The Titans rolled out an offensive line with four new Week 1 starters this season; they look set to make at least one major change ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Benched during his Tennessee debut, Andre Dillard should be expected to return to free agency soon. The Titans are likely to move on from the former first-round pick, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com notes.
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The team had relocated Nicholas Petit-Frere from right to left tackle shortly after his gambling suspension ended early, but his season-ending injury paused that experiment. Stopgap RT Chris Hubbard is also unsigned for 2024, creating questions. In addition to ranking Dillard 73rd overall among tackles, Pro Football Focus slotted rookie Jaelyn Duncan (five starts) last at the position.
Dillard signed a three-year, $29MM deal to become Tennessee’s Taylor Lewan replacement at left tackle. Amid a cost-cutting spree last year, the Titans cut both Lewan and center Ben Jones. They also let four-year right guard starter Nate Davis sign with the Bears. The team brought in low-cost starters Hubbard and Daniel Brunskill but gave Dillard a midlevel accord despite his failure to commandeer an Eagles starting job. After Dillard gave up 12 sacks in just 297 pass-blocking snaps, the Washington State alum should not be expected to factor into Tennessee’s 2024 O-line plans.
Due to the Titans adding void years to Dillard’s deal to lower the 2023 cap hit, a post-June 1 cut might be the best way to go here. Should Tennessee release Dillard without that designation, it would cost nearly $8MM in dead money. Cutting Dillard with a post-June 1 designation would save the team $6.5MM this year.
GM Ran Carthon mentioned the idea of Peter Skoronski moving from guard to left tackle, his primary college position, as a potential solution. That would create a guard need — during an offseason when Brunskill and center Aaron Brewer are also unsigned — but sliding last year’s No. 11 overall pick to the highest-profile O-line post would be a rather important move through a big-picture lens. Skoronski being moved to LT would likely prompt the Titans to slide Petit-Frere back to the right side. Petit-Frere worked as the team’s primary RT starter throughout his rookie season, seeing a gambling suspension and a November shoulder injury stall his progress.
For now, Skoronski and Petit-Frere appear to be the only locked-in starters for the Titans moving forward. For a second straight year, the team has many questions to answer along its offensive front.
It was worth a gamble based on his pedigree as a first rounder, but carthon has to do better this year solidifying the line with a high draft pick and more proven commodities I’m free agency.
Anyone who watched enough of him with the Eagles could tell you his pedigree was meaningless. The fact an NFL GM couldn’t see it is baffling.
True, Howie had more than his share of draft busts, Dillard, Reagor, JJAW, etc…
Fair point, from someone who never saw him play and as a fan you hear former 1st rounder and you hope thay change of scenery will help unlock untapped potential.
It was so bad they begged a 40 year old out of retirement and groomed a foreign rugby player that never previously played the sport to fill the role trying to buy time on him stepping up and it never happened. I also think he had issues that he couldn’t be plugged in anywhere else on the line, it was LT or nothing.
That wasn’t a criticism of you by the way it’s of the GM. The same ones the dumb owners chose over Vrabel.
it was worth a gamble but was it worth that much money?
Whatever happened to BEN JONES??
Didn’t he go to Hazzard County, GA to run Cooter’s Garage ??