Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis is the FRANCHISE, Who Stays for 2024 & Titans Cut Monty Rice

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

The Tennessee Titans' record may be ugly this year, but the season is a success because they know Will Levis is the quarterback they can build around. Levis has had his rookie mistakes, but the flashe...s of brilliance are far more important. Next, who should the Titans bring back in 2024 on offense? Tyler talks about Peter Skoronski and DeAndre Hopkins as guys to want back. Finally, the Titans waived linebacker Monty Rice on Tuesday in a somewhat surprising move. Who should be kept at linebacker for next year then and also on the rest of the defense?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!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.Skylight FrameSkylight is a touchscreen photo frame you can send photos to straight from your phone! Get $15 off a Skylight Frame at Skylightframe.com/Lockedon.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.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.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.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

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Titans record may be ugly, but this season is a success. I'll explain why 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. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports.
Starting point is 00:00:50 Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL in all lowercase for a first deposit match up to $100. We got a lot to discuss on today's show. Which players on this year's team do I want to keep for next year? Which players should be on the 2024 Tennessee Titans? I'm going through the entire roster on today's show, and I'm excited for you guys to play along with me.
Starting point is 00:01:16 First, Will Levis is a slam dunk, and he is the franchise quarterback for the Titans. We'll talk about the wide receiver and O-line positions that the Titans need so desperately. And Monty Rice was cut for the Titans. We'll talk about the wide receiver and O-line positions that the Titans need so desperately. And Monty Rice was cut by the Titans. We'll talk about that plus other defenders who need to be on next year's team. Before we get into all of it,
Starting point is 00:01:35 I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday.
Starting point is 00:01:56 Tomorrow, crossover Thursday with Kyle Krabs from Locked on Dolphins. Friday, we're going to be breaking down the weekend to watch for the Titans. And Monday, we've got a big game against the Dolphins. I'm going to be breaking down the weekend to watch for the Titans. And Monday, we've got a big game against the Dolphins. I'm going to be breaking down everything you need to know and how the Titans can win on Monday's show. Again, make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But when we start the conversation of which Tennessee Titans should be on the team next year,
Starting point is 00:02:21 we have to start at quarterback with Will Levis because every single week now, every single week, I get more excited about the future with Will Levis. I get more excited about what he can be as the Titans build the team around him. And that's why for me, this season is a success. All right, let me, let me just lay it out here. I am as guilty as anyone. I'm as guilty as anyone, so don't feel bad about this. I'm as guilty as anyone of preseason optimism. You buy into the hype. The DeAndre Hopkins signing really was a death blow for me
Starting point is 00:02:57 and staying level-headed. I got way too excited. I expected way too much. If we look back at what the roster was going into this year with clear eyes like we have now, our expectations for what this team can do were obviously way too high. Now, I was pretty convinced that this team wasn't making any kind of deep playoff run even with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins,
Starting point is 00:03:19 but you thought that they had enough to compete for the division, maybe make the playoffs. Those were silly thoughts. And I can admit that now, and I'm sure a lot of you watching and listening right now, you were a little too excited and optimistic for this team as well, considering the talent that was on the roster. All right, that's fair.
Starting point is 00:03:36 So we can acknowledge that. But looking at it now, looking at it now, what was actually most important for the Titans this year? Figuring out who was going to be the quarterback going forward. That was going to, this team had to be rebuilt. We saw the first version of the team with Henry and LaJuan and that group. Ryan Tannehill of course, A.J. Brown sadly. Now the Titans have to rebuild a
Starting point is 00:04:03 new group. Who is going to be the quarterback with that group? And who can we place around that quarterback in our goal to build up this roster? Well, the number one question that must be answered in the NFL, in my opinion, is having the quarterback. And I think the Titans have it. Watching Will Levis is a rookie with a terrible team around him. He is making mistakes. He misses some reads. He has some situations that maybe he's a little too aggressive. Some situations that he maybe puts the ball in danger a little bit.
