Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Titans MUST PAY Peter Skoronski, contract projections

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

Jeffery Simmons got paid - who's next? With the Titans locking up their defensive star on a record-setting extension, the spotlight shifts to Peter Skoronski. We explain why Tennessee can't afford to let its young left guard walk, what an extension could cost, and whether the Titans should move now before the price goes even higher.  Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started now. Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, Jeffrey Simmons got his payday. Now it's Peter Skoronsky's turn. We'll talk about it. What are the Tennessee Titans need to do before training camp? We'll get into all of that. Speaking of before training camp, this next period of summer break is critically important to the Titans turning things around.

And I think I'm going to tell you why Alante Taylor may be the next job in this defense. Titan up. It's the Titans squad. everything Tennessee Titans every week. Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the heart of Music City, the way only the locked-on podcast network can. Squad up.

The Titan Squad Show starts now. And welcome to the Titans Squad Show. I'm your host, Julian Minnesone, joined by Kayla Anderson, Brad Hopkins, Tyler Rowland. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fanduel. visit fanduil.com to get started. And this is a first in Titan Squad show history

where we have the Fantastic Four here and if you want to see what it looks like, not only tune into the show, but you can check out Tick-Tac Titans on Twitter and Tyler posted a hilarious edit of us as the Fantastic Four. I think it was fitting, Tyler, that you are the Human Torch. Yes, I think that honestly, it all fits very perfectly together. If you think about where we are, great host, Julian, very professional, very doctor-like in your approach to putting the show together. Brad, obviously, the physical specimen. Take anybody down.

Kayla, obviously, the warm soul that connects us all together, the glue to the show. We're going to see what we've been missing on tonight's episode. I'm excited. No, and it should be exciting. Today, we are going to talk about Alante Taylor's impact on the Titans. We are going to talk about the position groups that maybe the Titans need to address heading. into training camp. But I wanted to start with Peter Skoronsky, a little money talk, a little bag talk here because last week, the big news was Jeffrey Simmons getting that record contract extension. And it got me thinking about which Titans who could possibly get their payday coming up. And at the top of that list is Peter Skoronsky.

Mike Borganzi said at the NFL Combine, they want to get a deal done. So I am going to start here with the resident offensive linemen of the group, Brad Hopkins. You've been banging the drum for Peter Skoronsky saying they can't let him. walk. What would a deal, if you are Mike Borganzi presenting this to Peter Skoroski, look like in your eyes to keep him around? Well, if you think about Joe Tipman from the Jets, just getting his extension, look at Joe Thuney. He's the reigning protector of the year. He makes about 17 and a half annually. If you look at the guys like Quinn Maneers, Tray Smith, Tyler Smith, it's not related, Landon Dickerson.

Those kind of guys are making between 20 and 24 million a year. And I would say that Peter Skoransky is in that conversation. I mean, he was ranked second amongst all of the guards for pass blocking. He was 13 in run blocking. So the data shows that he's definitely worth that kind of conversation. And if you look at what the Titans have already done on the defensive side of the football, shoring up a huge issue, which it would have been had they let Jeffrey Simmons get out the door, why wouldn't they have this similar kind of approach when it comes to,

especially for an offensive line that's been so unstable for the past few years. How would you let the best linemen that you have walk out the door? Yeah, Brad, because you can't let him walk out the door. There's absolutely no way. First and foremost, this was their first round pick. In history, in terms of Titans, it hadn't been great when they take a first rounder and it's gone on for a second contract. We all know the history there.

And when you hit on a guy like this, especially offensive lineman who you said it, he's been very consistent. I've loved watching Pete grow. Like every year he's kind of improving at something. But he's also improved in terms of like he's the leader of that line at this point. And the future of that line, he's 25 years old. It's the perfect time to get him lined up on a long term contract. You mentioned Tipman of the New York Jets. I think his was about four years, 62 million.

He's also 25 years old. So this is the thing. You get a guy like that, that age range. He's going to be the future. He's going to be able to work on that line with Cam Ward. You got to get this deal done like ASAP. I think it's going to be done before we get to the regular season. You know, some of these contracts happen right as we get out of training camp.

Maybe I theorize maybe the new coaching staff just wants to take a look at them in training camp before they give out. You know, it'll probably be Brad. I think you mentioned some of the names, Tyler Smith, that we need to pay attention to. Kayla, you're right. Joe Tipman, I think he's a little bit better than Joe Tipman, so it goes a little above that. In between, I'm thinking four years, $88 million, about $22 million per year. Seems right for Peter Skoronsky. And not only do they need to get it done like you guys pointed out because of where the

offensive line is right now, but who else is there to pay? That's been the conversation when we talk about why, you know what, going after Legerius Sneed, Cushingberry, Calvin Ridley, it didn't really hurt the Titans from doing much. Yeah, they could have been better and they would have won more games, but like, there's no young guys to pay that the Titans will lose out on if they use this money. So you might as well. If you don't have anybody to pay, you're not at risk of being broke NFL-wise. You need stuff on the offensive line. There is no reason right now to not pay Peter Skronsky. And when we talk about the culture they're trying to build in the locker room

and draft and develop, which they have been preaching to us, what better example do they have? Kayla, you said it perfectly right. How many? How many? first round picks of the Titans had that are deserving of the second round contract. Like that's the best point you could possibly make in this discussion. So you certainly don't stiff a guy or play hardball with a guy who's earned it, deserved it when you have the history of the Titans do, and you're in the position they are as a team right now. So I think all those are great points.

