The Tennessee Titans enjoyed their off-day during the Week 9 bye. They return at 1-7 for preparations for the Jacksonville Jaguars game in Week 10. The bye offered opportunities for reflection. The Titans are enduring a third-straight wasted season.
The Titans remain in the rebuilding roster phase. But progress has been painfully slow since 2024, and that doesn't happen without several errors in judgment. We've identified three decisions Mike Borgonzi got wrong this previous offseason.
Exposing the Titans' biggest 2026 offseason mistakes
Not doing more at EDGE rusher
The Titans were extremely active in free agency, spending a league-high amount of money. They spent handsomely on CB Alontae Taylor, DL John Franklin-Myers, and WR Wan'Dale Robinson. The most-notable move at EDGE rusher was trading NT T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets for Jermaine Johnson II.
Signing Jacob Martin has saved the Titans' edge group from being a full-blown disaster, but the need for a consistent difference-maker is still evident. Johnson has underperformed, and the Titans aren't getting enough yet from Femi Oladejo or Keldric Faulk. The Titans probably should have swung bigger at the position.
Miscalculating Alontae Taylor's positional fit
Speaking of Alontae Taylor, the Titans signed him to a $58 million contract to play boundary cornerback in Robert Saleh's defense. That's despite the fact he was primarily a nickelback for the New Orleans Saints. Well, it took the Titans precisely five weeks to abandon the original plan.
Taylor was benched at cornerback in favor of Joshua Williams. He's now competing for the nickel role in the slot with ascending sophomore Marcus Harris. Taylor may be an overpaid nickel, and he could take snaps away from an improving Harris. It's not exactly an ideal situation.
Giving Brian Daboll so much say in free agency
The Titans offense certainly looked like it found something versus the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8. They scored 36 points as quarterback Cam Ward had his first-ever 300 yard passing game. Consistency is needed moving forward, as the offense still ranks 28th in the league in scoring.
Daboll was given major power over who the Titans targeted in free agency on offense. They signed three of his former players to be starters in WR Wan'Dale Robinson, TE Daniel Bellinger, and C Austin Schlottmann. So far, Robinson and Bellinger have failed to meet the expectations of their contract, though Schlottmann has been a nice stopgap find at center.
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