The things we value as NFL fans can be funny as the calendar chugs along. Often times, we finish a season having learned some hard truths about what matters and what our team should prioritize. But then the allure of shiny, fun additions in free agency and freshly minted rookie draft picks can wipe our memory of the vegetables we swore we would eat next year.

Nowhere is this more prominent an effect than in the trenches. It is so easy to kick yourself in the Fall for not advocating your team shore-up their offensive and defensive line. But in the offseason when everybody likes the shiny new toys, it’s easy to lose sight of just how important that seemed to us mere months ago.

I often wonder how much NFL front offices experience the same phenomenon. You can tell which teams really value depth at those positions. Since Titans GM Mike Borgonzi came to Tennessee, he’s always struck me as a guy that is disciplined and a fan of eating his veggies. But the way that the interior offensive line market fell this spring led to them sitting here today with giant question marks on their offensive line. It’s easy to hand wave the fact that they were priced out of the market at Center in particular, but ultimately the responsibility is still theirs. They had money, and they ended up not spending it.

Overpaying for players is a great way to build a team poorly, so I understand them sticking to their value. But the bottom line is that we sit here today with a relative unknown penciled-in as the Titans’ starting center, which is going to matter tremendously to Cam Ward in his second year. For my money, Austin Schlottmann is the single-biggest risk that Mike Borgonzi is taking in 2026.

Cam Ward, Titans offense could hinge on unknown at Center

The Titans new coaching staff and front office caught a lot of cheeky flack in free agency for bringing in a ton of former Jets and Giants. One of those players was Austin Schlottmann, the seven-year veteran of the Broncos, Vikings and Giants.

The Titans are publicly maintaining and open competition at center, but their actions tell a different story. Schlottmann was one of the first nine players trotted out by the Titans to speak with media during OTA’s. He was paid in a way that would make sense for a low-end starting center. And he comes from New York, where he most recently worked with offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo and now Titans Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll.

Clearly, those two coaches have a lot of faith in what this veteran can bring the team. I can say with certainty that he was not their first choice earlier in the spring, but it sure seems like he’s who they’re rolling with today.

Titans fans most recently experienced what a quality veteran backup can do when given starting snaps at center. Longtime Titan Corey Levin stepped in at center for a handful of games late last year, and he became a fan favorite for how well he played. It ultimately got him a nice new contract in Atlanta where he followed Bill Callahan this spring.

If Schlottmann can be that level of player, then the Titans will be alright. You’ll still be going into 2027 wanting better, but it shouldn’t handicap your year in the meantime.

The real concern is what the floor of this position is. Your starting center is the quarterback of the offensive line, and is the person most responsible for communicating with and protecting the actual quarterback behind him. He has to know what he’s doing.

Schlottmann’s veteran status gives me confidence from a mental standpoint, but the fact that he has bounced around the league and only started 18 games in his life leaves me worried about what the actual physical product may be. If he doesn’t work out, and it becomes a problem quickly, what’s the backup plan? The Titans coaching staff has come in and emphasized second year draft pick Jackson Slater mastering center alongside his mastery of guard. Perhaps he’s in the mix for that job eventually, but right now my eyes and ears tell me he’s thick in the mix for the starting RG job.

That’s the general problem with the interior offensive line of this team right now. In fairness to them, a lot of them are unknown here in Tennessee. Perhaps they were local ball-knower fan favorites with their previous team, and we’re going to come to learn that they bring more value than we see on paper. For the Titans’ sake, I sure hope they do. But until then, this feels like an interior roster made up of guys with some value upside, but no established floor. That could quickly turn into bad news for Cam Ward.

In the end, if this gamble by Mike Borgonzi pays off, it will be quietly one of his most successful decisions. But if you ask me today what the season might actually hinge on, and even what it may be brought down by, it is the state of this offensive line. And Schlottmann panning out is the question I need answered most.