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Unpacking the busy Tennessee Titans offseason that's coming after 'payback!' vs. Jaguars
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- Unpacking the busy Tennessee Titans offseason that's coming after 'payback!' vs. Jaguars
Sean Murphy-Bunting spent the whole week pretending he knew what was going on .
"I don't even know what happened last year," Murphy-Bunting admitted after the Tennessee Titans' 28-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, eliminating the Jaguars from the playoffs on the last day of the season just as the Jaguars did to the Titans the year before.
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"I watched the film. I don't know, but I'm in there going 'Payback!'"
Murphy-Bunting wasn't with the Titans when last season ended on a seven-game losing streak. Or when the Jaguars beat the Titans 20-16 in Week 18 to end the Titans' reign atop the AFC South. But he helped his teammates who were around for that game return the favor Sunday, sending the Jaguars home with a bitter loss that turned a season that started 8-3 into one that finishes 9-8.
Sure, the Titans finished 6-11 . But by the time Monday morning rolls around, both teams have to swallow the same fate.
"They got to meet me in Cancun," Murphy-Bunting joked. "So, I mean payback. I guess that's what you call it, right? They got us out last year. So, it was only right that we return the favor."
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The Tennessee Titans heading into 2024
The Titans are headed for a busy offseason. Murphy-Bunting is a free agent after one season with the franchise. So are linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair , safeties K'Von Wallace and Terrell Edmunds , tackle Chris Hubbard and receiver Chris Moore , among a long list of other in-season additions. That's not mentioning big-ticket free agents such as running back Derrick Henry , defensive lineman Denico Autry and quarterback Ryan Tannehil l or regular starters slated to hit the open market such as center Aaron Brewer , receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and cornerback Kristian Fulton.
All this free agency means the Titans will have ample room to navigate the salary cap. Per Spotrac, the Titans will have just short of $80 million to spend against the cap in 2024, second-most in the NFL. Combine that cap space with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and another pick in the top 40 early in the second round and the Titans have the opportunity to improve the roster in short order.
"With a season like this, I ain't going to say it was needed because who wants to lose, but you learn more from a season like this than a winning season," rookie running back Tyjae Spears said. "We've got a lot to learn from in this offseason and we've got a lot to build on next year. It can only be up."
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The Titans have an intriguing young core for 2024 and beyond. Quarterback Will Levis headlines the group, needing to build off the highest highs of his rookie campaign to be more consistent in Year 2. Spears figures to factor in behind him whether Henry returns or not. Young receivers and tight ends Chig Okonkwo, Treylon Burks and Josh Whyle will all fight for bigger roles alongside veteran DeAndre Hopkins , who has one year left on his contract, with 2023 first-round pick Peter Skoronski serving as an anchor on the offensive line.
Things are less clear on defense. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is locked in long-term, along with edge defenders Harold Landry and Arden Key to a lesser extent. Beyond them, safety Amani Hooker and cornerback Roger McCreary , virtually none of the Titans' top defenders are under contract.
The AFC South in 2023 was a showcase in transformations. The Jaguars collapsed down the stretch as the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts , two of the NFL's four worst teams in 2022, finished with winning records. It's easy to view that in the negative, looking at the Colts and Texans as teams on the rise that will only make it harder for the Titans to ascend back to the top of the division.
But it's just as easy to see those teams' turnarounds, and the Titans' downturn in 2022, as proof that teams rapidly get better and worse in this league.
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That's why Spears, who had 66 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in Sunday's win, doesn't want fans looking at his performance Sunday as an indicator of what's to come.
He wants fans expecting more.
"There might be something better in store than today," Spears said. "But I don't know though. We'll see."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com . Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Busy Tennessee Titans offseason is coming after 'payback' vs. Jaguars
