Titans fans can't blame Mike Borgonzi for sticking to his word in free agency

Everyone knows that the Tennessee Titans have been through incredibly tough sledding in the past few years. The wheels have been visibly falling off since the AJ Brown trade, and since that moment almost three years ago, the team has had three GM's, two head coaches, and soon to be three starting quarterbacks.

They have been through a constant and ridiculous level of organizational turnover recently, and at least until proven otherwise, have become a dysfunctional franchise under Amy Adams Strunk. Even still, they managed to land arguably the top GM candidate in the recent cycle in Mike Borgonzi, who will oversee the roster alongside president of football operations Chad Brinker.

From the day Borgonzi was hired, the two executives have talked about an offseason strategy, particularly in free agency, that differs from how Ran Carthon approached it last year. Of course, we are not even close to the point of declaring this offseason a success, but Brinker and Borgonzi have thankfully acted in accordance.

Tennessee Titans have been more selective in free agency despite plenty of cap space

Brinker and Borgonzi talked about how they envision rebuilding this Titans roster, and the biggest thing they harped on was being a team that drafts and develops homegrown talent. Going that route is how you build a foundation and eventually a contender, and while they said they would use free agency to supplement free agency, they were going to be careful.

Brinker, in particular, talked about being more disciplined than he and Carthon were last year, and not just signing every talent available in free agency just because they could. He and Borgonzi were in agreement that free agency is mostly where you look for gritty, lower risk guys who could supplement the roster, instead of being relied on to be the team's core.

At the very beginning of free agency, it did not quite look like they would stay true to their word, as they signed offensive tackle Dan Moore to a big money contract. It was super risky and may blow up in the Titans' faces, but it was to fill a clear position of need, and granted, Brinker and Borgonzi did not say they would avoid such moves altogether.

As with anything in life, roster building in the NFL must be done with a balanced approach, and both executives know that they cannot make the team better by solely relying on the draft and refusing to take big swings on the open market.

Even though Moore is not considered a high-end left tackle, a blocker like him was one of the few free agents the Titans could justify swinging for the fences on. Plus, he still has upside as a 26 year old who has steadily improved, and when you look at the rest of the team's free agents, nobody got even close to the money and commitment Moore got.

The next biggest deal the Titans gave out was to linebacker Cody Barton, a solid, not outstanding player who signed an affordable three-year contract. That is a perfect way to address a non-premium position.

After that, they signed veteran safety Xavier Woods to an even cheaper two-year deal, which again addressed a need at a non-premium position.

Rounding out the headliners of the Titans free agency class were defensive end Dre'Mont Jones and guard Kevin Zeitler, both of whom essentially signed risk-free one-year deals. Like the others, both are solid players, and Zeitler is even recognized as many by one of the stronger guards in football, and his arrival should complete the offensive line's transformation.

Another element of this free agency class that stood out was dependability and availability, as all of the players signed by Borgonzi either played well over 1000 snaps in 2024, or were healthy for every game during the season.

That is a great way to approach free agency, as the worst thing that can happen is spending big money on guys who physically cannot play. Going this route is the closest thing to ensuring that the Titans will get the best bang for their buck, and might also explain why they cut Chidobe Awuzie, who was injured for most of training camp and the regular season.

Adding contributing starters who are dependable and durable could help the Titans field a healthier, more competitive team in 2025. The clear approach is also a breath of fresh air for a franchise that has lacked structure and direction in recent years.