Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans DOUBLE DOWN on Will Levis NONSENSE, Can't Cap Cam Ward & Rookie Numbers Revealed

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

The Tennessee Titans doubled down on Thursday with their quarterback competition talk whether it be Brian Callahan, Chad Brinker or Mike Borgonzi. Will Levis deserves his fair reps, but pretending like Cam Ward isn't the starting QB and giving any of his chances to Levis would be negligence and it should not be believed. Callahan also spoke about the rest of the roster and identified some areas where young payers must step up and no shock, it was basically the whole team. Finally, the Titans offseason schedule has been revealed along with the jersey numbers for the rookie draft class. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Despite doubling down on an open quarterback competition, the Tennessee Titans cannot give any of Cam Ward's opportunities to Will Levis. That more on today's edition of Locked on Titan. Daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Roland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by Amazon Fire TV stick 4K. You can turn any TV into your Xbox.

No console needed. Head to amazon.com slash fire TV locked on to learn more on today's episode. We're going to take a look at some of the comments. The Tennessee Titans brass hat on Thursday. We heard from Chad breaker. We heard from Brian Callahan specifically, and both of them doubled down on an open quarterback competition. And if true, it makes absolutely zero sense.

We're also gonna hear about Brian Callahan talking on the roster moves and changes that the Tennessee Titans have made. We'll go over the Titans all season schedule coming up here in the next few weeks and what to look forward to. And I'll also tell you the Jersey numbers for the Tennessee Titans rookie class, which just came out on Thursday. Before we dive into all of that, do want to thank you for making locked on Titans your first listen each and every day.

Remember Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free, make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. Cause next week we are going to take an in-depth look

at the Tennessee Titans roster, where they stand right now, where the Titans need to improve and where they can add going forward. So very excited to dive into all of that with you guys. But do first want to look at this doubling down of the open quarterback competition stuff from the Tennessee Titans.

We heard from Brian Callahan on Thursday. We heard from Chad Brinker on a local radio show. They both talked about, you know, competition's good. We want competition all over the roster. Uh, all the quarterbacks are going to get equal opportunities. All the quarterbacks are going to be in a competition. Nobody's on the starter role. We're not naming a starter in May.

And look, as I said earlier this week, sounds like coach speed sounds like, Hey, we're putting on a good public face. Hey, we're going to say this stuff. We're going to say that we still believe in Will Levis. We're going to say that we'll love us can stillvis. We're going to say that Will Levis can still develop. We're going to say it's an open competition. We don't want to step on any toes right now. And from the outside view, we don't want to absolutely torpedo Will Levis' value in any trade. And I know, again, a lot of you guys, when you

hear that, you roll your eyes and say, oh, nobody would trade anything for Will Levis anyway. And I think that is shockingly mistaken. Kenny Pickett went for like a fifth round pick earlier this all season. We just saw Sam Howell get traded for a sixth round pick. I do believe was the compensation. That is exactly where Will Levis should be as well. He should be getting you like a sixth round pick. You know, that's what the Titans could conceivably

get out of Will Levis. And as I've talked about, if you go further into the all season, if there's an injury in training camp, things happen in the NFL. Someone gets hurt during the preseason. Someone goes into training camp and looks absolutely terrible. And the team wants to get a look at somebody else. The Tennessee Titans are doing everything they can to keep their powder dry. There's no reason to come out and say, yeah, duh, Cam Ward's our number one quarterback. Yeah, this, blah, blah, blah.

Cause then you just publicly execute any Will Levis trade value that you might be able to get, or you might be able to increase because you know that teams have you over a barrel. If you come out and you literally say over and over and over again, it's a competition. We want Will Levis in the room where blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You're not torpedoing his value on your own. You know what I mean? So understanding that that is the most likely outcome here and the most likely reason why they're saying these things and why they're doubling down on this and why they're going to keep pushing this. That's the best reason why, but let me just say this. Let me take a quick second and just say this.

