The Tennessee Titans have officially arrived at the 2025 NFL Combine. General manager Mike Borgonzi and head coach Brian Callahan met with the media ahead of the on-field and off-field festivities. Unsurprisingly, as owners of the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, both Borgonzi and Callahan were peppered with questions about quarterback prospects Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.
As expected, Callahan and Borgonzi spoke in circles, oftentimes contradicting each other. It's imperative to maintain mystery regarding their approach with the No. 1 overall selection. It's important to sift through the quotes and separate the interesting from the uninteresting. Callahan had a quotable about the Titans' quarterback hopes this offseason that potentially offered a hint regarding which direction the team is leaning.
Callahan claimed the Titans would prefer a long-term solution and upside at quarterback over immediate success and fit, per beat reporter Terry McCormick.
Brian Callahan said #Titans at QB would prefer a long-term solution and upside over immediate success and fit.
— Terry McCormick (@terrymc13) February 25, 2025
Brian Callahan indicates Titans would prefer to draft a QB
"Long-term solution and upside" at quarterback sounds like something only a rookie can provide the Titans at the position. Ward is considered an impressive athlete at the position with special off-script and playmaking ability. Sanders is a neck-up prospect who wins with accuracy and pre-and-post-snap recognition as a rhythm-and-timing quarterback. Either one possesses the upside to develop into a long-term franchise QB.
Furthermore, the Titans' realistic options in free agency fit the "immediate success and fit" definition, per Callahan. The aging quarterbacks available include Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins, who are both expected to be released or traded in the coming weeks. Potential targets who aren't guaranteed to be available, but might be, are Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford. With these four quarterbacks ranging in age from 33 to 41, none of them qualify as "long-term options with upside."
The lone veteran option expected to be available who may fill both of Callahan's "long-term upside" and "immediate success and fit" definitions is Sam Darnold. A pending free agent, Darnold turns 28 in June. His age conceivably makes him a long-term option if he performs well on his next contract. Will the Titans be willing to pay him $40-plus million per campaign, especially after he ended the season in such lackluster fashion?
The Titans remain in the early process of figuring out their strategy with the No. 1 overall selection. The upcoming week at the NFL Combine is critical towards determining Tennessee's preference. For now, it sounds like Callahan would prefer Ward and/or Sanders to prove worthy of the top overall selection.