And he's going to get his money eventually. They would be silly not to do it. Let me ask you this, guys, because some of the projections I saw were around at 18 to about $22 million a year with what you're talking about, Tyler. Is there a number that is too high for you? Like, because Peter Skronsky and his agent are going to come into this thing with a position of power, right? Like, he's the best offensive lineman on the team.

He's a leader of the group, like you mentioned, Kayla. You can't afford to let him go because he's right now the only surefire bet that this offensive line has. So is there a number, and obviously there is an unrealistic number. Like, you know, they're not paying Jeffrey Simmons money for Peter Skoranski. but is there an annual number maybe above that 22 million a year where you wouldn't go? I'll just say I won't go 30. I mean, we're not going 30 million dollars per, like let's be realistic here. Tyler Linderbaum just got $27 million per year, right, from the Raiders.

Yes. So I would say 27 million per year is the max that you could go for an interior offensive lineman at this stage. And I just want to say cap go up. Like it's just a job. The cap goes up by, you know, it goes up by $5, $10 million every year. So if they give Peter Skoronsky $25 million, which would be the most APY of any guard in the NFL right now

over the Smith boys who, as Brad pointed out, aren't related. Even if they go 26, 25, 27 to match Linderbom, you know, the cap's going to go up. And again, they don't have anybody else to pay. So it's not like paying Skoronsky Moore is going to hurt them from doing something else later. I think there's a little leverage in, terms of Scoronsky's camp because they know like he is the guy on the line and the guy of the

future. But I think I side with Tyler and being like, I think they're not stupid either. And I think Skoronsky comes across to me, at least in the years covering them or him, excuse me, that he's not going to go like out of range where it's just impossible to sign him back with the Titans. I don't see him doing that. So yeah, I mean, anything over that 28 mark is a little too far out of the way. But I don't really think that they're going to push it to that limit. I mean, realistically, guys, you could reset the market. When we talked about those other players that are in that conversation in his peer group, you know, 26, 27 doesn't sound like a ridiculous number, especially for someone. They only gave up two sacks last year, none in the last five weeks

of the year. So they're looking at their best asset in the most important position. Yeah, I'm going to say it. the most important position that they have, especially to get right. And they still have some question marks in the interior. So why hell would you shoot yourself in the foot by getting rid of the one stable option that you have? It just doesn't make any sense if they were to do that. Yeah, no, 100%. Yeah, and I ask the question just because a lot of times, agents and even some players like to have the optics of the record-shattering deal, the most annual average value per year.

Like the optics of that matters, particularly to agents who want to market themselves and say, hey, I got my guy this. This is what I can get you up and coming rookie. So yeah, that's why I pose that question that way. But to your guys' point, Skoronsky is to the de facto leader of this offensive line. And whether he wanted to or not, it felt like last season, he kind of took on that role when the offensive line wasn't playing well. there was a game in particular where it was poor, and he stood up in the film room and said,

hey, guys, this cannot happen. And Peter, up until this point, was kind of a guy who just puts his head down and works. So as far as expectations out of Peter this upcoming season, obviously the Titans picked up that fifth year option. We'll see what happens with this contract. Are we expecting Pro Bowl level, Peter Skoroski, this season? I don't see why we wouldn't accept any less than that. I mean, I think that the numbers show it, his stats show it.

I mean, I think that his durability shows this, not he's missing games. And I think that now, even, listen, this is one thing that happens, too. When you start talking about players' money and how much they actually deserve, it gets attention around the lead, which then people start really focusing on what you're doing. And I know that this team has struggled, but so, you know, Jeffrey Simmons didn't struggle particularly, but the team did, and they still are acknowledging how great he was, right? So they see when someone's up for a big payday like Peter Scoronsky is, what is this guy doing to validate this conversation?

And then when the league starts looking at it from that lens, then it really starts to say, hey, look, maybe he is a pro bowler. He definitely is a pro bowler. Maybe he's first of a seven-team all pro, which is a better accomplishment. So I think that the league will start looking at Peter Stronsky through a different lens, especially once you start having amongst the Thunees and the Menareses and all these other guys that we know are already high-quality players. I remember you guys, I believe this was his rookie year when he ruptured his appendix.

And he came, it took a minute, man. He lost a lot of weight. It took him a minute coming back. And I know there were some people that got on him real quick. And it was like, wait, is this, was this the right pick? All of this stuff. That being said, my point is, is like every year, he's, continued to kind of like up his game in different ways. And I just, I think that that says something

about a player where his mindset is exactly what you said probably Julian, that he needs to get to that level. And he's getting really close to doing just that. And if he gets paid, which I think he will, like Tyler mentioned, maybe as soon as the start of the season, he's going to take it upon himself. Like now I'm making all that money. Like now I got to really live up to it. That's how Peter strikes me. A lot of guys get comfortable sometimes with the money that's given to him, them, not Peter Skoronsky. I think, Kayla, your point right there is hammered home by Julian's story earlier. It's like Peter Skoronsky isn't the type of guy to just sit back and like, you know what,

I'm good, my numbers are good, everyone knows I'm a good player, this O line sucks, we're not winning, whatever, man, it is what it is. I'm not a raw, raw guy anyway. just not me. Y'all have fun. You know, like, that's not Pete. And whether it's the contract, he's not going to be like, oh, I got my money, I'm good, I don't got to do anything.

No, he's going to, if there has to be a leadership aspect, he's going to take it if that's what's necessary of him to make the team better around him. If the money to keep pushing and set the example for the guys that I got paid and I'm still working just as hard if not harder, that's what he has to do. And what's crazy to me is we talk about Pete. And you're right, he'll get his recognition,

when the money comes in because a lot of times offensive line play, Brad, as you probably know, is very hard for your average fan who's watching on Sundays to know who's doing good and who's not. Because you're watching the ball, the receivers and stuff. So fans are typically a little behind on offensive line conversation when it comes to voting for Pro Bowl and stuff like that. And they're going to vote for guys who are on the better team.

