Calvin Ridley could be the No. 1 receiver the Tennessee Titans desperately need

The Tennessee Titans were in desperate need of a No. 1 receiver, and they got one after giving Calvin Ridley a massive new contract.

All we knew before the Tennessee Titans knocked down the door and signed former Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley to a four-year, $92 million deal with $50 million fully guaranteed was that the Jaguars and the New England Patriots were in the mix. But the Titans were in need of a top receiver, they had the space to make the deal, and by the way, Ridley tore Tennessee’s defense to shreds in two games last season — he caught 13 passes on 19 targets for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

2023 was a comeback year for Ridley — selected with the 26th overall pick out of Alabama by the Falcons in the 2028 draft, Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 season after running afoul of the NFL’s nebulous policies against gambling. Atlanta traded him to the Jaguars on November 1, 2022.

Why Calvin Ridley’s year-long gambling suspension is a hypocritical farce

Last season, Ridley caught 76 passes in 132 targets for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. The Titans needed a receiver of his caliber, and while some may see it as an overpay, general manager Ran Carthon and new head coach Brian Callahan obviously disagree with that

Titans close in on hiring Bengals OC Brian Callahan as head coach

The Titans are set on Brian Callahan as the man to replace Mike Vrabel as head coach

Brian Callahan is about to find out what it is like to follow Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.

The Titans were closing in on naming the Bengals OC as their next head coach on Monday.

Callahan spent the last five seasons with the Bengals. Overall, he has 14 years of NFL experience. He is the son of former Raiders head coach Bill Callahan.

Per Bengals.com:

Playing and coaching experience: 2002-05—Played QB at UCLA. 2006-07—Graduate assistant coach, UCLA. 2010—Coaching assistant, Denver Broncos. 2011-15—Assistant coach (AC), Denver Broncos. 2016-17—AC, Detroit Lions. 2018—AC, Oakland Raiders. 2019-present—Offensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals.

Vrabel was 54-45 in six seasons with Tennesee. He was let go this offseason.

The perfect head coaching candidates for each vacancy

The perfect head coaching candidate for every current vacancy around the NFL.

There have been a plethora of teams around the NFL that decided to move on from their now former head coaches. From the totally expected to the outright shocking, there are currently eight head coaching vacancies around the NFL- each one with a candidate that could help turn their tides.

Side note: I don’t think Bill Belichick or Mike Vrabel take any current vacancy.

Titans fire head coach Mike Vrabel

Mike Vrabel is out in Tennessee

Mike Vrabel is out of work … it should not be for long.

The Tennessee Titans fired the head coach on Tuesday after a disappointing season.

Vrabel was 54-45 over six seasons with Tennessee.

However, he was 13-24 in the past two campaigns after four winning seasons.

The Titans finished last in the AFC South in 2023.

Vrabel will be a coveted candidate among the NFL openings.

There has been a lot of buzz the former New England Patriot could return to Foxborough if the AFC East team decides to part company with Bill Belichick.

2024 NFL Mock Draft: End-of-season quarterback decisions lead to surprising picks

How many NFL teams will stick with their current quarterbacks? A high number could make for an interesting first round of the 2024 draft.

Now that the 2023 NFL regular season is over, every team turns its attention to the draft — even those teams that are part of the postseason. Area scouts will start to move to the home facility to interact with scouting directors and general managers, and with the scouting combine less than two months away, it’s time to start putting your big boards together.

This applies especially to those teams with crucial quarterback decisions to make. For the purposes of this mock draft, we’ll assume that the Chicago Bears are sticking with Justin Fields, the Arizona Cardinals are committed to Kyler Murray, the Tennessee Titans think they have a future franchise quarterback in Will Levis, and the New York Jets think that eventually, Aaron Rodgers will stop shooting his mouth off long enough to play quarterback in 2024.

Conversely, the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons will avail themselves of the best draftable quarterbacks possible in the interest of turning things around.

So, four quarterbacks go in the first round here, with more teams looking to build around the guys they’ve already got. That makes for one notable omission (Oregon’s Bo Nix), and a whole bunch of talented prospects at other positions pushing themselves up the boards.

Derrick Henry thanks Titans fans ‘for greatest eight years of his life’

Derrick Henry honored fans of the Tennessee Titans

Derrick Henry went out in style … if Sunday was his last game as a Tennessee Titan.

