Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Hassan Haskins Charged with Assault, Starting O-Line Combos & Terrible Summer Break

Episode Date: July 2, 2023

The Tennessee Titans continue to have a terrible summer break. In the latest news, Titans running back Hassan Haskins was charged with Aggravated Assault. Tyler talks about what the Titans should do if they need to replace Haskins. Next, Tyler continues to discuss the Titans options on the offensive line after the suspension of Nicholas Petit-Frere. Finally, what in the world is going on with the Titans right now? The vibes are extremely off.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicholas Petit-Ferrer suspended for six games. Hassan Haskins charged with aggravated assault. Our pets' heads are falling off. What's going on with the Titans? We're going to talk about it on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your 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 Rowland, Titans fans. WTF, mate? What is going on with the Titans during summer break? We're going to dive into everything that's happening, what the Titans can do to fix some of these problems that have popped up as well. Before we get into it,

I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Guys, what in the world was the last week Nicholas Petit Ferrer suspended six games, now Hassan Haskins is charged with aggravated assault via strangulation? My God! I have no idea what's down in the water in Nashville right now, but I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free on all apps. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every single day. Throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now as well, and hit that notification bell. Make sure that you know when all the content goes live.

Again, every single day through the week, all year long, I'm bringing you Tennessee Titans content for free. You can't beat that anywhere. But no easy way to transition into the recent news. What was it? Thursday, we got the Nicholas Petit Ferrer news. Friday, we get the Hassan Haskins news. I mean, as a lot of you guys know,

I had a tough beginning to the week. On a personal note, I took what I would consider a little mini vacation. The last half of the week, hey, it's the dead period of summer. Nothing big is going to happen that I'm going to miss. I'm going to record a couple episodes and get them ready to go so I can spend some time with my fiance.

Well, the Titans said, screw you, buddy. Screw you. We're going to dominate the headlines at the end of the week here with terrible, terrible news. And let's get in to, I dropped my emergency episode on NPM, but this is Hassan Haskins' situation. And look, guys, as I joke all the time, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a lawyer. I'm definitely not a cop.

So I'm not going to get into all the weeds. I'm not going to get into all the little fine details. All I'm going to say is Hassan Haskins was charged with aggravated assault via strangulation. And apparently the alleged victim is his girlfriend slash romance partners, whatever. Again, I don't want to get too far into the details

on these incidents. What I did see was that there will be a court date in July, so we should have some more information relatively soon on how the courts are going to rule or how this legal matter is going to be seen. Obviously, if this is true, then Hassan Haskins is going to get a one-way pass out of town immediately. And he should.

I mean, this is alleged. And as we know in today's climate, it's hard to know exactly what's happening. People want to rush to judgment, and I get it. But, man, if this is true, just despicable, honestly. But again, the only responsible thing to do is wait. Just despicable, honestly. But again,

the only responsible thing to do is wait a little bit here, see what has to be said, but do just want to say, obviously, if it's real, horrifying. And Haskins should never play again, especially for the Titans. But we will wait until we get more details

on that. For the time being, the Titans cannot wait to develop a plan. So I said a couple of weeks ago in our positional preview series leading up to training camp when we talked about running backs, Hassan Haskins was gravely underrated by the fan base. He's a fourth-round pick running back. You expect him to get the ball, to run the ball, score touchdowns, all that. That was not his role on the team. Haskins is a number three running back. They can pass protect. They can help you in a pinch on third downs. If you need to throw the ball to him, they'll give you a couple of carries and run straight downhill and

just get tackled right away. But on special teams, his value was immense. On coverage units, Haskins was tied for the most special teams tackles on the Titans last year. He was excellent on special teams coverage units. And he returned some kickoffs as well and did pretty solid there. So, Haskins may not be what fans think of when you think of a fourth-round running back draft pick,

but he had fourth-round value to the Titans with his versatility. So keep that in mind here. Some options to replace Hassan Haskins. Of course, the Titans could look internal. Jonathan Ward, but Ward is more of a pass-catching back out of the backfield. Julius Chestnut, who had moments last year,

but I wasn't that impressed, and he's not going to help you on coverage units on special teams, which totally diminishes his value when you have Henry and Spears. Chuck McClelland, who's another guy who I think is more of a pass catcher, speed guy. I don't really see a great option for the Titans on the roster. So, some free agent options for the Titans at running back.