So if Pete gets his deal before the year, the Titans are better as a team and more fun to watch on offense, he's going to get his credit. and that's just kind of how it is for offensive linemen. But everything we're talking about right now, I'm thinking about a year from now in J.C. Latham. Like, think about how simple it is with Pete right now and how easy it is for all of us to say,

oh, yeah, Peter Skoransky. He's lived up to it. He's great. Hey, I'm sure, no problem. Right now things are cloudy for J.C. Latham. And it's like, just think about how big this year is ahead, not to, you know, side-skirt the conversation, but I just can't help in the back of my mind as we talk about Pete,

think about, man, I do not have those answers on JC, and then he missed time and camp. It's like, man, what a big year ahead for that guy. Yeah, Bhop, that goes back to the original point where you're talking about, Peter is the only real answer that you have. There's a ton of question marks on the rest of that offensive line that needs to get addressed, whether it's in future drafts, let's say, because we're figuring Dan Moore's going to get replaced,

probably. they're going to draft a left tackle probably next year. We hope. Yeah. Maybe not. Maybe not. You know, it could definitely go away where they don't have the answer of that tackle. They draft an edge.

They draft a wide receiver in the first round, something like that. And they don't get, you know, the gooseby, the seat and the whoever to replace Dan Moore. And Dan Moore is back on a $20 million a year contract. Like, it's possible. Yeah, but you can still draft high and address that position without actually going in the first round. Because if a guy goes 35 through 60, I mean, that's a guy that you expect to see the line up at some point in time, and he's not making first round money. You have to worry about something if your option to pick up or all the other stuff, but you know that you're grooming him for what?

You're grooming him to be that guy. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, I understand Dan Moore's contract, and if he doesn't play up to that contract's value, then you really start aggressively looking at the draft. But if he does play, you know, okay, and it doesn't seem like he needs to be replaced immediately, you know, you still have to talk about the offensive line in the future because, even Dan the next two or three years, come on, man. We need to get younger, if anything, because the thing about, Peter Scrantz will be getting old,

J.C. Lath will be getting old. All these other guys would be, you know, this will be almost like you're seven or eight for these guys, and you really start legitimately have to worry about, you know, are they durable? And how much are they going to cost against the cap, that kind of stuff, because the numbers aren't going to start going down, fellas.

And lady. One thing, I want to jump in here with this, because this is where the, the Titans in the past five, six years, and it's been higher, fire, higher, fire, and all the dysfunction around it, unfortunately, like, while I just said Skoronsky, that was a hit, and you saw, like,

how important he's been to that line, it was like, that's what Latham was supposed to be, and then that was supposed to be turning up even more of the line so that we didn't have to continue to fill holes that, like, at some point, we need the line fix, And it's not always going to be perfect, but we do need at least a few of those staples on the line. Like, unfortunately, like Tyler brought up, we're now still having questions about J.C. Latham.

Like, is he going to turn into what he's supposed to be? And it's so frustrating because it's like we just can't, like, get it right in terms of, like, consistency. Like, it's like, yeah, you thought that that would have been one of the other pieces on the line that we didn't have to address that. And then you just maybe plug and play a little. But no, we're still. playing this game of like, you know, we have to actually find a guy still, maybe. A couple of stalwarts, just a couple of fence posts, you know what I mean? We can build around it, but we just need a couple of guys.

If we have a good right tackle, good left guard, good left tackle. We could swap in right guard center, figure that out year to year with lower draft picks or veteran, cheap veterans, you know, like, that's how you build it. That's how you budget, right? It's just a budget when you think about you can't spend all your money on states. You need produce. The offensive line in a roster is the same way. So you're right.

It's sad that we don't have that answer yet. But hopefully, hopefully a year from now, we're having this conversation about, yeah, we feel great about J.C. Latham with a new coaching staff and Carmen Bracillo as his coach and all that. That's what we have to hope. Yep. You know, sometimes you got to let the meal cook before it's at its best, right?

Right. And I'm going to speak from a player perspective because as someone that took years to develop the confidence and the ability to really play the position the way I wanted to play it. Sometimes the development doesn't come like we want it. JC's improving last year showed that he's just not established. We want someone that's established. We want someone that's a constant. We want someone that we ought to worry about or even think about his position being addressed either through free agency or the draft.

We don't want to think about that. but sometimes it just takes a little longer than we're comfortable with as fans and as people that cover the team to really say that this guy has it. Next year will be the last year of his contract, right? So heading into 2028, well, first off, we hope he's better this year in 2026

to say 2027, he's really got to ball out because this is his contract year. And then by the time 2028 rolls around, he'll be worthy of actually not even extending, but maybe even getting the raise. See what I'm saying? because that's how things work. The more reps that he gets,

this is the second year in a row that he'll be playing right tackle, and he can grow from there. And I have more about change. I understand this is a new offense, but not asking him to do anything different when it comes to run blocking or pass blocking. Steam might be different, but at the end of the day,

your job still stays the same. So I expect to see the incremental improvements continue that we've seen from J.C. Latham, even from last year to this year and in beyond. One thing that is for certain is that, Peter Skoranski is good, right? That is the one, talk about, you know, fence post that you have that is at least taken care of. Titans got to figure out the rest. Okay, on the other side of the Illinois boy. That's an Illinois boy. Come on now. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Proofing the