If this is true, if we get into, and remember I'm going to go over the Tennessee Titans offseason schedule ahead at the end of the show. If we get to rookie camp, if we get to OTAs, if we get to mini camp in June and Will Levis is getting as many opportunities as Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans have not given Cam Ward the number one quarterback amount of reps, I'm going to pull my hair out. Okay. This is one of these old school Mike Frable football things that is absolutely ridiculous. If you sacrifice Cam Ward's opportunities to get better and grow as a player and learn the offense and get chemistry with his teammates, the guys he's going to be throwing with, if you sacrifice even a single one of those opportunities to get Cam Ward ready for Will Levis, you are making a massive error.

You're making a massive mistake. And doing that under the guise of he's gotta earn it. He's gotta earn it. I'm sorry, but Cam Ward already earned it. Cam Ward earned it when you made him the number one overall pick. Cam Ward earned it when you got Warren Moon out of bed, brought him down here to Tennessee or up here to Tennessee and had him un-retire his Jersey and hand

it to Cam Ward at the press conference. You can't say, oh, Cam Ward's got to earn it. Cam Ward's got to earn it. Well, Cam Ward didn't have to earn Warren Moon coming out of retirement to give him his Jersey number and you guys rolling out the red carpet for him and crowning him the King of the earth. So we didn't have to earn all of that, but he's got to earn getting the proper reps over Will Levis. The reason you drafted cam ward number one overall, the reason you rolled out the red carpet for cam ward, the reason that you had Warren Moon unretire the number one Jersey and give it to him. The reason you did that

is because you don't believe in Will Levis anymore because you gave up on Will Levis. That's why you did this. So again, I believe and I refuse, I refuse to believe anything else that this is coach speak. This is a public narrative. This is politics. This is just saying the right thing in front of the cameras. I refuse to believe that the Tennessee Titans could conceivably give Cam Ward and Will Levis equal opportunity that they would give them.

And it's not because he has to earn it or any of that nonsense. It has nothing to do with that. It's about the football and if you're Brian Callahan you cannot afford to waste any reps on Will Wevis. If you're Brian Callahan you have to win football games and we can play this game in the charade and we could do the Mike Rable media nonsense. You can do that now because you gave up so much last year and Mike Borganzi is in here instead of Rand and Borganzi and Brinker don't want to talk like Rand wanted to talk and you're going to do it different now

and just go back to doing the classic typical old school NFL head coach approach. You can do that if you want. That's fine. Do that to the media. Do that to me. Lie to me, Brian Callahan. Lie to me. I can live with that, but do not behind the scenes. Do not behind the scenes. Lie to yourself. You cannot waste any of these reps. Mini camp camp OTAs training camp preseason You cannot waste any opportunities whatsoever for cam ward on will levis because will levis you have already declared Will levis is not your future you have already declared cam ward is and if you want to keep your job And you want to win football games you better get your future as ready as you possibly can get him. So again, I am hoping, wishing, praying, and we'll continue to not

believe anything else. Otherwise, this is complete. Coach speak nonsense. If it's anything other than coach speak nonsense, it is a travesty and would make me definitely be a tad concerned about Cam wards future. So just don't prove me wrong here. Titans. I'm begging you.

But with that being said, Brian Callahan had a lot of other things to say about the rest of the roster. Do you want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. Did you know that your Fire TV is also an Xbox? You can turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with a Fire TV Stick 4K device. No console required. Just grab your pair of controller, subscribe or sign in to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

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when you move, when you whatever, and just bring an Amazon Fire TV stick 4k. It is possible. Folks head to amazon.com slash fire TV locked on to get started. Xbox game pass ultimate subscription and compatible controller required available on select devices, including fire TV stick, 4k second gen fire TV stick, 4k max first and second gen and fire TV cube third gen. Titans fans. Let's continue today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the nonsense quarterback competition thing again, please, please be public coach speak. Please do not do this behind the scenes. It would be truly insane, but do want to move away from the quarterback conversations and

all of all of that nonsense, honestly, and talk about some other comments Brian Callahan had on the roster. And I want to start at the wide receiver position where, uh, Brian Callahan really had a lot to say, and he gave a lot of good information. And he talked about Traylen Burks for first and foremost. And again, by the time that you hear this, this will probably be resolved and we'll get news, but the Titans once again, failed to commit to declining Traylen Burks is fifth year option.

