When the Tennessee Titans let Aaron Brewer go after the 2023 season, everyone felt that was the right decision. So then, how did he go from a guy everyone wanted gone to getting a new contract to become the third-highest paid center in the NFL?
Brewer was terrible with the Titans as a starter, and he allowed the second-most sacks and the third-most pressures by any center in the NFL during his final season in Tennessee. At that time, he was playing for Mike Vrabel, Tim Kelly, and Jason Houghtaling, and despite their best efforts, they just couldn't get anything worthwhile out of Brewer.
That offseason, Mike McDaniel and Frank Smith saw Brewer and knew that if they could work with him, he would be a unique weapon for their run game. Their creative offense, which focused on getting players in space, was the perfect fit for an undersized, athletic lineman because they could either pull him or use him as a second-level blocker to create space for their speed demon skill position players.
Aaron Brewer extension proves Tennessee Titans need to fix the center position
The lesson that the Titans have to learn from this is that coaching, vision, and fit matter for players, especially interior offensive linemen. They have seen the good (Ben Jones) and the bad (Andy Levitre) of a player who has more value in one scheme than another, and they have to understand that the most important thing is fit, not name recognition.
The good news for Titans fans is that they may have already figured this out, and it could be happening right now. While the New York Giants let Austin Schlottmann walk in free agency, Titans offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo (who coached Schlottmann for two years in New York) signed off on the team bringing him in and then largely ignored the center position thereafter.
What that should tell Titans fans is that the plan has been for Schlottman to start from the jump, and that the coaching staff believes that they are getting an ideal scheme fit for the new offense in Schlottmann.
While it is fair to criticize or question this move right now, the fact that Brewer has developed into a second-team All-Pro with the right coaching staff should give Titans fans some real hope that an equally talented pair of offensive coaches believe that Schlottmann is worthy of a starting role for the Titans.
Center is a position Borgonzi had to permanently fix.
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