Starting point is 00:04:37 All of that can be acknowledged. He's a rookie. He's not going to be perfect right away. This was my argument with the Batman movie that Robert Pattinson in. It was absolutely fantastic. And some people didn't like it. Oh, Batman lost. Oh, Batman got beat too much.
Starting point is 00:04:49 Oh, Batman's stupid. It's a young Batman. You can't go into Robert Pattinson's The Batman in year two expecting fully fledged Arsenal Batman with all the gadgets and bells and whistles. Your expectations are off. And that's how I feel with some people with Will Levis. They expect him to be perfect already. He's going to make those mistakes, but
Starting point is 00:05:09 in between some of those mistakes is a man throwing dimes. You go to my Twitter account right now, at TicTacTitans, I posted a bunch of clips of throws that Will Levis made against the Colts. Outrageous stuff. He's got elite arm talent. He's got elite release
Starting point is 00:05:27 quickness. And he's got elite football character. Watching him track down that fumble. His offensive line sucks. Makes him fumble as he's trying to throw. He instantly runs to the linebacker, gets the ball back, and flexes and first down points. This guy cares more than anything in the world. He is hyper-aggressive, hyper-competitive, obsessive in his craft. And that is what you want. You combine that with the elite arm talent and velocity
Starting point is 00:05:55 and the elite quickness with the release. Those qualities are elite. I'm not saying Will Levis is an elite quarterback. I'm saying his arm talent and his release quickness are elite already. They're great. It's the ball placement, the accuracy, the decision making, all that stuff that needs to improve. But he has elite traits and he has elite football character.
Starting point is 00:06:17 He cares. He wants to improve. He's going to continuously work until he is the best version of himself. That is all you can ask for. And the throws that he makes on a week-to-week basis with the pressure, one thing that I want to talk about here, shout out to my guy PrettyBoyKelly, at underscore PrettyBoyKelly on Twitter, always posting good stuff.
Starting point is 00:06:38 I reference his stuff a lot here. But he made a point that if you go and look at passer rating from a clean pocket, when you actually give Will Levis time from a clean pocket, Will Levis is eighth in passer rating with 100 attempts minimum. So guys who actually play. He leads the league in drop rate. The Titans had five drops against the Buccaneers. They had five or six drops again against the Colts. We talk
Starting point is 00:07:08 every week about the lack of separation for this wide receiver group. It is proven in the data. So the drop rate, the lack of separation, that's just the wide receiver issues and the pass catcher issues. We go to the offensive line where we know that Levis' QB hit percentage and Levis' pressure percentage are among the highest in the NFL. So with the most pressure and the least help from the pass catchers, Will Levis is eighth in passer rating from a clean pocket. And if you take out those drops, he's probably in the top five.
Starting point is 00:07:40 So despite everything around him, Will Levis continues to impress every single week. And that is why, despite the Titans record being 8-4, despite that even if the Titans lose every single game the rest of the season, the season is a success. Because the Titans have found a quarterback that they can build around going forward. They can take that $100 million in cap space. They can take the eight draft picks that they have.
Starting point is 00:08:07 And we all talk about how high the Titans will draft in the first round. What about all the other rounds where they'll be drafting higher and have access to better? The Titans had to trade up to pick 34 last year, right? Because the Steelers had 33, and then the Titans got the second pick in the second round. The Titans traded up for that pick to get Will Levis. They would be close to owning that pick this year with the record.
Starting point is 00:08:28 So just think about it. I know that it's frustrating and it's disappointing when they lose on Sundays. I know you feel it. But if you look at yourself in the mirror and you're honest, this team isn't making any kind of run, even if they were a couple of games better. It would actually probably hurt them if they were a couple of games better. It would actually probably hurt them if they were a couple of games better.
Starting point is 00:08:48 And setting themselves up to get a blue chip prospect, again, in this year's draft, while having the answer at quarterback and the resources to build around him, that is as big of a success as a Titans fan can hope for, looking at the state of the roster in this team. So the answers that we needed this year, if we're honest with ourselves, we are getting those answers.