I earlier in the week, Chad Brinker said we're probably not going to pick up the fifth year option, which means they're going to decline it, which you're going to decline Traylon Berks is fifth year option. But Brian Callahan also said, you know, they're working through that right now. The deadline is, I believe, today, Thursday when I'm recording. So like, I would imagine that news has to come out sometime soon. It is basically a formality.

But Brian Callahan came out and said, you know, Traylen Burks needs to get healthy. And when he gets healthy and needs to come in here and make plays, he needs to be consistent. And the reality is they know that he's not. That's why they went out and drafted two wide receivers. They went out and got Xavier Restrepo as an undrafted free agent. They go out and signed two veteran wide receivers and Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson. They go out and signed James Prochet as well to come in and compete as a kick returner

who also plays at wide receiver. They have had enough of Traylen Burks. I honestly, I'm to the point now where I think the Titans might cut Traylen Burks when we get to cut down day for the roster. I think they cut Traylen Burks That's gonna be my prediction as of right now. I think you have Ridley Jefferson Lockett your veterans and then you're gonna bring Restrepo

Iomander and DK your three rookies. i'm not keeping seven wide receivers also Bryce oliver yeah right okay once again another media creation of an undrafted free agent wide receiver everybody tells you to get hype about and then the type is going up get three wide receivers who are going to be over him right away uh maybe not right away but give me those guys long term either way i'm just saying Traylon Burks is such an afterthought right now and he only has four and a half million dollars guaranteed on the salary cap. There's nothing you can do about that. Cutting him doesn't save any money.

blah blah blah doesn't matter. You're paying that money to Traylon Burks for this final year anyway. So essentially, it's a sunk cost and you might as well move on. Just move on. Don't keep him on the roster when you know you can't count on him. Just because you paid the four and a half million that you had to pay anyway. Don't make a mistake twice. Just cut him and you want to keep Bryce Oliver. You want to keep seven wide receivers and keep Bryce Oliver in that mix? Sure.

Just cut Trey Lindbergh's. He is wasting a roster spot at this point. And financially it finally makes sense to let him go. Brian Callahan did also talk about Tyler Lockett and how he thought Tyler Lockett could have a good impact on Cam Ward said he can break perspective, tell him how to do things, you know, how things are done by quarterbacks in the NFL. Um, I like the stuff that he had to say about the rookie wide receivers. He talked about Ellic Io Manor and said that he's probably going to start

out as an X receiver, which is what I've been talking about with Io Manor and why I think he has such a good opportunity to come in and contribute right away. Remember Titans don't really have an X wide receiver like van Jefferson. I think could give you some in that role, but I don't know if he's physical enough for that and then Deandre Hopkins is gone and that's what he was doing. The Calvin Ridley is a Z wide receiver, a slot wide receiver. I would say DK maybe, but more looking like a slot or a Z type guy to me. Traylon Burke should be the X wide receiver, but we know that he's a ghost.

So you can't really count on him. So have an IO manner as an X wide receiver to start makes all the sense in the world. And again, it's part of the reason why I think he can make such a big impact in year one because they don't have anybody who is as fit to play the X position as him. So, uh, did mention DK saying they think he could play all three spots, whether X, Z slot. He's not quite as big and physical as a guy. I would want to be my pure Z, but in the Titan spread system with these outs and these quick curls and stuff like that, I think DK can, could run some snaps there, but ultimately

I see him more as a Z or a slot, but the Titans are going to let him try all three positions until they find where he fits best. I think that's a good route with a guy who kind of doesn't fit perfectly in any mold like DK and that versatility can be a good thing for the Titans on this roster. Brian Callahan also talked about where he would like to see some young players step up. He started out talking about defensive back and linebacker. Those are the two spots that he mentioned right away. Talked about cornerback behind Roger McCreary got Jarvis Brownlee, Jr. and Ligeria Snead outside behind Roger McCreary. I thought that was interesting because again, something I continue to point out.

