The Tennessee Titans will be back in action and decked out in their Houston Oilers threads when they host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8 at Nissan Stadium.
Tennessee is 2-4 and coming out of their bye week with a lot more questions than answers. The biggest among those questions is, what will this team do at the trade deadline? That could hinge on what happens this Sunday.
The Titans should be ready to conduct a fire sale no matter what happens, and the Kevin Byard trade is, at the very least, evidence the team is moving in that direction.
But do not underestimate head coach Mike Vrabel’s faith in himself and his team to turn things around if Tennessee can improve to 3-4.
However, a loss and 2-5 record will almost certainly seal the deal and have the Titans fully looking to the future at the Oct. 31 deadline, when the team will have a great opportunity to add some much-needed picks for 2024.
But we still have days before the deadline hits. For now, here are six burning questions pertaining to the game at hand.
Will Titans alternate QBs?
It seemed like we had some clarity on who would start in place of Ryan Tannehill after it was reported that the Titans are expected to start Will Levis in Week 8.
However, Vrabel threw a wrench in that on Wednesday, saying that the team is indeed considering alternating quarterbacks.
“We’ll figure out the game plan as we work through the week,” he said, per Paul Kuharsky. “We may run the plays in with them. It could be by series, could be every two series. Could have certain things that we like.
“We’ll see where Ryan is, but again, I’m excited if Ryan can’t play that we’ll look at both of those quarterbacks. We’ll need both of them to help us win.”
I cannot stress enough how bad of an idea that would be.
Switching quarterbacks in and out will make it very difficult for either to get into any sort of rhythm, and that’s especially true for young signal-callers, including one who is set to make his NFL debut.
I tend to believe this is just gamesmanship by Vrabel and he’s just looking to keep his hand hidden leading into Sunday. But based on his comments, we certainly can’t rule out the Titans taking what would be a terrible approach.
Will injured players return?
The Titans are hoping to get back three players from injury this week in wide receiver Treylon Burks, defensive back Elijah Molden and defensive lineman Teair Tart.
Vrabel revealed on Tuesday that all three players would practice this week, which is a great sign for their Week 8 availability.
Burks hasn’t done much this season, but the Titans could use all the help they can get at wide receiver with Levis making his debut.
Tennessee’s run defense, which hasn’t been good in recent weeks, will get a boost from Tart’s return, and Molden will give the Titans another option to fill the void at safety now that Kevin Byard is in Philly.
Who replaces Kevin Byard?
Speaking of Molden, he’ll be one of two options the Titans can deploy at safety alongside Amani Hooker. The other is the player Tennessee acquired in the deal with the Eagles, safety Terrell Edmunds.
A former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Edmunds hasn’t panned out the way you’d expect someone drafted that high to, but he has proven to be a mostly reliable starter who does his best work in the box.
While Edmunds will certainly get some run, the book on him has already been written and the Titans should favor Molden to see if the 2021 third-round pick could possibly be a long-term solution on the back end.
Will NPF be an upgrade at left tackle?
Petit-Frere is on track to make his first start at left tackle after replacing Andre Dillard in Week 6, but the jury is still very much out on how he’ll perform in that role.
Things were shaky for NPF against the Ravens, as he gave up four pressures and two sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. To compare, Dillard gave up four pressures and one sack before being pulled.
But we also have to remember this was Petit-Frere’s first action of 2023, and it came at a position he hasn’t played at in the NFL. He also had to adjust on the fly to the switch to Malik Willis, who can be a nightmare for offensive linemen due to his propensity to hold the ball too long.
NPF has a better anchor and is more athletic than Dillard, so there’s hope he can provide the upgrade Tennessee needs. But if not, it might be time to give Peter Skoronski a look at left tackle.
Will Trevis Gipson get more snaps?
After notching a strip sack in Week 4, Vrabel said Trevis Gipson would get more snaps. However, Gipson has played just 15 since then, including just six in Week 6.
It’s mind-boggling to see how the Titans are handling Gipson, especially with the struggles of both Harold Landry and Rashad Weaver. Adding to that, the entire pass-rush hasn’t been up to snuff of late.
In just 17 pass-rush snaps this season, Gipson has five pressures, one sack and a pass-rush grade of 92.8. Landry has six pressures and two sacks in 140 pass-rush snaps, and Weaver’s numbers aren’t even worth mentioning.
At the very least, Gipson should gobble up all of Weaver’s snaps, but he should also cut into Landry’s.
Now, that’s not to say Landry should be benched or anything like that, but the Titans should lessen his playing time as he continues to work his way back into form following last year’s ACL injury.
How will Titans handle cornerback?
Another change the Titans made in Week 6 was deploying a rotation of sorts with Tre Avery and Kristian Fulton, although the latter still played 55 snaps to the former’s 18.
Fulton was better in Week 6 than he had been in weeks past, but he wasn’t challenged much. Avery only saw one target thrown his way.
To be quite frank, the biggest thing for the Titans is to get Fulton through this game healthy, and hopefully he has a good showing in the process to give his trade value a last-second boost prior to the deadline.
Tennessee should be looking to get whatever it can for a player who is unlikely to be back in 2024.