Starting point is 00:09:13 And Will Levis is the head of that snake. But there are other answers on the roster too. I'm here to preach positivity and optimism today. There are players on this team right now that I think will help this team next year when they try to turn things around. And I'm going to go through who I think should be on this roster. Let me just say this before we move on with Malik Willis. If they want to keep him on the team and develop him, that's fine. But I think you need to pair a veteran backup with Will Levis just in case he's injured for a few games out for a half. Somebody who can carry the torch. Somebody who
Starting point is 00:09:44 can actually steer the ship home. So I think now that you have Levis in tow, you can let Malik Willis go to a team that wants to develop him and saddle Willis with a veteran quarterback who can be his backup. But with that being said, we are going to move forward, talk about the rest of the offense, and talk about the defense where the Titans cut Monty Rice on Tuesday. A surprising move, even if I wasn't very high on Monty Rice.
Starting point is 00:10:06 So we got a lot to discuss. Before we get into it, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Skylight Frames. All right, if you're looking for a meaningful gift this holiday season that your loved ones will actually use and actually enjoy, then you got to check out Skylight Frames. Okay, look, you see boring gifts every single holiday, whether it be socks or candles or slippers. If you're looking to up your gift giving game this year, you got to
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Starting point is 00:12:02 Get $15 off your purchase of a Skylight Frame. Just go to skylightframe.com slash locked on. Get $15 off your purchase of a Skylight Frame. Just go to skylightframe.com slash locked on. That's S-K-Y-L-I-G-H-T-F-R-A-M-E.com slash locked on to get $15 off. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I always like to call the Wednesday show or the third episode of the week for YouTube. I always like to call it What's Next Wednesday because I try to spin forward, look at something either in the future or looking ahead to the next game, something like that. And obviously today I want to go through the roster and talk about which players I think should be back next year. Had to have a full conversation about Will Levis and how excited I am about him,
Starting point is 00:13:02 but also talked about the quarterback position. Now we're going to do the rest of the offense, and I'm going to talk about Monty Rice being cut and use that as a springboard into the rest of the defense at the end of the show. But before we get into it, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.
Starting point is 00:13:17 It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now as well. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. And remember, throw your comments down below. Follow along with me. What players do you want to see on next year's team? Who do you want to bring back?
Starting point is 00:13:34 Who are you okay with walking away? At running back, Tajay Spears proved it again. Derrick Henry got knocked out for a late portion of the game. Spears had 4.7 yards of carry, was elusive. He caught the ball. He was able to throw the ball back to Will Levis on a trick play. He ran the ball when there was space. He made things work.
Starting point is 00:13:55 He ran with power and drove his feet, pushed piles. Tajay Spears was incredibly impressive. So absolutely bringing Spears back. As you guys know, Derrick Henry, it depends on the money. I'd be willing to bring Henry back, but he's that you aren't the son of this offensive universe anymore. We need to diversify things and use a lot more Tajay Spears. And with the improved offensive line in theory and the reduced role for Derrick Henry, hopefully he can be more effective when he does get the ball. 20 carries a game should be a thing of the past for the Titans and Derrick Henry,
Starting point is 00:14:45 even if they decide to bring him back unless they're winning by a ton. Okay, that can't be the game plan week to week. But moving forward to tight end, I want Chiggy Conquo back. Of course, it's been a disappointing year, but he still has a role in this offense. And I think even adding another tight end would help slot Chiggy Conquo even better if Josh Wiley can make that step. And, of course, Josh Wiley, I want to be on the team as well. Trevon Wesko, he came in to be the Jeff Swaim of this offense.
Starting point is 00:15:10 He's had moments, but I don't think it's so effective that he needs to be back. If they brought him back, I wouldn't be angry, but I think they can look for better at the tight end position. At wide receiver is really where the conversation starts, wide receiver and offensive line. For me, DeAndre Hopkins, I want to bring him back. He's going to be $15 million on the cap next year. That's a good value.