pudding right there with Brad Hopkins and then Peter Skoroski. That's for sure. On the other side of the break, we're going to talk about what position groups the Titans need to address, maybe adding some veteran depth before training camp begins. That's next on the Titan Squad. God show. Keep it here. The biggest stage in world soccer is here and every match feels like it has potential for a memorable moment. One goal can completely change the energy of a game, shift momentum, and alter the outcome in an instant. That's what make tournament soccer so exciting from the opening whistle to the final kick. Now, Fan duel is giving fans another reason to stay locked into every match with every goal pays. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored in

that match. More goals means more bonus bets. All you have to do is turn on. your token. Right now, Falarin Valigan is plus 165 on Fanduel to score for the United States. Maybe you want a little bit of that action. Or maybe you want to see who is actually going to be playing against Turkey this week. And now you can get the benefit from each goal scored from the opening whistle to the final kick. Let there be goals on Fandual. Visit fanduel.com to get started now. All right, Kayla, you tease it at the top. There's a position group that you feel like that needs to be addressed here with the Titans going into training camp. What is it? And we're going to around to each of us and name that position group.

But Kayla, I'll start with you. Yeah, I look, and I don't, I don't think immediately, like, this is like, you have to do this. But, I mean, I think I'm more just questioning with some of the stuff that we heard about Alante Taylor and, you know, being able to also shift over to that nickel spot. Yeah. I am just really curious is, like, how comfortable do we feel with the quarterback depth? Like, the actual depth of that quarterback room, because it's,

seems to be something every year I find myself talking about. And while I do appreciate the fact that Alante Taylor is over here now and these some of these guys that they brought over, like I get it. The starters are there. No doubt about it. But are we that comfortable with what's behind them? That like if any of those guys go down at any given time, like we're going to be like, all right, stepping in and they're going to take that spot. I just, I'm still questioning that. Tyler. I mean, I could not possibly agree more. We talked a couple of weeks ago.

Was the quiet concern of the secondary, and you're absolutely knocking on that. You're right. The starters are in place, and obviously they feel comfortable with Marcus Harris in the slot. I feel like we know that, you know, Alante Taylor is going to be the boundary corner, Flott's going to be the field corner,

Harris is going to play in the slot. They feel pretty comfortable with that alignment, the way that they've been taught. Now, if they go out and add a, veteran like you're talking about Julian, like maybe a Kenny Moore who's played in a session before. Veteran player. If they go out and do that, that tells us the truth about how they feel about Marcus Harris

and maybe a lot of that was smoke instead of fire. But for right now, we have to take them at their word that that's the case. But you're right, after that, we're talking about what, Josh Williams, who, yeah, he sounds tantalizing at 6'3, played in Kansas City, but really has mostly been a special team's player for most of his career. key drain calligan i don't even know if i believe you guys that that's a real person you know what i mean that sounds like a man generated name he may be having some good moments but i'm sorry i'm gonna have

a hard time believing that key drain key drain caligan is gonna come onto the titans roster and make an impact i you know just i'll gladly be wrong micha robinson he got picked on micah did yeah yeah i got picked on by carnell taiton camp right so i'm just like yeah you know one injury to a cornerback and those things happen when you play that kind of position. You're running nonstop. So they are one injury away from a key drain Calligan being on the field, folks. And I'm sorry, I just cannot believe that that's a good thing. So yeah, it's very scary, honestly. In college, I played with a guy whose name was Pre-Drag Jones.

He was named after the position that actually birthed him, Dr. Pre-Drag. I had no idea that that was his name until he actually verified it. But listen, we're all saying the same thing. I think consensus would be the secondary because at this point, you're not going to get anybody that's going to make a difference on the offensive line. The defensive line is loaded with too many guys. The wide receiver room is loaded with too many guys. The running back room got loaded with guys. Tight ends are loaded. We're not going to grab another quarter linebackers. We've got linebackers for days. So at the end of the day, we just need to do what Mike Borganzi already said we're going to do,

which is addressed to the secondary. already said himself. We're not done. So while we're sitting trying to reinvent the wheel and maybe manufacture some position that we need to be talking about, we're all saying the same thing. There probably needs to be more depth. I mean, Xavier Woods is still out there. I mean, he had two picks last year. Matches exactly the numbers that Alante had last year when he was with New Orleans. So I'm not saying he's the answer, but maybe he's a depth piece. Maybe he's, you know, somebody that can actually scream down the field on teams, that kind of deal. But at the end of the day, the one position that we think that didn't get addressed

aggressively in the draft of young guys is secondary. We brought in a couple of guys that have better an experience in the secondary, but like Mark Borganzi said, we're not done. No, and I'm on board with you guys when it comes to the secondary. I just don't want another issue to happen like it happened at the end of last year where, you know, Legerius Sneed wasn't around, and, you know, Jarvis Brownlee obviously got traded, and Darrell Baker was dealing with injuries, and then it was kind of, you're looking at the guys out there in the secondary, the back end of the season and you're like, how am I supposed to compete against some of the top tier wide receivers and top tier offenses in the league when, you know, you can't even name some of the

guys that are out there. And so, you know, I have no issue with Taylor. I really like that signing. I think Cordell flock is going to be a nice piece and there's a lot of faith in Harris. But after that, it is just big question marks. I go back to this. Of course, hindsight's 2020, but do you guys feel like now that they missed out on potentially draft? a corner that they should have. I mean, it's easy to say that now, but like, does this really highlight that kind of issue that they missed out on picking one, Tyler? How good are rookie corners, though? Like, let's be real. If they take a corner, a rookie cornerback in the third, fourth round, like remember Jarvis Brownlee Jr.

