Ran Carthon explains why Titans won't be utilizing a controversial strategy in 2023
INDIANAPOLIS — Ran Carthon has been through the circus that is the NFL Combine plenty of times. This year is the first time that he's done so as general manager of the Tennessee Titans. Hard to fly under the radar as one of only 32 people in that role. What is also difficult to hide […]
INDIANAPOLIS — Ran Carthon has been through the circus that is the NFL Combine plenty of times. This year is the first time that he's done so as general manager of the Tennessee Titans.
Hard to fly under the radar as one of only 32 people in that role.
What is also difficult to hide is the status of the Tennessee roster. Carthon's combine media experience around it so far has revolved almost exclusively around one element of the Titans that is very much in-flux. What the hell are they going to do at quarterback next year?
Carthon is dead set against one particular solution.
The Titans are not tanking
Not an option under Carthon and coach Mike Vrabel apparently.
"Can you imagine a conversation where I walk into a room and ask Mike Vrabel 'Is there a way that we can tank this year?'" Carthon told me Wednesday on 104.5 The Zone. "That's not how Mike is wired. Mike is a winner. Regardless of what is going on around us or who is taking the field, the objective is to always win. First of all, that's not who I am. Second of all, I would never approach Mike with the thought of us potentially tanking."
Anyone who is familiar with Vrabel will understand Carthon's logic here, but it ignores one clear fact.
The NFL's current draft system clearly incentives the idea. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is dealing with allegations that he actively encouraged a full-season tank in 2019. In an effort to promote league-wide competitiveness and parity, the NFL's procedure for setting the draft order rewards the biggest losers with the best college prospects.
A team like Tennessee under Vrabel could be viewed as too consistently competitive for its own good under the current structure.
Starting Ryan Tannehill at quarterback next year in the final year of his contract likely keeps the Titans on that same path. Carthon can release the veteran with significant savings either pre or post-June 1 if he wanted to, trade up for a quarterback this year, or sign a veteran stop-gap and roll into a season with a very raw Malik Willis.
The last of those options would be more of a passive tank than an active one.
It still does not guarantee that Tennessee will secure a spot high enough to draft one of the top quarterbacks in 2024. Unless the NFL’s process for determining the draft order changes, the discussions around clubs throwing a season for better picks will continue.
For Carthon’s Titans, it is not on the table.
Featured Image: Donald Page – Tennessee Titans.