Starting point is 00:15:31 If DeAndre Hopkins is your wide receiver two, or even your wide receiver three, if he's your wide receiver two, you have a good wide receiver core. If you can make him your wide receiver three, you have an elite wide receiver core. And the Titans have that possibility this year. So I want to have DeAndre Hopkins back at 15 million. It's a bargain. And that's about the going rate for a wide receiver two in the NFL right now anyways. So I don't think that it's
Starting point is 00:15:55 anything to be worried about there. Kyle Phillips. Yeah. Bring Kyle Phillips back fifth round salary. It's not like you're going to have to pay him a ton. If he's your situational wide receiver four, wide receiver five, maybe you give him another shot at punt returner because he's less important as a wide receiver to you. You bring Kyle Phillips back one more time. Chris Moore. Chris Moore has been impressive. If Chris Moore is your wide receiver five, I think you're doing pretty good.
Starting point is 00:16:22 Chris Moore has shown he can be a deep threat. He can be a gadget guy. He had a great day in run blocking. So as a depth wide receiver at the very end of the depth chart, wide receiver five, wide receiver six, Chris Moore makes a ton of sense. So I like Chris Moore back on this team. Traylon Burks, again, if you can trade him,
Starting point is 00:16:40 a lot of you guys push back in the comments. What are you going to trade him for? Who's going to be? I don't care. With what I want the Titans to do at wide receiver this year, sign a T. Higgins, sign a Brandon Ayuk, sign a Calvin Ridley, sign a Mike Evans, sign a top-tier wide receiver, and then draft a wide receiver in the first two rounds. Who cares about Traylon Burks? If you can get a
Starting point is 00:17:03 fourth round, fifth round pick for him, you do that. That's what I would want to do. Again, if he's back, he's back. But these are the players that I want to have back. And I don't really care about Traylon Burks
Starting point is 00:17:14 whether he's back or not. If they get rid of him through a trade, I'm not going to be mad about it. It didn't work. Okay? It didn't work. Let's attack the position
Starting point is 00:17:23 as if he's not on the team. NWI, he could be back, but I'd rather go with Chris Moore as my depth wide receiver. And Colton Dow, I mean, I want to see two or three people added to this wide receiver position. You add that to guys who are likely to come back anyway, and I don't know if there's room for Colton Dow. He's a seventh-round pick. Not that worried about it.
Starting point is 00:17:45 As for the offensive line, I want Skowronski back, obviously. You bring Jalen Duncan back in his second year. He's shown enough to be back on the team and continue his development. He just shouldn't be a starter. Dylan Radins, I think, has shown enough this year that you want him as a backup tackle.
Starting point is 00:18:04 I think Radins has a real shot to compete at right guard with somebody next year and then NPF bring him into camp he'll only be $500,000 in dead cap if you let him go so bring him into camp and see but Dillard, gone.
Starting point is 00:18:25 $7 million in dead cap. Don't care. Gone. Chris Hubbard, I think you should strive to do better than Chris Hubbard. He's 32 years old, 33 years old, coming off a major injury. He's not somebody who I absolutely have to have back. Aaron Brewer, again, bring Aaron Brewer back if you want. Sure, I get it.
Starting point is 00:18:49 But the Titans better bring in an interior, like I want an interior offensive lineman in free agency. I want an interior offensive lineman in the draft. Someone who can compete with Aaron Brewer. Aaron Brewer shouldn't be written in pen as the starter at center. And same thing with Daniel Brunskill. Daniel Brunskill is a good player, but to me, he is just an average NFL starter.
Starting point is 00:19:09 He's an average NFL starter. He's just another guy. So you could bring him back if you want to be cheap at right guard and you really want to attack the tackles. I get it. But to me, coming back next year with Brunskill and Aaron Brewer, based on what we've seen in recent weeks,
Starting point is 00:19:26 I just don't think that's the right move. Aaron Brewer is so good sometimes in run blocking, but he is such a liability in pass blocking that it cancels it out, in my opinion. So you just need bigger men than Aaron Brewer at center, in my opinion. You just need a bigger guy than Aaron Brewer, all right? And I'm not saying he can't be on the team, but there should be somebody to compete with him.
Starting point is 00:19:49 I want to see new starters at both tackle spots and one of center and right guard. It needs to happen. It needs to happen. You can't bring back three or four starters from last year and just change one and expect this offensive line to be drastically different. So, bring back Skowronski, bring back Duncan, bring back Radins.
