Titans Defensive Coordinator lays down the law on CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr.’s penalty problem, what he’s doing wrong with the refs

The Tennessee Titans had a penalty problem in 2024. So far in 2025, that problem remains far from resolved. They commited 13 penalties for 130 yards in backbreaking fashion against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, betraying their entire offseason of focus on cleaning up their act. And the player who stuck out the worst was the talented starter who built a bad reputation in this department last year: CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr.

Jarvis Brownlee’s Brutal 2025 Debut

Brownlee’s first outing this season wasn’t brutal in terms of his level of play. He played quite well all game, if you remove the penalties. But we can’t remove the penalties, even when he sometimes gets some questionable calls. He got flagged three times in the season opener, for 5, 15, and 16 yards each.

Brownlee is a really talented young player. I’ve been a big fan of his game since college. And I agree with his coaches that he’s a starter in the league who can do great things. But his blessing is also his curse, and it’s biting him badly right now. He’s so darn physical and aggressive, and he’s not getting away with it. There are ways to change that, but he has to be willing to change himself. Read this full exchange from the postgame locker room. First, we asked Brownlee how he can better make himself acceptable to the officials, and he shook his head with a smile. “I ain’t got no answer for you on that one, I ain’t gonna lie to you.”

What was the explanation from the officials on the second penalty on the crosser to Courtland Sutton? That one appeared to be a pretty suspect penalty.

“Um… s***… they ain’t tell me nothing.”

Did you ask?

“Nah. There wasn’t even a point. When you know you’re playing good defense, and you already talked to the ref before the game, and you already knew it was going to be a physical battle, s***, you control what you can control. That’s all I can say.”

But do you have to do it differently in the future, Jarvis? The officials have final say, after all.

“For sure!” Brownlee said. “So you control what you can control. I’ve got no say-so on the flags they throw or how they feel, so… like I said, I’m going to keep playing me. I’m going to keep doing me, I’m going to keep playing my game.”

And I ended the exchange with this: So on a day like today, this doesn’t change how you’ll approach the game at all?

“No sir. I played good football.”

Dennard Wilson Puts His Foot Down

When we spoke with defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson on Tuesday about his starting cornerback’s penalty history, he didn’t mince words:

“I want him to play with the tenacity that he plays with, and I want him to play hard, but the penalties must stop. At the end of the day, you know, we have to clean it up… So we’ve addressed it. We’re going to keep working on him getting his hands down at the top of the route, not grabbing, okay? And then understanding when is the point to take your hands off of receivers, right? We will do things throughout the course of the week to correct it. But the penalties, they aren’t acceptable. And obviously it hurt us in the game.”

Penalty cleanliness is something the entire team has preached all offseason, and Brownlee is far from the only perpetrator from this Sunday. His track record and total of flags merely stand out the most. But the coaching staff has already spoken with everybody about this issue ahead of Week 2.

And you know what, it’s the first game, and we had a huge conversation, and just in the offseason about penalties as a whole. He understands that the penalties hurt, and he doesn’t feel good about it. We don’t feel good about it, but it’s for us to correct it.”

Wilson emphasized his confidence in Brownlee as a player and his willingness to get his game cleaned up as well. “And he’s a guy that’s willing to correct the mistakes and get better from the penalties. And he’s gonna do a hell of a job of trying to decrease them.”

So what has to happen now?

Earning The Wrong Reputation

Jarvis’s play style is so much fun. The physicality and aggression are the features, not the bugs. So when he continues to get penalized like he does, while it may seem easy to say he has to tone those down, in reality I don’t think he should. Brownlee has a reputation, savvy, and approach problem; not at play style one.

“It could be a thing” Dennard Wilson said on Tuesday, when asked if Brownlee is being targeted by refs for his history. “Every week, organizations send clips or talk to the refs about certain things, and it could be a target on his back.”

In 2024, Brownlee has 9 penalties for 57 yards in 14 starts. And that’s just what was accepted by the opponent. So far this year, he’s at least one-third of the way there through one game. Brownlee simply has to hone his physicality with knowing when and where to deploy it. His coaches have to continue to get him to be physical with his feet and body more than with his hands. He has to use his hands early and know when to disengage. And perhaps most importantly, he has to learn some veteran savvy when it comes to the officials.

I won’t pretend to be some expert ref whisperer. But it’s no secret that the best players know how to “work with”, or perhaps with within the perimeters of their officiating crew. They communicate, and know which boundaries to push and which to avoid. They know which play situations to and not to get handsy in. All of this comes with time, and willingness to learn and adapt. If Brownlee can do those things, he’s going to be just fine in the NFL. But the time to start is right now.