Tennessee Titans 2026 Preview

WRITTEN BY: HILOW

Coaching/Philosophy/Scheme Changes ::

• Offense: Fired former HC Brian Callahan and hired HC Robert Saleh. Brian Daboll was hired to be the new offensive coordinator.
• Defense: Saleh confirmed he will call defensive plays for the Titans. Newcomer DC Gus Bradley is likely to have a heavy hand in the development of the defense.

Personnel Changes ::

• Arguably no team had a busier offseason than the Titans.
• Second-year QB Cam Ward gets improved weapons as the franchise attempts to bring a complete rebuild full circle.
• Acquired DL Solomon Thomas from the Cowboys in a pick swap. Traded DT T’Vondre Sweat to the Jets in exchange for EDGE Jermaine Johnson.
• Takes deep breath. Signed DT John Franklin-Myers, QB Mitchell Trubisky, TE Daniel Bellinger, WR Wan’Dale Robinson, CB Cor’Dale Flott, CB Alontae Taylor, C Austin Schlottmann, OG Cordell Volson, CB Josh Williams, DL Jordan Elliott, P Tommy Townsend, DE Malik Herring, DE Jacob Martin, S Tony Adams, TE Kylen Granson, LB Mohamoud Diabate, WR K.J. Osborn, QB Hendon Hooker, WR Lance McCutcheon, and RB Michael Carter in free agency.
• Drafted WR Carnell Tate and EDGE Keldric Faulk in the first and LB Anthony Hill in the second. Drafted RB Nicholas Singleton in the fifth.
• Lost EDGE Arden Key, TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, WR Van Jefferson, DL Sebastian Joseph-Day, and OG Kevin Zietler, amongst others, in free agency.
• Released C Lloyd Cushenberry and CB L’Jarius Sneed, the latter of which was quite the shocker after the Titans traded for Sneed the year prior and signed him to a four-year contract extension that paid him $51.5 million in guaranteed money. Ultimately, the recurring injuries were not worth the squeeze for Sneed in Tennessee.

Schedule ::

• Divisional Games (6):
  • Colts x2, Texans x2, Jaguars x2
• AFC North (4):
  • Browns, Steelers, @Ravens, @Bengals
• NFC East (4):
  • Eagles, Commanders, @Cowboys, @Giants
• Jets, @Lions, @Raiders

Bull Case ::

Cam Ward goes from the relatively conservative play calling from Brian Callahan to the comparatively aggressive nature of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. In addition to the expected boost to offensive identity, Ward sees his primary skill position players upgraded with the return to health (presumably) of Calvin Ridley, the signing of Wan’Dale Robinson, and the drafting of Carnell Tate in the first round. I would call the moves at tight end horizontal in that Chig Okonkwo is likely a slightly better real-world talent than Daniel Bellinger, but the team at least addressed the position by bringing in a true pass-catcher as opposed to simply letting their depth chart become stale. I would also say they upgraded their offensive line in a meaningful way after Lloyd Cushenberry vastly underperformed expectations a season ago. Finally, they made significant investments into the defensive side of the ball, signing no less than five new starters through free agency, not to mention the resources allocated to depth. In theory, this should be a vastly improved team all around in 2026.

Austin Schlottmann and Cordell Volson were added to shore up the interior of the offensive line. Schlottmann did not allow a sack in 2025, ranking 10th in pass protection and 13th in run-blocking metrics, per PFF. Veteran standout Peter Skoronski continues to grade as one of the top guards in the league. That said, that’s about where the positives with the offensive line end. More on this below.

But, hey, it’s not like this team can score fewer points than they did in 2025, right? RIGHT? They managed only 16.7 points per game a season ago, “good” for 30th in the league (ahead of only the Browns and Raiders). That was also accompanied by a 31st-ranked 259.6 total yards per game. There, quite literally, is nowhere to go but up with this team in 2026.