Karim Kassam

AFC South Notes: Titans, Texans, Jaguars

The Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year, but they have seen a number of significant changes on offense. this offseason. With A.J. Brown and Julio Jones gone, wide receiver will be one of the most intriguing position groups to watch as training camp unfolds.

The team has former Ram Robert Woods set to start alongside first-rounder Treylon Burks. Both have significant question marks surrounding them, however, as Woods is coming off of a torn ACL and Burks missed nearly all of the team’s spring programs. That leaves the door open for other players to stand out and earn significant playing time during at least the early portion of the season.

One candidate is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The former UDFA will open up training camp as a starter, per Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com. The 25-year-old put up notable numbers in 2021, averaging 12.5 yards per catch on 38 receptions and scoring four touchdowns. His third season could very well be his best, especially if he gets an extended look with the first team during the campaign.

Here are some other notes from the AFC South, including another positional battle in Tennessee:

  • In that same piece, McCormick details the competition facing the Titans at left guard. Assuming 2021 second-rounder Dillon Randuz starts at right tackle, where he has been practicing this offseason, LG should be the only spot on the line up for grabs. That competition would then be decided by free agent signing Jamarco Jones, who played in a rotational capacity in Seattle for the past three years, and Aaron Brewer, who likewise has backed up along different positions on the interior in Tennessee since 2020.
  • The Texans made a number of front office moves, as detailed by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football NetworkJames Liipfert has been promoted to assistant director of player personnel and college scouting director. He had previously served elsewhere in Houston’s scouting department, joining Nick Caserio‘sstaff after a lengthy tenure in New England. The Texans also promoted Ronnie McGill, another Patriots veteran, to pro scouting director one year after his arrival in Houston. He will be joined by D.J. Debick as an assistant, as the team also hired him from New England. The final personnel hires Wilson notes are those of R.J. Goodwin and Nate Leopold, both as assistants.
  • The Jaguars are once again losing a key analytics staffer. Eugene Shen, who had been the team’s VP of football analytics, is leaving to take a position outside of sports, per ESPN’s Seth Walder (Twitter link). Last year, Jacksonville parted ways with Karim Kassam, who was also a VP-level staffer within the analytics department.

Jaguars Executive Leaves Organization

Another recent hire is leaving the Jaguars. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco writes that senior vice president of football operations and strategy Karim Kassam has left the organization.

Kassam was a bit of an unconventional hire, as he had most recently served as the Minnesota Twins’ director of baseball research. However, he did have some NFL experience on his resume, having spent half a decade as the Steelers analytics research coordinator. Kassam was hired by the Jaguars back in February, and he was expected to “oversee the team’s football technology and analytics department” while also assisting with the salary cap (per DiRocco).

The team didn’t reveal the reason for Kassam leaving the organization, but they released a statement describing the decision as mutual.

“Karim and the team have come to the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interest to move in different directions. We wish Karim nothing but the best,” said Tony Khan, the Jaguars’ chief football strategy officer.

Earlier this offseason, Chris Doyle was hired as the team’s director of sports performance, but he resigned following negative reactions to the hiring. Doyle previously worked at Iowa, where he was accused of bulling players and making racist remarks.