Rex Burkhead. Now, Burkhead could be that third down back in that RB3 that's your utility player. But at his age, Burkhead's in his 30s now. He's just not going to be the asset in special teams coverage units that Haskins was. So he only played 17 special team snaps in 2022. I don't think that's a great option. But it's a name that people recognize that can do the third down back responsibilities

and the RB3 responsibilities that you need. And it's a Texans guy. So Mike Rabel will probably love that. Patriots Texans guy. Trent Cannon. We know Trent Cannon. He spent time with the Titans in the preseason last year before getting injured and going on IR.

He can help you in the kick returning department. He's going to be able to play coverage units on special teams. And he can be a backup scat back to Tajay Spears and have some third down value if they need it. So that's an option. Malcolm Brown, who played for the Rams last year, had 88 special team snaps last year for LA. I think he could make some sense.

But the number one option for me on the free agent market right now for the Titans if they want to bring somebody in is Justin Jackson. Spent time with the Chargers. He's the youngest of all these guys that we just talked about. Him and Trenton Cannon are both 27 years old.

Brown is about to be in his 30s. Burkhead's already in his 30s. So when you talk about special teams coverage, you need physicality. You need speed. Probably makeshead's already in his 30s. So when you talk about special teams coverage, you need physicality. You need speed. Probably makes sense to go with the younger guy. Justin Jackson played

253 special team snaps last year, and 23 of those were kick returns where he had over 600 return yards. Justin Jackson gives you actual running back value as an RB3. He gives you special teams value

more than anybody else that's listed. Justin Jackson is the guy who makes sense for the Titans if they look for a free agent option at running back to replace Haskins. If again, what he's being charged with is true and the Titans need to move on from him because the Titans would be moving on from Hassan Haskins. Lickety split. Quicker than a hiccup if any of this is true as they should. Despicable stuff.

It's terrible when the Titans are in the news for these things. To me, Titans might have some bad karma for this season because they refuse to accept their destiny. I'm going to get into that a little bit later on in the show. But now we got to talk a little bit more about Nicholas Petit-Ferrer because I'll be honest with you. I've defended NPF. But if the Titans go out and get George Fant in free agency, I don't really think it changes the outcome of the

season even if NPF didn't get suspended. So I'll explain that a little more, go into some of the options that the Titans have. Before we get into it though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs.

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LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. What the heck is going on with the Titans? I mean, my Lord.

Haskins charged with aggravated assault. NPF suspended six games. We just talked about the Haskins situation. Now I want to talk a little bit more about fixing right tackle and what the Titans should do there now with NPF suspended for six games. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all apps, all year round, always for free. You aren't going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed, hit the notification bell, throw a thumbs up on the video right now, leave a five-star review, guys. I would definitely appreciate that. All that stuff helps support the show in a big, big way. And hey, the show is always free, so I don't ask for a lot in return. But moving right along here.

In my opinion, if the Titans sign George Fant to play tackle, it doesn't really change how many games the Titans would have won if NPF didn't get suspended. Like, let me break it down this way. Nicholas Petit Ferrer was one of the worst, bottom five, bottom eight,st starting offensive tackles in the NFL last year. Now, he was a third-round rookie. Gonna be tough for a mid-round rookie to come in and be a stud right away. We're not talking about Peter Skowronski, who was taken with the 11th pick.