His rookie year, he was a fifth round corner and he was good that year for a fifth round corner, but he still got burnt, had penalties. And like, cornerback, in my opinion, is like the second hardest position to play in the NFL outside quarterback. It's just brutal to play out there. So the reality is 20, 25 teams around the NFL. It's like, man, I wish we had better cornerback death. It's one of those positions where you can never have too many guys. So yeah, they're going to need better cornerbacks. They couldn't solve everything. I think we know that. That's the truth. But I don't think that they're like rare in the NFL for having cornerback debt issues. It's just a tough spot to play. I do look at edge.

I'm going to continue to say how much faith do we have in Jacob Martin? Because I'm looking at a lot of faith in Jacob Martin right now to be a 30-year-old, you know, veteran who had five and a half sacks, career high last year. Can he replicate that? He's their only true speed rusher right now that you could count on to go out there and play. And I mean, Jalen Harrell has some good stuff. He was pretty good. Yep.

Last year, I feel good about that. But, man, maybe a Joey Bosa in this group. I think it could be interesting. I know that he's not the player that he was, but, you know, you know that Robert Salah the way he said he wants to rotate that defensive line. He has history with his brother, Nick Gosa, so he understands the family and how those guys want to play.

Get him in a limited pass rusher role. Kind of bumps Jacob Martin down a peg. I think that would, I don't think they're going to do it. For the record, I don't think they would do it. But I would be just as interested in something like that as I would. Kenny Moore, I'd rather have Bosa than Kenny Moore

if I got to pick, even though Kenny Moore is probably the most likely answer. Look at Tyler rolling going all, oh Kyle Vanden Bosch on us trying to bring in a guy that's been nasty someplace else in his waning years to kind of do some I dig it. Kayla you were going to say something no and I know like um like they're trying to sign him in San Francisco too possibly to reunite him with Nick so that might be the first place he goes because they not they need patch rush help too but I do kind of agree with Tyler like is there any other names I think there's a couple other free agent edge guys out there might not work much, but they could at least be a rotation guy and, you know, get in there, get like six to seven sacks a year. I don't know. Somebody just to help in that aspect that you could sign for cheaper. Jadavia and Clowny, maybe a Hassan Redding.

More rotational players. We don't need the more rotational players. I mean, good guys. At the end of the day, when March hit and the market opened up and the bell rang like at the stockyard, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. then guess what? The guys that work value got signed. If you're open and you're ready to go right now, you're probably an older guy or maybe someone that's been dealing with injury. At the end of the day, no one's expecting that much from you anyway. So the thing is, they indirectly address the secondary by aggressively getting some pass rushers.

Because there's only, sorry. He got Brad fired up. Pass rush. There's only one team that. There's only one team that. Right? there's only one team guys that had more picks than Saxon was a really good defense and now was Chicago. They had a ton of dudes that got picks and they weren't putting that much pressure on the quarterback.

But that's not the way you want to live, right? So what did they do? They went back in the second round, in the first round, and grabbed Keldrick. They brought in a handful of veterans that, you know, could be alongside Jeffrey Simmons and help him be the aggressive beast that he is. At the end of the day, forcing quarterbacks to make mistakes helps the back end. So, I mean, I love being able to take down the offensive. his best option, neutralize him, have a guy that's just a ringer on that side of the field where the quarterback's even scared to even look over there. But at the end of the day,

I think the secondary are reflections of the front seven. And the front seven needs to be able to stop the run and get to the past. That's how the formula football works, fellas. And it seems like they've aggressively addressed that this year. Well, see, that's where my questions come in, Brad, because is Femi hasn't been out there. He wasn't an effective pass rusher last year, third straight year of a position change. can we count on Femiole deggio to be that guy? And then Caldric Falk, they've been talking about him rushing from the interior since he was drafted. So if he's going to rush from the interior more than he's going to rush from the edge,

and then Femioleadajio can't be counted on. And Jacob Martin's a 30-year-old veteran. Like, we're putting a lot of pressure on Jermaine Johnson, who's never really been a high-sac guy in his career so far. So I'm just like, you're right, that defensive line is supposed to be the unit that makes the secondary better, that is the philosophy of Robert Sala, but is the edge room good enough to execute that vision?

That is where my question comes in and why I'm open to help, but they probably don't see it that way. When we're talking specifically about the edge, look, that was still in play for someone they were going to draft possibly. So clearly it is still a need. Eventually, like you would think

they're going to just be like, this is our guy. Maybe, maybe not. obviously they didn't think so this year they wanted to help the offense and cam out more and that's fine but i think with femuel adagio your point being on that this is a critical year for him too like this is more of a project guy that we didn't really know like exactly if he could be on the edge exclusively and this is another new defense for him that maybe can benefit him but it's all about what he wants to make of it i feel like he can take the opportunity and and and take it to the next level but I don't freaking know with this guy yet.

You know, well, let me say you this. Them drafting Keldrick Falk should make Femmy a little concerned. Because I know they've been talking about rushing up on the inside, but they don't need more interior guys with JFM, Solomon Thomas, all the dudes that they already have there. I understand the four play rule will take effect. You need depth on the inside, right? But you've got a 275-pound defensive end.

That is like the Hendrickson, the dude from Cincinnati that's now, where the hell is he at? Baltimore. Baltimore. You see what I'm saying? That's Kevin Carter, fellas. That's that size. That's a big dude.

Now, you don't have to have speed to get guys out of position necessarily when you've got a guy that can just come straight downhill and bull rush your ass right back into the quarterback. And that's, Tudrick is a massive dude. That's a big boy. And he's athletic, too. So I like the fact that he can probably rush from the inside and the outside. But I think he does address the outside. also are creating some mismatch problems.

