The Tennessee Titans will begin the next part of their offseason program on Monday when the team starts organized team activities (OTAs).
Tennessee will have three sessions this week, with the one on Tuesday expected to be open to the media. The Titans will then pick things back up next week, and during the month of June.
Here’s a look at the full OTAs slate, as well as the dates for mandatory minicamp, which are sandwiched in between OTAs sessions.
OTAs: May 22-23, 25, 30-31; June 2, 12-15
Mandatory minicamp: June 6-8
The Titans made some additions to their offseason roster in the past week and ahead of OTAs. You can check out Tennessee’s full 90-man offseason roster right here.
While there is still a long way to go in terms of the Titans hammering down their final roster, OTAs will begin to flesh things out. With that in mind, here’s a look at seven things to watch during OTAs.
Is Kevin Byard there?
Outside of maybe the quarterback, I never like to make a big deal out of an established veteran not taking part in the voluntary portion of the offseason program.
However, when it comes to Byard it’s a bit different, as the veteran safety is typically with the team at this point in the offseason (he was there on Day 1 of voluntary workouts in 2022).
The last we heard, the Titans and Byard were “at a crossroads” after the latter refused to take a pay cut this offseason, leaving his status at least somewhat up in the air.
It would be a positive sign to see Byard in attendance this week, but it wouldn’t be the end-all, be-all if he isn’t.
Will Levis vs. Malik Willis
Our eye will really be on the two backups, Will Levis and Malik Willis, as both will be competing for the No. 2 job behind Ryan Tannehill.
Of course, this competition won’t be fully sorted out until training camp, but the young signal-callers can begin making their case this week, so it’ll be interesting to see if one can stand out over the other.
For the record, I have not given up on Willis like the Titans seemingly have, and I absolutely take into account the awful hand he was dealt during his rookie season.
However, the Titans drafting Levis shows the team doesn’t consider Willis a part of its future plans. As a result, this is a make-or-break offseason for the second-year pro, who may very well be on his way out of Nashville if he loses the backup competition and the Titans don’t keep a third.
Where Peter Skoronski is deployed
The debate about Skoronski’s ability to play guard or tackle rages on, but for now the Titans have him practicing at both spots.
I expect Skoronski to start out at left guard and eventually slide over to left tackle in the years to come. However, we may start getting an idea of where he lands initially based on where the Titans deploy him in OTAs and during the rest of the offseason.
Which wide receivers stand out?
As far as I’m concerned, there are at least three spots at wide receiver locked in with Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Kyle Philips. I also wouldn’t have an issue with adding Chris Moore to that group.
After that it’s anyone’s guess who will fill out the depth chart with so much uncertainty at the position. Depending on how many Tennessee decides to keep, there could be multiple spots up for grabs here.
We’ll start to see the depth competition take shape this week, just don’t fall in love with anyone who impresses early on, as chances are we’ll be let down in the end.
The kickers
The Titans have two inexperienced kickers vying for the starting job in 2023, with 2022 UDFA Caleb Shudak and 2023 UDFA Trey Wolff competing for it. That’s particularly ominous after Tennessee went through kicker hell before Randy Bullock solidified things for the most part the past two years.
Shudak has at least some NFL experience after hitting 3-of-4 field goals in one game last season, giving him the edge over Wolff. However, that’s hardly enough to cement his status as the starter.
I still expect the Titans to bring in a veteran option at some point (perhaps Bullock), which would no doubt hurt Shudak’s and Wolff’s chances of making the cut.
The draft picks and UDFAs
As we’ve seen in recent years, there is usually at least one undrafted free agent who surprises and makes the cut, so this group is certainly worth mentioning.
Wide receiver is the position most ripe for a UDFA to break through at, but a lack of depth at multiple positions on both sides of the ball creates several avenues for these underdog rookies to crack the roster.
On top of the UDFAs, we’ll be particularly interested in the draft picks. While the group will no doubt have its issues this early in the process, it would be nice to see competence and progression from each pick.
Injuries
The Titans have been the most injured team in the NFL the past two seasons, and this current roster can ill-afford to lose any players with the lack of depth the team has at multiple spots.
The Titans are desperately trying to turn over a new leaf in terms of injuries in 2023. Getting out of OTAs unscathed would be a great start.
