The Tennessee Titans and general manager Jon Robinson picked the perfect year to “run it back” with the team’s starters on both sides of the ball as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cut the NFL’s offseason short.
As it stands now, the Titans are set to return 19 of their 22 starters on offense and defense (it’ll be 20 if Kamalei Correa starts over Vic Beasley) after making a run to the AFC Championship Game last season.
The two biggest starters from 2019 who have departed are Jack Conklin and Jurrell Casey, and the expected replacement for one of them, Dennis Kelly, has been with the team for the past four seasons.
Cameron Wake is another key departure, but was a situational pass-rusher and wasn’t a starter playing the majority of snaps on a weekly basis.
The coronavirus restrictions have been felt league-wide, with virtual offseasons being the approach to replace normal meetings and “classroom” work. Players have also been forced to find new ways to stay in shape until they’re allowed back at team facilities.
The most recent blow to a normal offseason came in the form of the NFL eliminating in-person minicamps, which presents yet another hurdle for teams’ preparation for the regular season.
That means players won’t be physically getting together in full until July 28 at the earliest, which is when training camp is scheduled to begin. Of course, it’s possible that start date is moved up, but nothing has happened yet.
While virtual offseason programs have been extended until June 26, head coach Mike Vrabel felt comfortable enough to end the Titans’ early.
Those teams with several or key new parts will be the ones most negatively impacted by an abbreviated offseason — and a potentially shortened preseason — that will limit opportunities for normal preparation.
Teams like the Titans, who largely have the same coaching staff, systems and players on offense and defense, will have an advantage as a result.
The only real issue for Tennessee is what this does to their rookies’ development, which is a bigger problem for teams that will heavily depend on rookies in 2020. The Titans don’t necessarily fall into that category, either.
Unless Isaiah Wilson is able to beat out Kelly for the starting right tackle job, the Titans will only really be depending on Kristian Fulton and Darrynton Evans to play even close to significant roles.
Even in that regard, Fulton will likely spend his rookie campaign as the slot corner in sub-packages — and that might be in a committee — and Evans is expected to be Derrick Henry’s primary backup.
As far as the Titans’ free-agent signings go, Beasley, who is expected to start at outside linebacker, is the most important player on the team not familiar with the Titans’ system.
With that said, the Titans have Correa as an insurance policy in case Beasley is ineffective out of the gate. Correa started at outside linebacker and was sensational during the stretch run of last season.
A player like veteran corner Johnathan Joseph has already played under head coach Mike Vrabel and new secondary coach, Anthony Midget, while with the Houston Texans, so he shouldn’t have a problem transitioning.
And, if the Titans end up landing Jadeveon Clowney, he’d also walk into Nashville with some familiarity, as he also played under Vrabel in Houston.
The 2020 offseason has no doubt presented a unique situation that teams have to overcome, but the Titans’ continuity on both sides of the ball gives them an advantage and could lead to a better start to the season than fans are used to seeing.
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