The Tennessee Titans will not be very good this year, with or without Chris Johnson. They feel like a team in between, not quite a play-off team but not quite ready for a wrecking ball either, average, mediocre, falsely hopeful of success they are not good enough to grasp.
They have some good, young, developing talent. Jake Locker is, right or wrong, the long-term solution at QB. He’ll come along slowly this year thanks to the presence of veteran Matt Hasselbeck. Jared Cook has all the attributes of a big play TE, if his brain ever matches his brawn. Kenny Britt is similar, great athlete, potential star, crazy person. Last year’s first round pick, Derrick Morgan, returns from a torn ACL and has the potential to be a difference maker as a pass rusher. At LB the Titans boost some impressive talent in Gerald McRath (another crazy person, no wonder Jeff Fisher left), and rookies Akeem Ayers and Colin McCarthy. They have to solid CB’s in Alterraun Verner and Jason McCourty. Neither may be #1 material but both should enjoy solid careers at least as the #2 and #3 corners. Safety Michael Griffin is still young enough (26) to be a long-term fixture in the Titans secondary. Rob Bironas is 33 but still one of the league’s most accurate kickers.
On the flip side, the Titans have Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker under center. Hasselbeck is a quality vet but hasn’t been a good QB in like 3 years. Locker is soooo overrated. Cook and Britt could be really great, the most explosive duo in recent Titans history. Or they could be idiots, as Britt has been during the lockout/pissing match. The o-line is average, at best, the d-line not much better. It would be shocking to see any Titan post 10 sacks and the guy who has made juice from spit for years is gone as Jim Washburn left for Philly. After their young trio, the Titans are not very talented at LB and while Barrett Ruud is a decent player on a great contract, he proved in Tampa that he couldn’t be the main guy. Cortland Finnegan is just not Cortland Finnegan anymore or at least hasn’t been. Griffin is incredibly gifted but incredibly inconsistent and fellow backender Chris Hope is 33 years old and has lost a step.
This is a 6-10 team with Johnson and a 6-10 team without him. They don’t need to pay Chris Johnson $13 million to win 6 games. Yes, CJ is only 25 years old. A sharp decline or sudden loss of speed is not expected. He’s a star and Tennessee needs star players. But if they’re not better with him then they can do without him during a transition year.
RB is replaceable: An undrafted free agent making around $450,000 led the league in rushing. The Browns got 11 TD from a 6th round afterthought. The Titans probably won’t replace Johnson’s production with what they have and it’s way too late in the game to get anything else of note. But, that shouldn’t be a huge concern this year. If the Titans get just average production from their backfield and average play from Hasselbeck and Locker, they can win 6 games just as easily without Johnson as they would with him. Keeping Johnson does not make them a play-off team.
The short haul: The return from a trade for CJ should be pretty substantial. Like 2 first-round picks substantial. Two first round picks, another late pick or two, maybe a player in there, that’s a heck of a haul for the Titans. Too much? How about a 1st and 2 seconds’ as a start? Has there been a better player up for auction in the last 10 years than an in-his-prime Chris Johnson? He’ll bring a big return. They think they have their QB so with the extra picks they can start revamping the front five on offense and look for a pass rusher on defence, two things they need more than Chris Johnson and his big contract.
The long haul: The Titans have some major work to do. They have some young (and immature) pieces on offense. The defence is void of proven impact players but has that aforementioned young talent. Unless this team gets significantly better in the next couple years, they could potentially waste Johnson’s best years. Maybe Locker is the guy. Maybe Britt gets his head straight and maybe Cook puts it all together. They could be explosive throwing the ball. In 3-4 years the defence could be very, very good. But right now it’s too young and needs more at some key positions first. They’re not ready to contend. CJ will be most valuable to the team as a trade chip, a highly lucrative chip that could set the team up for greater success.
He’s a bit of a dink: He’s not a troublemaker and never had a problem with the law. He doesn’t make really outlandish statements or demand attention. He’s probably not a bad teammate. But management must get heartburn thinking about him and these contract negotiations. This is the second year in a row the Titans have had to deal with CJ drama and the only way to please him is to pay him. Just trade him and let someone else deal with paying him.
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