Starting point is 00:20:08 NPF can come to camp. But if they don't bring back Brunskill, they don't bring back Brewer, they don't bring back Dillard, they don't bring back Hubbard, fine with me. You know what I mean? Fine with me. But with that being said, we are going to talk about Monty Rice getting cut and we are going to dive into the rest of the defenders that I want to see back next year.
Starting point is 00:20:29 Make sure you put your selections down below. But before we get into the defense, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy sports made easy. And what I love about PrizePix is you don't have to compete against a thousand different lineups from bots and sharps. It's just you against the PrizePix projections.
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Starting point is 00:22:51 Spreads, player props, over-unders, everything that you need is right there. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and get in on the action this NFL season. FanDuel, official edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Monty Rice was cut by the Tennessee Titans right before I came on to record the show. Glad that, you know, I caught that news before I recorded. That happens to me all the time. I always live in fear that I'm going to miss something. But got the news, and it's no surprise to me.
Starting point is 00:23:37 If you've been listening to this show, if you're an everydayer, if you remember back to the offseason, I'm not a big Monty Rice guy. I was always in favor of Jack Givens, Chance Campbell, giving somebody else a shot, drafted another linebacker. Just not a big Monty Rice guy, if I'm honest with you. Called him my most overrated Tennessee Titan in the summer. Even, I went back and looked.
Starting point is 00:24:00 When he was drafted, I called the pick a reach. Said he was a sideline-to-sideline linebacker with good speed, but was going to struggle in coverage, and he's struggled so much in coverage that they couldn't even play him this year. Got nine snaps against Indy. I am guessing that he wasn't very happy about his lack of snaps. I'm guessing that maybe there was some discontent between him and the coaching staff, and they decided it was best for both to just part ways.
Starting point is 00:24:27 But at the end of the day, I've been preaching all along that there's a lot of people out there who cover the Titans, like the Titans, fans of the Titans, whatever, that really liked Monty Grice, and I just didn't see it. I just didn't see it. And that combined with some of the other stuff, I mean, he switched agents three times, some of the tweets that he liked on Twitter.
Starting point is 00:24:49 I just personally not a huge fan of his game and him as a player. And some of the stuff that I saw from him, didn't think I was a big fan of him as a person either. You know, wasn't one of my favorite players on the team. So this isn't, while it is a surprise, the fact that it's Monty Rice getting cut is not, you this isn't, while it is a surprise, the fact that it's Monty Rice getting cut is not, you know, the timing of it is a bigger surprise than the fact that the Titans are moving on from Monty Rice. Jack Gibbons has his struggles, but I think the
Starting point is 00:25:14 hate for Gibbons is way overdone for an undrafted free agent linebacker in his second year. I think he's had a pretty good year. I would direct that hate towards Aziz, who I think has been much more of a disappointment. So let's talk about it. Let's dive into the defense and who I would bring back next year. On the D-line, Jeffrey Simmons. Period. If the Titans want to bring back Danico Autry on a reduced contract, I'm fine with that.
Starting point is 00:25:43 Autry has shown that in a particular role, he could still have a great impact on the field. I get that. But the Titans are also a team that should be looking a little bit younger and looking for a younger version of Danico Autry, so it's all about resource management. But if they found it in their budget to bring back Autry, I would be okay with that.
Starting point is 00:26:02 But Simmons is the only one that I really am going to be, you know, pounding the table for. And, of course, Simmons is going to be back. And I'm sure a lot of you guys are going, what about T.R. Tartt? Guys, it is a philosophical thing about resource allocation, how to build a football team and a roster in the NFL. You do not devote resources to the nose tackle position. You don't.
Starting point is 00:26:24 The Titans got T.R. Tartt as an undrafted free agent. Don't lose sight of that. It's nose tackle. Tartt is a two-down player. You don't pay. If the Titans want to give him a two-year deal worth $8 million a year with like $10 million or $12 million guaranteed,
Starting point is 00:26:42 okay, I'm fine. But again, these are the players that I absolutely want to see back. And if T.R. Tartt isn't back, okay, whatever. I just don't think that it's a season crippling thing to let T.R. Tartt go. You get a compensatory pick for him the year after or whatever. You know, just no big deal. I just don't think it's that big of a deal. On the edge, Landry Key and keep Caleb Murphy around to continue developing him.
