While a lot of the focus on the Tennessee Titans’ 2024 offseason surrounds the offense, the team has plenty of work to do on the other side of the ball, and especially at the linebacker position.
The Titans are staring down the barrel of replacing a pair of starters, as both Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens are free agents.
Al-Shaair was excellent in his first season as a full-time starter and he proved to be a very good leader, also, which has made him a popular choice to be brought back in 2024.
Gibbens unexpectedly grabbed a starting role out of training camp after fellow linebacker Monty Rice and Chance Campbell failed to cease the opportunity.
Unfortunately, Gibbens showed he’s better suited for a backup.
Now, a look at the Titans linebackers who are under contract, pending free agents, and what the team’s biggest needs are at the position and what Tennessee should do to address them.
Under contract
Under contract: Luke Gifford, Otis Reese IV, Garret Wallow, Chance Campbell, Thomas Rush, JoJo Domann
I really liked what I saw from Reese near the end of the season and he gives off strong David Long vibes. The jury is still very much out on him but it’s not crazy to think he can be LB3 in 2024.
Gifford is someone the Titans should seriously consider cutting. Paying a special teams linebacker who is coming off an injury-plagued 2023 campaign wouldn’t be a good move. If he stays, Gifford will almost certainly make the roster out of camp.
Rush spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, so there’s no telling what to expect out of him in his second season. His best-case scenario is grabbing one of the last spots at the position but chances are he’ll end up on the practice squad if he sticks.
After missing his entire rookie season due to injury, Campbell failed to make the initial 53-man roster out of training camp and didn’t show much in his limited opportunities after being signed to the practice squad.
His season then ended prematurely once again due to injury. If he sticks through the offseason, the former sixth-round pick has an outside shot to grab a depth role but is more likely to make the practice squad.
Wallow and Domann were both signed in December. They are camp bodies that will be long shots to make the roster and are more likely to end up on the practice squad. However, I’d be surprised if either scenario plays out for the veterans.
Pending free agents
Pending free agents: Azeez Al-Shaair, Jack Gibbens (ERFA), Joseph Jones
Gibbens earned a starting role out of training camp but left a lot to be desired. The Titans will have control over the former UDFA because he’s an exclusive rights free agent, but he shouldn’t be brought back as anything more than a depth option.
Al-Shaair was Tennessee’s best linebacker by a mile in 2023 and proved to be a great leader in the locker room. Signing him was a successful move for the Titans and the team should be interested in retaining him and having him start once again in 2024.
If brought back, Jones would be a camp body whose best-case scenario is making the practice squad.
Biggest needs
Biggest needs: LB1, LB2
As things stand now, the Titans don’t have a linebacker under contract who can be considered a locked-in starter for 2024, so Tennessee has two starting spots to address in the linebackers room.
One of those can be filled simply by re-signing Al-Shaair, who said he is interested in staying in Tennessee — and I think that’s exactly the route the Titans take after he proved to be more than capable while serving as a full-time starter.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Tennessee use a Day 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on the position, but that would hardly suffice in filling one of the two starting jobs.
The best route is free agency, where there are several intriguing veteran options who can seriously beef up Tennessee’s group alongside Al-Shaair.
I have my eye on Baltimore Ravens pending free-agent linebacker Patrick Queen, in particular. He’s good in coverage, against the run, and he’s effective when blitzing. He also has a connection to Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
Queen is one of the best linebackers set to hit the open market and will be expensive, but the Titans have the cap space to bring him or another top option in.
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