The Tennessee Titans are entering a new era in 2024. Tennessee fired former head coach Mike Vrabel and moved on from long-time workhorse running back Derrick Henry. Brian Callahan and second-year QB Will Levis will usher in a new era of Titans football that should look very different from the last.
The Titans roster is already looking refurbished.
Tennessee made a number of additions in free agency to fill gaps on the roster and give Callahan new tools to works with. The team added Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, and Tyler Boyd as offensive weapons. The new vision of the Titans offense seems to be much speedier than in years past where they were content to punch you in the mouth with Derrick Henry 30 times a game. They also added Kenneth Murray, Chidobe Awuzie, and L'Jarius Sneed (via trade) to give the defense a nice facelift.
The Titans added even more talent in the 2024 NFL Draft. J.C. Latham and T'Vondre Sweat add some significant beef to the trenches on both sides of the ball. They also added a handful of depth pieces and rotational players on defense, as well as a shot at a wide receiver in Tulane's Jha'Quan Jackson.
Tennessee has made a ton of progress during an offseason of transition. However, they face a tough schedule that poses a couple challenging obstacles that the team must overcome. The Titans will need to figure them out if they want a shot at competing in the AFC South in 2024.
Will Levis regression could torpedo the Titans' season
All lot is riding on Will Levis this season. Levis showed flashes of brilliance in 2023, throwing four TD passes and looking phenomenal in his debut against the Atlanta Falcons. However, that game was not representative of his entire body of work.
Levis displayed the typical rookie struggles that one expects from young signal callers in the NFL. There is a lot of optimism in Tennessee that another full offseason of training, plus the addition of new skill position talent, will help Levis take the next step to become a legit franchise QB.
But what if that doesn't happen?
Progress is not always linear and Levis could easily struggle in 2024. The Titans are installing a whole new offensive system in their first season under Brian Callahan. It would not be surprising to see Levis experience a learning curve.
The Titans would be disappointed if Levis shows no progression in his second season, as that could limit their ability to compete this year. If he ends up showing regression, then Tennessee will really be in trouble.
Will Levis will be under the microscope early in his sophomore season in the NFL.
An early bye is not ideal for Tennessee
The good news for the Titans is that their early season slate looks fairly winnable. Their first four games are at Chicago, vs. New York Jets, vs. Packers, and at Dolphins. Drawing Caleb Williams and the Bears in the QB's first NFL game is great news for the Titans. It is no guaranteed win, but it will help them start the season off on the right foot — unless Williams is instantly amazing. It's not hard to imagine the Titans going 2-2 in this stretch.
However, they have an early bye in Week 5 that could become troublesome.
The Titans would have been better off with a bye week in the middle of the season, or slightly later in the year. This would have broken the season out into more manageable chunks and offered more relief in the event that a starter suffers an injury. Instead, the Titans will have to put their heads down and go to work for a large portion of the season.
What makes this worse is that Tennessee faces some tough games down the final stretch of their schedule. They come out of their bye with three hugely important games against the Colts, Bills, and Lions. Dropping all three of those games would put the Titans in a serious hole.
Tennessee has a brutal final stretch of the season, playing the Jaguars and Bengals in the final five weeks.
They also have to wait until later in the season for their matchups against the Houston Texans (Weeks 12 and 18). On one had this could give Levis a chance to get in rhythm before facing a scary divisional opponent. On the other hand, it could be two guaranteed loses in the most important parts of the schedule.
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