5 Tennessee Titans with the best chance to see their jerseys retired next
By Will Lomas
#99 Jurrell Casey, DT (2011-)
This decision came down to a few names. Keith Bulluck, Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Haywood Jefferies, Kevin Mawae, Delanie Walker, and Blaine Bishop all had some pretty interesting cases to be the final player on this list.
However, when you really look at Jurrell Casey and look at the numbers it is easy to see why he made it.
Let’s talk about his circumstances first. For maybe a five year stretch he was the most dangerous player in the Titans front-seven and it wasn’t close. That means that every play he is getting extra attention and teams are scheming to stop him first all week long.
Which naturally takes us to the next point which is his production. Do you know who the best pass rushing defensive tackles in the NFL (ranked by sacks) were from 2011 until now?
1. Geno Atkins
2. Aaron Donald
3. Gerald McCoy
4. Jurrell Casey
He is also 2nd over that period in total tackles by a DT and 4th in TFLs. In both categories he stands above the likes to Cameron Heyward, Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Marcell Dareus, Haloti Ngata, and Damon Harrison, which is no small collection of talent.
You can’t think about the 2010s era Titans and not think of Jurrell Casey, which is really a great test on whether or not someone is important to a fan base.
There was a long stretch where you would only see throwback jerseys and Casey jerseys in the stand and whoever takes up the #99 mantle from Casey is going to have huge shoes to fill.