Roger McCreary is going to the last year of his contract. The Titans have Jarvis Brownlee Jr. They have a lot of money and resources invested in the Ligeria Sneed. Would they pay a close to top of market nickel cornerback deal for Roger McCreary? Three years, $40 million? Would the Titans pay that for Roger McCreary? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I would do that for Nick. Roger McCreary? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I would do that for Nick.

Roger McCreary is a very good player. He's been drafted here. He's been developed here. He's a very good nickel cornerback, but he's not an elite nickel cornerback. You know, he's not elite at the top of the league, a huge game changer difference maker type player is just a really good solid starting player. He's just good. Good. Not bad. Not great solid starting player. He's just good. Good.

Not bad. Not great. Not elite. He's good. Do you pay that for a nickel corner? I don't know. So maybe, you know, when Brian Callahan says, I'm looking for someone to develop behind Roger McCreary. Maybe the reason why that's so important is because Roger

McCreary ain't going to be here next year.. Just gotta keep that in mind as we look toward to the future. Same thing with Chigga Conquil. Same thing. So, he did also mention the trenches. He said, anytime you know you're looking at player development, you want to see development in the trenches because they're so important. Interior defensive line, interior offensive line, edge, offensive tackle. That should be no surprise. And then he also mentioned wide receiver, of course, which they have so many young wide receivers. And if you're thinking right now, wait,

defensive backs, linebackers, O-line, D-line, wide receiver, that's a whole dang team. Well, you're right. And the teams are very good. So the Titans do need young players to step up all across the team. I did that Brian Callahan had a really interesting answer. When he talked about the draft process this year with Mike Borgansi compared to previous, uh, examples that he's had with it, I want to make sure I, I get

some of these quotes correct for you here. He said that the draft process switch in to Mike Borganzi is the GM was seamless. He said, Mike brought the coaches in early into the process. He let the coaches actually look at the draft board. This is something that I didn't know about. I learned stuff all the time. That's why I listen to all these press conferences because there's behind the scenes stuff that, you know, there would be no way to know.

It's not like people talk about it or get asked about it. But Brian Callahan said, typically coaches come in, they read a report on what they're looking for at their particular position. Say you're a linebacker coach, you know, what you need in your life, what traits you want from your linebackers, all that the coaches will come in. They'll read their reports. The scouts will go, OK, awesome. And then that's it.

The coaches don't even look at the draft board like the rankings of the players. That's what Brian Callahan said is typically in his past. That wouldn't even be a thing. But Mike Borganzi is a general manager, brought the coaches in early. They let them look at the draft boards and they actually let the coaches and the scouts have conversations about the rankings of those players. Like, Hey, I actually had this guy ranked ahead of this guy because I saw this on tape and I liked this, but look, and Brian Callahan said what it resulted in was a lot of

additional tape watching. Like a coach would like a player way more than a scout. So the scout would say, okay, let me go back and look at this player or vice versa. Scout likes a guy way more than a coach and coach is like, all right, let me go back and look again. That kind of double check cross referencing stuff. It gives me so much optimism for what the Titan scouting process can be going for because that's exactly how you want to do it. You don't want consensus. There's a there's a phrase that I like.

Look, I'm boisterous. I have strong opinions. I, everyone should agree with me. You know, I'm right. And a lot of people out there are like that. I always think it's funny when people are like, Oh, you only think you're right. You think you're right all the time. Well, it sounds like you think I'm wrong. So maybe you think that you're right all the time.

You just think I'm wrong. You know, I always love stuff like that you think that you're right all the time. You just think I'm wrong. You know, I always love stuff like that. Thanks to the tango and these things, but. There's a phrase that I like that says, if we're all thinking the same, no one's thinking. If we're all thinking the same, no one's thinking. If we're all thinking the same, no one's thinking. There should not be full round consensus on everything. Shouldn't be like that.

