The Tennessee Titans spent more than $165 million in total guaranteed money on just five players last offseason. Former general manager Ran Carthon was relentless in his offseason pursuit of improvement talent in an attempt to try and improve the Titans. The spending spree failed miserably, with the Titans enduring a 3-14 season in 2024, their worst campaign since 2015.
Owner Amy Adams Strunk responded by firing Carthon after two seasons in charge. She's positioned president of football operations Chad Brinker as the new decision-maker on all personnel-related matters. Brinker oversaw the process of appointing Carthon's successor, an impressive process that concluded with the hiring of former Kansas City Chiefs general manager Mike Borgonzi.
Borgonzi's introductory press conference occurred earlier this week. Brinker was also there, after making an informative appearance earlier that morning on the team's flagship radio show, Ramon, Kayla, and Will. Together, Borgonzi and Brinker revealed their upcoming plans for free agency, one that differs greatly from the one Carthon put in motion last offseason.
New Titans regime reveals free agency plans
"We will supplement [the roster] in free agency, but we will build through the draft," Borgonzi said at his introductory presser. That statement remains in-line with what Brinker echoed via written word when Carthon was fired weeks ago, that the Titans would be a, "draft and develop" team. Don't expect any spending sprees that resemble last offseason.
"Ran Carthon and I weren’t as disciplined as we could have been in some areas," Brinker added when discussing last offseason's team-building strategy. It was the type of unfocused approach that led to a three-win campaign. Brinker confusingly added that he possessed responsibility, not authority over last year's roster. That belonged to Carthon. "As you approach free agency, just be more selective. Need to make sure we get the right veterans in here that are made of the right stuff."
"We had major holes in our roster last year," Brinker said. "On paper, (what we did in free agency) looked good. It got us three wins. It wasn't good enough," adding it reinforced his ideas of building teams through the draft.
Borgonzi and Brinker are correct in their assessment. The Titans took an unfocused, money-driven approach to free agency last offseason, and they're now straddled with aging talents on bloated contracts who's performance window probably won't align with the team's rebuild. Building the roster through the draft is a much better strategy.