It's going to take the double team to stop that cat. Yeah, no, 100%. Like he looks the part too, like physically. Like Keldrick is, he looks every bit of the size that they have him listed at. And one thing about Femi, you guys, making the position change, you know, playing more of the traditional pass rusher than kind of the outside linebacker role, missing those valuable reps in camp, like that, that is tough. That is tough.

especially coming off of an injury last year. So a project that certainly will wait and see. And obviously we'll see for all these position groups as we get closer to training camp. On the other side of the break, we are going to talk about Alante Taylor, his potential impact as CB1 for the Titans. That's next year in the Titans Squad Show. Don't go anything. Get your daily Titans fix completely ad free by joining the Everydayer Club today.

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Oh, we got a fifth guest now, actually. Sorry. Hey. He's like, mom talks too much sports during the day. I'm sick of it. You want to get in on the Alante Taylor discussion, probably. He said, Mom, get that bowl. What are you talking about?

It's time to eat. Exactly. he's like, well, Alante's a dog like me. Yeah, there you go. Yes. So, yeah, Alante Taylor. Yes. I think that the 8,000 yards he threw four and 75 touchdowns in high school when he was a quarterback.

I think the fact that he can play inside and outside in the secondary. I think the fact that he's a four-year starter in New Orleans, I think he was right up there with Tariq Wollin and Patrick Surtain, the third. as far as pass his defense. So the cat can damn play. Okay, the guy can play. I like his versatility. I like the fact that he went to Tennessee. First off, there's that ball.

And I hate saying that because I'm not a ball. But my daughter is. But, you know, ball for life can love it. The fact that he's a Manchester boy with the coffee county high school, right down the road, gets to come home. And the fact that he played receiver, played quarterback, and also played inside and outside the defense. The guy plays both sides of the football.

That's a smart cat. That's somebody that knows what a quarterback's progression looks like. That's somebody that knows the receivers' routes that they're running because he actually did it. So I think that his background, to me, says they have stability. And one thing that we didn't get from the Jerry's need was what? Stability. It was hurt too often. It was in the lineup.

This dude here played on 17 games for the last three seasons. So he hasn't been hurt, knock on wood, or your head or whatever. But at the end of the day, you know he'll be in the line up. of let's just say that. I love it for the fact, guys, that they identified him in the offseason, and he was like the only player that didn't have a connection directly to the staff, right? Because a lot of the people we saw, the players that were brought in, had some sort of a connection with dayball or had some sort of a connection with Sala.

And like, this is not a guy that was directly connected, but for Sala and them to see something in him where they were like, this cat can do something in this defense. And he fits that aggressive style that solid preaches, you know, all the time. Like, he wants that attacking style. And obviously, this is something that Alante has displayed in the past and has displayed early on in camp. I know he wasn't a full participant in OTAs. But, you know, when he is out there, that's how he plays.

And then the versatility fact, like if you need him for some reason, like Brad said, to go inside. Like he did that off and on at New Orleans the entire time. Like he was able to just flip that switch on. And I mean, that's tough to do season in and season out when they're switching you in and out like that. It's a different job. It's totally different inside and outside what they're asking to do. And I think what he's going to be asked to do in this defense is even more of kind of the part-time outside role he had in Brandon Staley's defense.

last year. They are just going to ask him to run that boundary. You're going to press wide receivers. You're going to bail out and cover four. You're going to play cover three and you're going to play that deep third on the outside. All you've got to do is play that sideline, keep your back to the sideline, watch inside, and make plays on the ball. And they throw it up to those big physical wide receivers on the boundary that you're going to be pressing, just beat the crap out of them and win at the catch point. And that's Brad's talking about the past's defense and the PBUs and everything. He is so good around the ball.

because he was a quarterback and because he was a wide receiver. And because he's played inside and outside in both sides of the ball enough, he's comfortable everywhere on the field. He's never out of, he's never, oh, oh, no, the ball's coming. What do I do? He never panics in any spot because he's used to having the ball in his hands. It doesn't scare him like it does some cornerbacks. Right.

The LeBron meme, where he's like, oh, you know what I mean? That's never Alante Taylor. That's never. So I think Robert Saul is looking at him like, hey, man, we're going to keep it simple on you. You don't got to play man and go across the field. You don't got to worry about swiveling your hips inside and out. Just beat people up at the line of scrimmage, bail out in that zone, and make sure that you don't get beat on your sideline.

Make plays on the ball when they throw those contested lobs to their possession receivers. It's like a perfect fit for him, even though it's different than what he's done throughout his career majority so far, we're just playing the slot. I was skeptical of it, but when you start to understand what the boundary corner and Sala's scheme does and what Taylor's skill set is, and the way that they've talked about him, you can kind of start to see the vision. So I think it was a risky play to take a guy from the slot,

put him on the outside and pay him $20 million a year. Like, that's a pretty risky play. We could look back at this a couple of years and be like, oh, that one didn't work out. But I think it's set up perfectly for him to actually work out and for it to be exactly what the Titans need. Real quick, because Behop, I know you have to go. When you have a player like Alante Taylor,

who has seen it from both sides of the ball, and has seen that perspective. How much better does that make you just as a overall smarter player? Well, first off, the fact that he has better an experience. You know what I mean? He's seen a lot. Like you just mentioned, Tyler, why doesn't he go, because he's got the confidence by the reps that he's gotten.

