock with a nice little bow on top and delivered to Nissan Stadium just after Christmas. It would be foolish to not take advantage of that, especially when you consider the hot seat Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan could be sitting in.
Pressure to win
Callahan and Carthon are both expected to be retained for the 2025 season. I believe there is a belief within the organization that they can turn this thing around with time. Amy Adams Strunk is remaining patient and should be commended for doing so...but that patience will not last forever.
The Titans are opening a new stadium in 2027. Ms. Amy undoubtedly would like to field a winning football team when that gets here. She fired Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel because the organization was stuck on "good" instead of ascending into "great." She did not fire that regime to be at the bottom of the NFL standings and continuously miss the playoffs.
I think there's a real pressure on Carthon and Callahan to demonstrate the progress that ownership is looking for in 2025. With a rookie quarterback, that means being a more competitive team and having a bright future. With a bridge quarterback, I think it's all about wins and losses.
7-10 in 2025 would feel a whole lot different with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback than it wold with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. If it's a veteran under center leading the way, it comes with a winning expectation that I'm not sure Tennessee is ready to meet. It could end up leading to the end of this regime and the cycle would restart itself.
By all measures, I don't see how a bridge quarterback makes sense for the Titans in 2025. Especially now that you're in a position to get the quarterback of the future. Failing to draft a QB at the top of the draft would be a huge miss by Tennessee.