Nicholas Petit-Ferrer was taken at 69. who was taken with the 11th pick, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer was taken at 69. So he already probably needed a year of development on the bench, but he got thrown into a starting role because Mike Frabel hates Dylan Radins. So, NPF had a lot of ups and downs last year. Some of it understandable with being a rookie,

and he was surrounded by the worst offensive line in the NFL. Nate Davis was in and out of the lineup, hurt all year long. Ben Jones was either in the lineup or struggling or out of the lineup or struggling through injuries while he was in it. Aaron Brewer was maybe the worst starting guard in the NFL last year.

And we know about left tackle and how bad that was. So while NPF struggled, third round rookie who you couldn't expect fantastic play from right out of the gate, terrible supporting cast around him, not only on the offensive line, but wide receiver, offensive coordinator,

you know what I mean? Just a bad offensive environment in general. But while defending NPF all offseason and talking about the realities of his situation, it doesn't mean that he's going to be better. You hope that a better circumstance,

a year of development, playing in the league, he would be better. But NPF could still be a terrible starting tackle and a guy who shouldn't be a starter by next season. That could still be the outcome. He's not so good that... Basically, NPF isn't so good

that I think this drastically changes the amount of games that the Titans are going to be able to win. And if they go out and sign George Fant, like I have been, my everydayers, let me know down below if you're an everydayer. Everydayers saw on the offensive tackle preview episode last week, I talked about the fact that the Titans had zero depth at offensive tackle and they need to bring in George Fant.

Well, now it is imperative. And if they bring in George Fant and they let him play right tackle for the first six weeks, I don't think it's really that big of a difference for the Titans if they had NPF still. And then when NPF comes back after the six weeks, now either NPF goes back to the starter or Fant didn't play well, Fant keeps the starting right tackle spot if he did play well, and at minimum, at bare minimum, you have much more depth at offensive tackle than you had coming into the season. There is no downside to signing George Fant right now. There isn't. So, he's going to play on a vet minimum. It's not like they're going to pay him a ton. He's still unsigned right now.

There's a better chance that George Fant doesn't get to play in the NFL this year than he is than him getting more than vet minimum on a contract. So, it's not going to be financially punitive to do it. And to me, again, if you sign George Fant, I don't really see the Titans offense any different than if they had NPF it just totally erases it as a concern in my opinion

what would concern me though is other options now if the Titans don't sign George Fant and they want to go internal they want to solve the problem with what they got. Absolutely despicable to do that. In my opinion, it's spitting in your fan's face because you're telling us that you're doing a last dance run

with Tannehill and Henry in the last year of their contracts and you're going to give them an opportunity to go out and compete. Well, if you don't go add something here, I don't see how you could say that, but I don't see how you could say that looking at the roster anyways. But they're saying it, and some of you are believing it. But to me, the only other option they have other than adding George Fant or a free agent

is you can kick Peter Skowronski to right tackle, and then you play Jamarco Jones at left guard. People talking about putting Brunskill at right tackle. No way. Then what are you doing at guard? You put Aaron Brewer at right guard when he played left guard last year and was maybe one of the worst guards in the NFL. And then Corey Levin at center

or Jamarco Jones at right guard and then Daniel Brunskill at right tackle. Listen, you have a guy who was drafted number 11 in the NFL draft who can play tackle. He may not be an elite offensive tackle. He may be a better guard than he is a tackle, but he can play offensive tackle, folks. He was the best left tackle in the entire NCAA last year.

The guy can play some tackle. So to me, you take your second best offensive tackle and you put him at right tackle. Skowronski at right tackle. Then let Jamarco Jones play left guard. My thing is, you got to keep Aaron Brewer at center. If you move Aaron Brewer to guard, you are going to have one of the worst guards in the NFL. You have to avoid that. You have to let Aaron Brewer play center. You have to.

And I think Jamarco Jones at left guard and Peter Skowronski at right tackle is the easiest way to go about fixing that problem. But again, the number one option for me, and I think it would totally eliminate any concern about NPF suspension, sign George Fan at right tackle. That simple.