You know what I mean? So I think at the end of the day, when you've got a guy that understands offensive philosophy scheme, obviously he knows defense because that's the side he's on in the pros, right? Inside and out. that just gives him a level, a different skill set that allows him to be able to be in position to make those passes defense, to get those PVUs, to get a couple of picks. Hell, he'd have been tied per second behind Cody Barton on this team as far as INT's.

You know what I mean? So at the end of the day, I think that him being able to be well-versed having played the position of quarterback, which is, first off, if you're playing quarterback, that's a different level of football intelligence, right? And if you play that, you know exactly what the quarterback is looking back if he drops back to see where the most eligible receiver is in the past game. He's already thinking about what this guy's thinking about. And then the fact that he played receiver, as I'm watching the receiver set up, I already kind of know what routes is running. You see what I'm saying?

So he went to Tennessee as a receiver, got moved there as a freshman over to the defensive side of football, got bounced inside and out when he was in New Orleans. Why? Because they needed him to. And he was able to do it. So I think his versatility, his skill set, and his smarts are the things that probably make him very qualified to be a guy that will have an immediate impact on his defense. Well, one thing's for certain. We know the kind of impact he can make is the Titans saw that firsthand last year because when they played New Orleans at Nissan Stadium, that dude was all over the field. Like that guy was an animal.

So he is expected to be the top quarterback on this team and we'll have a tough assignment every single week. But that's why you're paying him. That's for sure. On the other side of the break, we are going to take some questions and comments from our live. chat. We have a few already here in the Titan squad show. Don't go anywhere. We have one question from Paddy Boy 2-7. What would be a disappointing win total for the Titans this season? Kayla. A disappointing win total. Man, I mean, we can't go. I think anything below five, man, like anything below five to me is just like, that's not good. I mean, I would say five is the number.

They need to win six games. They need to double their. win total from last year, all the money that they spent, all the players that they added, the improvement that the, and I don't think it can be overstated the improvement and coaching they're going to get. I hate to be crass towards Brian Callahan at this point,

you know, don't want to beat the dead horse, but like obviously, he's one of the worst head coaches the NFL has seen in the last 25 years. If you want to just look statistically at the wins, the output, his side of the ball, how it went. He couldn't even get a coordinator job after he got

fired from being a head coach. He had to go be a position coach again from head coach. That's quite the fall. But I think it's honest and I think it's telling with how people view him around the league. So if you have basically a guy who should be a quarterback coach as your head coach and you're going to Robert Sala who, remember when he got fired by the Jets, they were two and three. It wasn't cut and dry, easy, you know, they just don't win games. They're firing him. You know, he went seven to ten with Zach Wilson and Mike White and people like that. So the improvement in coaching, I think the only way to look at this team is to say they need to double their win total and get six. Anything less to me is a failure unless there

are injuries that caused that to happen that I don't even want to talk about. Yeah. I think double the win total should be like the baseline. I think six wins. What did Vegas have them at like five and a half? I think they're six and a half or five and a half right now on Fandle. Okay, gotcha. So, yeah, that works. So six would be the baseline for me, would be like the baseline that they need to get to, anything less than that.

I would say it's a disappointing season because then, you know, the season after that, when you open up the new Nissan, the idea is that, hey, they're going to be in those In the Hunt graphics on ESPN and all of that stuff saying, hey, they're right there at the playoff line or right there, potentially getting a wild card spot.

So that's why I say six. anything less than that. Yeah, you don't want to be picking where you're picking again because many times GMs don't survive that. So that would be a baseline for that. I have a question for you guys about the cornerback discussion that we didn't get to. Assuming that Alante Taylor does not only full-time corner, part-time nickel like Robert Salas said, where does that leave Marcus Harris in those situations? And what does the cornerback, I guess, outlook look like out there on the field? I gotta be honest, I don't buy that.

Like, I think, and I don't mean to be, you know, I'm always beefing with everybody, so I try to stay out of beefs these days. I've taken it to a new level, you know what I mean, I'm grown up. But I saw somebody using that comment about the part-time thing

and make it into something, and maybe I'm wrong about it. But I just think that that was just him saying words. I don't think Robert Sala is telling us, oh, we're going to use Alante Taylor in the slot quite a bit. They have talked so much about him playing outside. I guess I'm not saying that Robert Salah didn't say that.

And again, maybe I'm wrong. But I think using that comment where he said full time out, part time slot, I think that is being taken too literally. And people are over exaggerating that comment and how much Alante Taylor will actually play in the slot. Because you're right, Julian, do that then. Put him in the slot with flaw outside. Who's playing boundary corner?

Josh Williams? Right, that would be my choice. We were just talking about how uncomfortable we are with the cornerback depth. Now we want to use it more? Like, no, it would be way better if they're going to take Marcus Harris off the field, keep Taylor and flot on the outside,

and put one of the safeties in the big nickel, whether that's Tony Adams or Amani Hooker or Kevin Winston or something like that. If Marcus Harris isn't on the field, it needs to be because there's another safety on the field, not another cornerback. So I just kind of push back on the idea of Alante Taylor playing in the slot.

as much as maybe it's being represented by some. I almost feel like it was one of those like comments that Sala like made and didn't think that it was going to get to the level of, you know, where it's gotten to. People are reading into it too much. Yeah. Maybe it was like he meant to say it as like, this is how talented this guy is. And at some point we needed to slip him in that to that spot. That's what would happen.

I think that's kind of what he meant by that. and then it got blown up to where it is because this is what we do, right? So I don't think it's like this is what's going to happen and everything else. Marcus Harris is out of the picture and all that stuff. Yeah, I don't, I'm with you on, Tyler, that on with you, Tyler, because I think it's been a little blown out of proportion. But what about the seed oils? Oh, and he can.