You have to have dissenting opinion. You have to have someone playing devil's advocate per se. You have to take that contrarian opinion to make sure that you uncover every stone, to make sure that you truly analyze every single situation. So you get the best outcome possible and cross checking and cross referencing and having debate and having discussion about draft rankings and how to use players and stuff. That's the best thing that could possibly happen again, the best way to find the

best answer is to fight about it. That's the truth. You debate it harshly, severely. You examine every single angle, no matter how harsh and you take all the information to make the best decision. It sounds like that's what the Titans are doing, but speaking of process, the all season on field process has begun and we got some rookie Jersey numbers. Titans fans. Let's cap off today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast.

We've talked about a ton of different things. Cam ward situation, the roster moves that Brian Callahan talked about, but now I want to get into some clerical items, some off season schedule stuff, some Jersey numbers before I do that, thanks again for making locked on Titans. Your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But, all season roster schedule. May the 9th, May the 10th, rookie camp.

Cam Ward will be on the field making throws. Cannot wait. We are gonna go crazy for a few days off that for certain can't wait. But after that, OTAs, organized team activities, May 27th, 28th, and then 30th. So they go one day, two day, off day, third day. And then the same thing the week later, June 2nd, 3rd, off day, June 5th.

Then mandatory mini camp, June 10th through the 12th. That will be a big one to see who's actually out there, who showed up, all of that. Love it. Then of course we get training camp at the end of July. So that is the schedule going forward for the Titans. May 9th and 10th rookie camp. OTAs May 27, 28, 30, June 2, 3, and 5. And then mandatory mini camp for everyone June the 10th through the 12th. Just around, and 5. And then mandatory mini camp for everyone, June the 10th through the 12th, just around the river bend. And then end of July again, training camp, we got that little six week gap there.

Basically what I like to call vacation time. For me, that's when I try to go. But either way, it's coming folks. Football is right around the corner. Cannot wait for some of these summer workouts. It's going to be so much to discuss. Last thing that I want to talk about is we did finally get Jersey numbers for the Titans rookie class.

We don't have any official information on the undrafted free agents at this time. I'm expecting that that might come out on Thursday after I record or on Friday at minimum should be out very soon. And then we'll discuss that next week as we get the full final list from the Titans of course Xavier Restrepo is a guy to pay attention to and number seven still available. I hope Restrepo goes and grabs it but Cam Ward obviously number one, Femio Ladejo number 53. Love the number 53. 53 Keith Bullock Was a hero of mine growing up as a young linebacker Wanted to be like KB all the time even more the the arm sleeves in third grade trying to be just like that then Kevin Winston number 23

21 isn't available because of Roger McCreary 2 isn't available because of Tajay Spears 21 and 2 together 23 there we go. I like it Kevin Winston years 21 and 2 together 23 there we go I like it Kevin Winston uh chim dk 17 college number like that Gunner Helm took 84 man I wanted him to take like 5 or 85 or 15 or something like that you know what I mean but went with 84 classic tight end number can't be mad about that. Elec Ioman I thought that he was going to have a chance to go grab 13 Cheetos going but no he went with number five and look five is an elite wide receiver number five is awesome So I'm a big physical number five. Hey, we finally got to Higgins. We finally got our two Higgins guys Jackson Slater took number 64. That was my number growing up in Peewee football

I was number 64. So I my number growing up in Pee-wee football. I was number 64, so I love, I love that for those reasons. Marcus Harris took number 26 and then Superman Mullins took number 28 and I love that because he said his favorite player growing up was Chris Johnson, the Tennessee Titans. He used to use them all the time in Madden. That's who we like. That was his favorite player. Johnson, the Tennessee Titans, he used to use them all the time in Madden. That's who we like. That was his favorite player, Bolo. So now he gets to wear 28 and that's pretty cool. I just kind of say this though.

We're not retiring Chris Johnson's Jersey. Then I mean, shouldn't have any more Jersey retirements, dude dropped 2000 yards, so I'm just saying like, you know, just, just interesting to me. I guess that'll never happen. But either way, those are the rookie jersey numbers. That's going to do it for today's episode. I'll be back with you guys next week. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Lock on Titans.