The Titans wasted no time moving on from the Mike Vrable era.
After bringing in former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to be their next coach, Tennessee handed out huge contracts for Calvin Ridley ($92 million), Lloyd Cushenberry ($50 million), Chidobe Awuzie ($36 million) and Tony Pollard ($21 million).
Who knows how successful this offseason will end up being, but credit where it's due: the Titans have an idea about what they want their new identity to be, and they're not afraid to spend the money on household names to make that happen. And while there will be plenty of interest surrounding all their new guys when they open camp in late July, the roster already has more than a couple of returning players who had sneaky good seasons last year.
If they want to have a Texans-like turnaround in 2024, these are the three guys who could end up being nice surprises.
3 Titans players who could be nice surprises in 2024
RB Tyjae Spears
Spears quietly had a pretty encouraging rookie season – while sharing a backfield with Derrick Henry, Spears rushed for over 450 in 17 games played. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry, only fumbled once, and finished as Pro Football Focus' 18th-best running back.
There were a lot of reasons why Henry left this offseason, but it's easy to see why the Titans were probably comfortable with that decision. Even with him sharing a backfield with Tony Pollard, Spears figures to be a major part of Brian Callahan's offense next season.
Both Pollard and Spears finished the 2023 season among the top 11 running backs in terms of total receptions, so you can get a sense of how the Titans offense may look next year.
LB Jack Gibbens
After only appearing in five games (with two starts) during his rookie season back in 2022, Gibbens had a much larger role for the Titans' defense last season, starting 13 of the 14 games he played in.
Even with three missed games, Gibbens had 95 tackles, and his missed tackle percentage – now with a much larger sample size – was under seven percent. The only player on defense who graded out higher last season was Roger McCreary, and Gibbens also had the second-best grades as both a run defender and a pass rusher.
Though they did add Kenneth Murray Jr. this offseason, the loss of Azeez Al-Shaair will put even more attention on Gibbens heading into Year 3.
WR Treylon Burks
This one's more wishful thinking than actual analysis, but if Burks is going to have the breakout season that everyone's been waiting for, next year is the time to do it.
Now that opposing corners will have to deal with DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, Burks should have an easier time getting matchups that could, in theory at least, lead to a big season. It's not like expectations are even that high – with two 1,000-yard guys already on the field, the Titans would probably be more than happy with a 600 or 700-yard season for Burks. At the very least, his 33-catch, 444-yard rookie season in 2022 would be a good start.
He's only 24, but he's running out of time to prove that he can be the guy after Hopkins leaves.