I know, the seed oils. Bricking down everything, the time of year where there's nothing to talk about. So, yeah, go ahead, Tyler. I got rid of all seed oils in my house, but. Listen, I gotta tell you, the beef tallow is just a little strong. I don't think it's a bad flavor, but man, it just, like when you have beef tallow fries or anything like that, like it just takes over everything. It's like cooking with your bacon grease.

You know, it always sounds good to make bacon. It's like, oh, I'm going to use the bacon grease to cook my burger now, like the bacon flavor. But then the bacon flavor just over does everything. And all you can taste is bacon everywhere. And it's like, you know what I mean? That's kind of how I feel about the beet tallow. But I get it, you know, I'm not a dog. I'm not here.

So go get, I'm sorry, Robert Salah. He's going to come after me in my dreams tonight. But I do think you're right, Kayla. He was saying he's going to play outside. He can play inside, not he's going to play outside. He also will play inside, which is how it's kind of being looked at by someone. I don't agree with that. Corey L.001 says, should they have left JC at left tackle and then drafted a right tackle?

Hmm. God. I know. I always like going back and being like, well, could or shoulda woulda. Yeah. He originally, I think, like at Alabama, he was right tackle. Like that was his position, right? Yes. Coming into the Titans as a rookie, they switched him to left. So yes, there was changes there. And it was a year where he had to absolutely do things, do things different. this is a different system, and it is the pros. There was a lot going on. And then he gets all that going, and he's familiarizing himself with that spot. And then they switch him back to right. And it's like that is his original spot, but he did have some bumps and bruises last year.

And that kind of hurt his production. So I don't think they should like, I don't know. I think they should keep him that right. And that's what we should do. Yeah, just leave him where he's at. If you want a second guess something with J.C. Latham, it's picking him in the first place. You remember back when he was picked,

and they said like, oh, he was, he was Bill Callahan's number one offensive tackle in the draft. Well, if Bill Callahan thought that J.C. Latham was going to be better than Joe Alt, then fire him to the son. Thank God he's not on the team making decisions anymore because it was so clear cut that Joe Alt was going to be an elite

offensive tackle, and Latham was not on that level. And quite honestly, if we look that now, Troy Fontanu, uh, Olu Fasanoo, uh, there's another one, God, there's another. That was a good class. Gosh, Taliseiwaga

is the one that I'm looking for. Armarius Mims with the Bengals, think all of those offensive tackles I just named went after J.C. Latham, and they have all been better than J.C. Latham so far to this point. Now, you can talk about why would J.C. Latham, all the context you've said,

blah, blah, blah, but they've all been better. So if you want a second guess something with Latham, don't second guess moving them around. Second guest picking him in the first place, the Titans were so high on him, where there were other good offensive tackles that have been a lot better so far. We were talking about Peter Skoranski, how he's kind of taken over that leadership role. I think the vocal leader is what we expected J.C. Latham to be like ferocious, mean streak, leader of this offensive line. He is the guy who used the high draft capital on.

And he hasn't been that guy. And yes, there was the hip injury that kind of he reagravated in week one last year. But I'm getting a little concerned of the. availability. Is he getting enough reps to improve because not only did he make the switch, he has the injury, and now he's nursing even more bumps and bruises at this time of the year. It's kind of just getting me worried that maybe he's not going to be a part of this offensive line moving forward, even if you spent that high draft capital on him. And that's not good because, look, I do believe J.C. can be a guy. Like, I do believe he can be a guy on that line, but you're right.

He has to stay healthy. And not only that, because he has to stay healthy to build his confidence back up, he completely lost his confidence. What I covered his rookie season, his rookie season, when you're supposed to be kind of, I don't know, a little bit shyer, he was like pretty confident, like coming in as a rookie. And I remember having chats with him. And he seemed like you said, on the path to be a leader.

And then the minute he started to deal with a little bit of like adversity and the injuries, like his confidence level went and like I'm like who is this dude like you said I don't even you know we don't talk about him either as a leader right now on that line he's got a lot of work to do I look at J.C. Latham and

I have to wonder again I'm not a doctor as I love to say but he was real heavy at Alabama 360 370 and he said that he was too heavy at the end of his rookie year and he was too slow and then he lost all that weight. And then he's moving fast

and now he has a hip injury, which to me hips are all about mobility. You know what I mean? And I just wonder if, two ifs, if J.C. Latham can be a good enough player at a weight

that his body can stay healthy at. You know what I mean? Like, if his body can stay healthy, but if he can be good enough, it's like, yeah, he can get the 340. He can play at 340, 3. but is his body going to be able to not get injured when it's as uncomfortable being that thin?

You know what I mean? Like maybe his body isn't comfortable being that thin. And he's just never going to be able to stay healthy because his body doesn't feel comfortable with where he has to be to be to be to be. So it's just a double-edged sword that he can never win. I'm not saying it is that. But it's just something in the back of my mind that I'm wondering about it as his career continues to go for. Yeah, it was clear that his mobility also was.

shot and it seemed like it was impacting his jumpiness there at the line too. He was penalized quite a bit. And so certainly something to watch out. Yeah, certainly something to watch for when it comes to J.C. Latham. But the Titans need him to work out because the offensive line already, as we mentioned, has a ton of questions. All right, that'll do it for the Titans squad show today.

Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, all of that fun stuff. Get us live on YouTube here a couple times a week and be in every day or to the Locked on Titans podcast with Tyler Rowland. But for now, I'm Julian Minneson. And that's Kayla Anderson and Tyler Rowland. And of course, shout out to Brad Hopkins, who had to dip out a tad early today. We'll see you guys next time.