The Tennessee Titans dropped offensive lineman Jamarco Jones like a bad habit and released him on Thursday after he got into yet another spat that led to his being tossed out of practice for the second time this week.
While the move to get rid of the problem child is certainly understandable, it does throw an already uncertain situation into even more turmoil.
That’s because Jones appeared to be the frontrunner for the job, as it seemed he was getting the most first-team reps in practice. Granted, he was a major question mark thanks to a lack of starting experience, but at least we had a handle on who might get the job to temporarily replace Nicholas Petit-Frere.
So, who are the next men up to consider for the starting job? There are three candidates to discuss, and one of them should be considered the favorite, although he’s hardly a lock.
Contender: John Ojukwu
A 2023 undrafted free-agent signing, Ojukwu was surprisingly named someone who would get significant first-team reps early in camp, but he’s apparently cooled off since then, as we haven’t heard much about him lately.
That said, here’s what Vrabel said about Ojukwu after the first practice of camp:
“He was probably in the five years, or now going on six, going through that post-draft process of being excited, knew how we played, knew what our demeanor wanted to be,” Vrabel said, per AtoZ Sports. “He’s come in, he’s learned, he’s a smart player, he’s got good length. And so, he shows up and by being out there everyday, we tell them that they can do three things: they can improve, they can take advantage of an opportunity if it’s there and they can be evaluated. So, that’s where he’s at, just getting started.”
Contender: Jaelyn Duncan
A 2023 sixth-round pick, Duncan is another player who has seen some first-team reps in training camp, with the Maryland product getting a chance to run with the ones when Jones was absent for last Friday’s practice.
However, it doesn’t appear as if he’s gotten consistent reps with the first-team offense over the past week and his opportunity that day was more the Titans wanting to try multiple guys out at the position.
Jaelyn Duncan was RT today. (Jamarco Jones did not practice.) #Titans pic.twitter.com/NQ5zOvsOxx
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) July 28, 2023
Favorite: Chris Hubbard
If I was to put money on it, I’d roll with veteran Chris Hubbard ending up as the starter, mostly because of his experience. He’s also gotten a lot of reps with the first team since being signed.
With Nicholas Petit-Frere being suspended the first six games, Jones opened as the 1st team RT. Chris Hubbard took a lot of the reps as well. Jaelyn Duncan and John Ojukwu will also be in the mix. https://t.co/zPnldktLeJ
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) August 3, 2023
The 32-year-old has 49 career starts, with 39 of them coming at right tackle from 2017-19. The Alabama-Birmingham product did produce some serviceable PFF grades in that span, at least in pass protection.
2017 (16 games, 10 starts)
Pass-blocking: 69.1
Run-blocking: 62.8
2018 (16 starts)
Pass-blocking: 73.6
Run-blocking: 48.7
2019 (14 games, 13 starts)
Pass-blocking: 61.9
Run-blocking: 38.5
His best numbers in the last six seasons came in 2020, but he had just five starts in 11 games that year and played mostly at right guard. He finished with a solid run-blocking grade of 64.9 and an impressive pass-blocking mark of 78.3.
The biggest problem is Hubbard hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2019, and he’s played sparingly over the past two seasons, with just five games played (one start, 78 snaps) since 2021.
That makes him a big question mark, which fits in with the rest of the team’s projected starters.
When taking everything into consideration, Hubbard is far from a lock to secure this starting job, he just has a better chance than the rest of the inexperienced guys behind him.