But I got a little information for you guys to cap off the show that we're going to get into. I just want to talk about what's going on right now in general because the Titans are losing the summer break. Out of all the NFL teams, the Titans are the biggest loser of summer break so far. So we're going to talk about that plus some more bad news may be coming our way, guys.

We're going to get into that in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Wild things going on with the Titans right now. Terrible news every other day, it seems like. And I guess I just want to give general thoughts on just how it feels right now to be a Titans fan. But before I get into that, once again, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free.

It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Get subscribed, stay subscribed, hit the notification bell, throw a thumbs up on the video, all that jazz. But we're going to continue this week, our positional preview series. We're going to dive into the defense as we go forward. Interior D-line, linebackers, edge, safeties, corners, all that. So make sure you don't miss out on that. Man, just how disappointing. You know, at the end of the day, like I said,

NPF, you bring in George Fant you kick Skowronski over to right tackle NPF wasn't so good that this is like you know debilitating same thing Haskins I've said he's underrated I bring up all the value that he brings to the team which I think is is palpable and it's underrated stuff for casual fans. They just don't care about special teams and roles. And everybody needs to be a pro bowler or an all-star. They're not valuable. That's just the way that things are discussed.

But like, although neither of these moves, it's not like Derrick Henry's out for the season or, you know, Jeffrey Simmons is getting arrested or, you know, it's not like Derrick Henry's out for the season or Jeffrey Simmons is getting arrested. It's not like that, but it's just the vibes

are not there, man. And I think I don't want to use the word karma because it just doesn't seem appropriate. But I just think that there's blood in the water here.

The Titans should have prioritized youth this season. Ryan Tannehill should not be on this team. Derrick Henry should not be on this team. This team is not going to be able to win a Super Bowl. I mean, if you want to tell me they get Hopkins, I'll at least entertain it. But even then one playoff win is kind of the cat for me. I get you get in the tournament. So again, guys, I try to represent both sides of an opinion. Like what I think is always going to be one of those sides, but what people who disagree with me think is the other side of that.

And I try to at least cover both sides for you guys while obviously pointing out which side I lean to. That's my general idea here. Hey, some people say this. Some people say this. I believe this. That is my entire business model here. Bringing you all the information

and then giving you my opinion. Well, we have talked about all the information possible and my opinion continues to be this team should have prioritized youth. You can call it tanking, call it whatever you want, but prioritizing the future is what I would call it.

Will Levis or Malik Willis should be starting. Period. Some of these free agent signings probably could have went with a younger option. You know what I mean? Probably could have saved the money and just accepted your fate. The Titans refuse to accept the reality of their situation.

They're trying to maximize winning with veterans, but also have an eye to the future by drafting these young guys. It's just a mistake, man. And I feel like I feel like the Titans are going to be forced

into a losing season. Whether they like it or not. There's just something. The vibes are off, man. That's all I know. The running back is choking people maybe. Right tackles gambling, gets suspended. They're trying to get Kevin Byard to take a pay cut.

You know, just like the vibes are off. And the vibes are off because the Titans refuse to accept reality. Mike Vrabel looks at himself in the mirror every morning and says, I can take this team to the playoffs. And to me, it's pride. And at the end of the day, pride will get you killed. The Titans didn't win the offseason.

They did okay. But boy, they're losing the summer right now. And let me tell you this. We're about 24 minutes into the show. You're still watching. You're still listening. This is for you. Bad news

usually comes in threes. And all I'll say is, I don't think the bad news is over for the Titans. That's all I'm at liberty to say. Buckle up. Let me do this because that's ominous and unfair. Don't worry about your favorite player on the team. Don't worry about your favorite players.

But there might be some more bad news for the Titans on the way. Let's talk later this week, but that's all I can say for now. That is going to do it for me today, though, folks. Again, our pets' heads are falling off, guys. What the heck is going on here? And again, it might not be over. guys. What the heck is going on here? And again, it might not be over. But

anyways, that is going to do it for the show today. Glad to be back with my mini vacay. But either way, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.