Titans Players Who Are The Problem, Not The Problem, And The Solution: Sorting Brian Callahan’s roster is a sobering exercise

The bottom line for this team in 2025, regardless of who is at the coaching helm, is that their starters are largely under-performing. We can argue over how much of that is a coaching issue and how much is on the players. The coaches have said they need to put the players in a better spot, the players are adamant that the coaches can’t go out there and do the job for them, that it’s on them.

There’s no question where the majority of the fanbase would fall on this. It’s much easier to hope an in-season coaching change will magically turn this group into a bunch of over-performers than it is to accept the starters you’re stuck with this season simply aren’t playing well. The truth, in my opinion, is somewhere in the middle. It’s no coincidence so many of these veterans are playing worse than we’ve seen them play in the past in tandem. Coaching absolutely plays a role in that. At the same time, coaches aren’t the ones missing tackle, blowing assignments, and failing to catch the football. That’s on the guys in uniform.

I went through the Titans list of 23 starters (including a 12th defensive starter as the depth chart does) and placed them into three buckets: “The Problem”, “Not The Problem”, and “The Solution”. This exercise wasn’t particularly tricky based on each players first month of play, but it certainly was illuminating to see how few Titans are pulling their weight.

The Problem

• QB Cam Ward
• WR Calvin Ridley
• WR Tyler Lockett
• Right Tackle
• EDGE Arden Key
• EDGE Dre’Mont Jones
• LB Cody Barton
• CB L’Jarius Sneed
• S Amani Hooker

Yes, Cam Ward is a part of the problem at this point. He wasn’t to begin the year, but he’s trended in the wrong direction. DeShone Kizer is the only QB since the inception of QBR as a statistic in 2006 to have a worse QBR than Cam Ward in his first four starts. The statistics are more dramatic than the reality of the situation, but the point remains: he’s not helping at the moment.

Calvin Ridley’s woes are well-documented, he’s clearly a part of the problem so far. Tyler Lockett (or whoever you want to slot into the WR3 position) isn’t helping a lick. Lockett was targeted four times in Houston and didn’t make a play on any of the balls.

The right tackle position is obviously a big part of the problem as long as JC Latham is still out and it’s a revolving door of backups. And in the trenches on the other side of the ball, the entire EDGE room has been and will probably remain a part of the problem all year long. So Arden Key and Dre’Mont Jones, you’re on the list until you start showing up with any amount of consistency. In Key’s defense, he’s coming off his best game of the year in Houston. Hopefully he can parlay that momentum and start contributing to the solution for this team in October.

How about Cody Barton? I think relative to the expectations we had for him coming in, he’s firmly a part of the problem so far if you ask me. He hasn’t been the field general force in the middle of the field that I think he’s capable of being.

In the secondary, L’Jarius Sneed’s first full game back was net-promising against Davante Adams in Week 2. But since then, he’s been disappointing and problematic on the penalty front to boot. And Amani Hooker, whose contract was just extended, isn’t a pulling his weight either. His career high missed tackles in a single season is 9. Through four games this year, he up to 6. That’s on pace for 25 missed tackles! Not good!

Not The Problem

• TE Chig Okonkwo
• C Lloyd Cushenberry
• G Kevin Zeitler (?)
• LT Dan Moore (?)
• WR Elic Ayomanor
• DL Sebastian Joseph-Day
• DL James Lynch
• LB Cedric Gray
• Cornerback 2
• CB Roger McCreary
• S Xavier Woods

So 9 starting positions out of 23 are arguably “The Problem” right now. That’s a total non-starter for any team. But what’s even more disheartening is how few players are truly part of the solution right now. Chig Okonkwo hasn’t been a huge problem for this team, but how much playmaking has he done? Rookie WR Elic Ayomanor has been really promising, but he’s still a rookie going through the process of leveling up as an NFL starter.

Lloyd Cushenberry has been perfectly fine. Kevin Zeitler to his right and Dan Moore to his left haven’t quite been the problem in my estimation, but I’d be willing to hear that argument. They’re at least teetering.

The interior defensive line as a whole isn’t a problem. Cornerback two and three aren’t really an issue either. LB Cedric Gray is coming off a career-best game with 17 tackles. And S Xavier Woods has been a net positive.

The Solution

• G Peter Skoronski
• RB Tony Pollard
• DL Jeffery Simmons

For my money, these three are the only real solutions on this team right now. They are the ones rowing hardest in the right direction. Jeffery Simmons has been the best interior defensive tackle in the entire league through four games. You can read more about him dominance here.

LG Peter Skoronski has been very strong and easily the best offensive lineman on the team. He’s been as-advertised. And RB Tony Pollard has run the ball very hard, finding particular success behind the stout middle of the offensive line.

This list needs to grow, and it needs to grow soon. That is, if the Titans hope to win a game this season.