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Sam Darnold, Mike Vrabel, Kevin Byard and the Titans' what-ifs in NFL playoffs
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- Sam Darnold, Mike Vrabel, Kevin Byard and the Titans' what-ifs in NFL playoffs
The Tennessee Titans , as is well known, will not be playing in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.
That shouldn't stop Titans fans from noticing the narratives .
Eight teams remain alive in the chase to win Super Bowl 60: the Denver Broncos , New England Patriots , Houston Texans , Buffalo Bills , Seattle Seahawks , Chicago Bears , Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers . All eight of those teams have former Titans on roster , and that's underselling the influence the Titans have on the state of the postseason.
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From Sam Darnold to Mike Vrabel to Kevin Byard and everyone in between, here are the Titans connections and narratives at play in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
Why didn't Sam Darnold sign with the Titans?
As The Tennessean reported in November, the Titans never came particularly close to signing Darnold as a free agent in the 2025 offseason despite the franchise's massive need at quarterback. There was some interest from the coaching staff, but the front office was less enthused about the prospect of inking Darnold to a big contract to lead a roster that wasn't otherwise ready to compete for the postseason.
Darnold went on to perform as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in 2025, winning 14 games and leading the Seahawks to the NFC's No. 1 seed while finishing No. 5 in the NFL in passing yards and No. 2 in yards per attempt. Instead of pushing for Darnold, the Titans built around No. 1 pick Cam Ward , who came into his own late in the season but struggled so thoroughly early in the season that he finished 38th among qualified quarterbacks in passer rating and 39th in yards per attempt and success rate.
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Mike Vrabel rebuilds the Titans with the New England Patriots
In the two years since the Titans fired Vrabel, the Titans have won six games. Vrabel's won 15, counting the postseason, and he didn't even coach in 2024. Yes, Vrabel's decisively won the split. But he's also winning the split with a horde of familiar faces.
The Patriots have five former Titans on their active roster, and Vrabel filled out his coaching staff with nine former Titans assistants. Throw in the five former Titans on the Pats' injured reserve and practice squad and it's practically a family reunion in Foxboro. There's no reason to believe the Titans would've been a playoff team if they'd had Harold Landry III, Robert Spillane , Jack Gibbens , Joshua Dobbs and Austin Hooper in 2025 instead of the Patriots, but that doesn't take anything away from the job Vrabel's done reinvigorating the Patriots.
Why did Titans trade Kevin Byard, now an all-pro safety?
Byard, one of the most beloved players in modern Titans memory, earned the third first-team All-Pro honor of his career in 2025. The Chicago Bears safety led the NFL with seven interceptions, becoming the first player in a decade to finish a season with seven or more interceptions and 90 or more tackles.
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Back in 2023, the Titans traded Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in a cost-saving measure that rippled out of a strange offseason of discontent. First-year general manager Ran Carthon requested for Byard to take a pay cut, and the veteran safety didn't. This led to Byard skipping voluntary offseason workouts and, eventually, to Byard being traded away before the deadline that fall.
So let's recap the trade that shipped Byard out of Tennessee: In return for Byard, the Titans received the No. 146 pick and No. 182 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, plus safety Terrell Edmunds . Edmunds started one game for the Titans before hitting free agency in 2024, and the Titans used those two draft picks on cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., and receiver Jha'Quan Jackson. Less than two years later, neither are Titans anymore.
Unless the Titans find a superstar with the Day 3 pick they received in exchange for Brownlee in September, that's a huge downgrade of a trade.
Consider the 2023 NFL Draft
The Titans shouldn't regret drafting OL Peter Skoronski in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. But remember two of the other names the Titans were closely linked to leading up to that draft: QB C.J. Stroud and WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba . The feasibility of trading up for Stroud was always questionable, but Smith-Njigba was still on the board when the receiver-needy Titans picked Skoronski. The Skoronski pick has worked out, stabilizing the middle of the O-line, but Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards amid a first-team All-Pro season in 2025.
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Former Tennessee Titans alive in NFL playoffs
Here, sorted alphabetically, are the former Tennessee Titans playing this weekend:
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LB Azeez Al-Shaair (HOU)
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DL Denico Autry (HOU)
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S Kevin Byard (CHI)
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QB Joshua Dobbs (NE)
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LB Jack Gibbens (NE)
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LB Luke Gifford (SF)
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TE Austin Hooper (NE)
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DL DaQuan Jones (BUF)
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LB Ernest Jones IV (SEA)
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DL Naquan Jones (HOU)
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OLB Harold Landry III (NE)
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CB Roger McCreary (LAR)
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OL Sam Mustipher (DEN)
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OLB Sam Okuayinonu (SF)
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OL David Quessenberry (LAR)
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K Cairo Santos (CHI)
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LB Robert Spillane (NE)
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TE Nick Vannett (LAR)
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LB Garret Wallow (SF)
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X @nicksuss . Subscribe to the Talkin' Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: From Sam Darnold to Mike Vrabel, here are Titans' what-ifs in NFL playoffs