The great running back had 19 carries for 153 yards and a TD in Tennessee’s 28-20 upset of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After the game, Henry, who will be a free agent, thanked Titans fans “for the greatest eight years of his life.”

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars are stuffed at goal line by Titans

The Jaguars needed a touchdown and came up short at the goal line

The Jacksonville Jaguars were three feet or so from a chance to tie the game … if they got the touchdown and went for a two-point conversion.

However, Trevor Lawrence’s attempt to reach the ball over the goal line failed in the fourth quarter.

Midway through the stanza, with Jacksonville needing a win to capture the AFC South, the Jags trailed the Titans, 28-20.

Titans score pair of rushing TDs, put Jaguars down double digits

The Jaguars face a steep climb if they want to gain the AFC South title

Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans are making it difficult on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The AFC South cellar dwellers scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second quarter on Sunday to take a 21-10 lead over the Jags, who needed a win to capture the AFC South.

The first was on an 18-yard run by Derrick Henry.

The second came on a 3-yard burst by Tyjae Spears, who earlier had caught a scoring pass from Ryan Tannehill.

Titans grab lead over Jaguars on Tyjae Spears touchdown

The Jaguars will have to rally if they want to beat the Titans and win the AFC South

The Jacksonville Jaguars must win their game with the Tennessee Titans or their season is over.

Doug Pederson’s squad will be doing it from behind.

Ryan Tannehill threw a short pass to Tyjae Spears and the running back took it 28 yards to paydirt.

The Jags have to win to repeat in the AFC South or their season is kaput.

For now, it was 7-3, Tennessee.

The Colts might want to switch their defensive plan against C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud has killed Cover-3 all season long, and the Colts play a ton of Cover-3. Something’s going to break on Saturday night.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has been one of the NFL’s most compelling rookies in recent years, regardless of position. He’s a primary reason why the Texans, who finished the 2022 season with a 3-13-1 record, are playing Saturday night for the AFC South championship at 9-7. Stroud and his comrades will tangle with a Colts defense that is quite underrated of late.

But this Colts defense has already seen more of Stroud than they might like. In Stroud’s second regular-season game of his NFL career, he carved Gus Bradley’s defense up to the tune of 30 completions in 47 attempts for 384 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 103.5.

In the rematch, Bradley might want to switch his priors around a bit. The Colts have played the NFL’s second-highest rate of Cover-3 this season (48.8%, behind only the Carolina Panthers’ 50.0%), and Stroud has killed Cover-3 all season long. The Colts in Week 2 played Cover-3 on a league-high 22 of Stroud’s dropbacks back then, and Stroud completed 14 of 19 passes for 178 yards, 95 air yards, both of his touchdowns, and a passer rating of 137.6 against Bradley’s favorite coverage. For the season, Stroud has completed 91 of 136 passes for 1,211 yards, 798 air yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 106.6 against Cover-3.

This 23-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Nathaniel “Tank” Dell in Week 2 had Stroud showing off one of his best throws against zone coverage — the quick out. The Texans had a mirrored concept here with two slot verts and two outside out routes, and the structure of the routes had Dell beating cornerback Darrell Baker, who was likely expecting Dell to run something vertical, underneath. Ready, set, go.

“He’s very talented,” Bradley said this week of Stroud. “First of all, he plays with great poise. He handles pressures, he handles looks, he handles different schemes very well. He gets the ball out timely. Does he hold it some? Yeah, because they take some shots, but it is timely when it is the quick game and when it’s in their intermediate passes. His accuracy is very good so – very poised, accurate, playing above the level of being a rookie. I think at this point in time, he’s not a rookie because the looks that he’s seen. He’s playing very well for them right now. I think they’re third or something in explosive passes. I know very high, I think the analytics told us so. He does a great job with the threats he has on the outside.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Stroud’s return from a concussion, how he was able to dice up the Titans’ pass defense in Week 17, and what it all means for this crucial Saturday night matchup. The Colts will be ready with some serious improving players on the defensive side of the ball, and it’s important to remember that Stroud was also sacked six times in that Week 2 game.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/byBI1YwBYdwULzK8WvPD/1704387376688_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibWo0dWVzanJsZjN1ZXdsZW81a3V5NnNsaGJseG11Y2UiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.