Starting point is 00:27:09 Again, another undrafted free agent rookie. Let him get some strength. Let him get some experience. But you get Landry and Key, and they need another third rusher to go with them. I think it needs to be in free agency. Bring in another guy on the key level that can actually impact maybe someone who's a little bit better in run defense so that he can go back to the third, the tertiary role,
Starting point is 00:27:34 and he can be that energy rusher off the bench, in the rotation, speed package, all that stuff. That's what I want to see, and then add another power edge because I don't think the Titans have it right now. Landry is going to be so much better next year, a year removed from his ACL. Very excited about what he's going to be next year. I bet he's back to his 2021 form.
Starting point is 00:27:52 He's looking a lot better week to week right now. So it's very encouraging. So Landry, Key, and Caleb Murphy are the only people on the edge. And then at linebacker, like we talked about, I had Monty Rice down as a guy. I don't care if they cut Monty Rice. Aziz, look. Aziz is like Daniel Brunskill for me on defense.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Is he an average league starter who could be a starter? Sure. But you should hope to be better. And Aziz has missed 12% of his tackles this year. That is heavy, folks. That is a lot. So he's unreliable as a tackler. He was targeted nine times against the Colts. Eight completions. He just doesn't do
Starting point is 00:28:32 anything special when he misses tackles, which to me makes him a replaceable linebacker. So I want to see Gibbons back. Gibbons has missed 3% of his tackles this year. An incredibly reliable tackler, just for reference. I want to see Gibbons back because he's an undrafted free agent who's of his tackles this year. An incredibly reliable tackler, just for reference. I want to see Gibbons back because he's an undrafted free agent who's going to be an exclusive rights free agent for the Titans. So it's going to be really cheap to bring him back and he's going to be a starter for the whole season.
Starting point is 00:28:54 You bring that guy back. And then Luke Gifford. Just for special teams purposes. You need depth. Luke Gifford is your 5th or 6th linebacker. I want to see Luke Gifford back because when he plays, he's great on special teams. So at linebacker, other than Gibbons, you know, I really just don't care. Totally revamp it. That's fine with me. Spin the wheel again. Get another league average guy in free agency at linebacker and see if he can be better than Aziz.
Starting point is 00:29:21 Keep spinning that wheel because here's my feeling on off-ball linebacker. If the pass rush is good and the secondary is good, you can insert a lot of different people at linebacker and be good. So, it's just, it's like running back to me. It's just not a position that you devote high-end resources to. That is
Starting point is 00:29:39 offensive line, quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, and edge rusher. Pass rush, I guess you'll say. So that's how I would treat that. At cornerback, Roger McCreary is the only one. Christian Fulton's a free agent. Bye.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Farley will be cheap enough now after this offseason that you can cut him, feel bad for him, but that's the way. And Sean Murphy Bunting can come back, but he's just limited. He can't play very well in man coverage. He's kind of a cover two, cover four only cornerback, which the Titans played a lot more of this year, cover four. But he can't play in man, and he's not great in cover three either, in my opinion. So like, cover three's okay, I guess. But he's just a zone cornerback who can't play man coverage across
Starting point is 00:30:23 the field, and I think it's going to be tough to win when you have a guy limited like that. So if they didn't bring him back, I wouldn't be upset about it. McCreary is the only one I want to bring back. You leave Roger McCreary in the slot, he is going to be a great player for you. And then at safety, Amani Hooker. That's it. They need another
Starting point is 00:30:40 safety now. They traded away Kevin Byard, they need another starting safety. So that's all I really care about on defense. But let me know which names you disagree with down below. That is going to do it for me today. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow with Kyle Krabs of Locked on Dolphins for Crossover Thursday. But as always,
Starting point is 00:30:56 I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.

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