Tennessee
Silver Linings from Titans’ Fourth Straight Loss
The Tennessee Titans have developed an unfortunate weekly expectation, especially since the early-season firing of second-year head coach Brian Callahan, that a loss is imminent. It’s the sort of thing that plagues only the worst teams in the NFL; franchises that have not only lost direction, but that have no clear pathway in place to find it once more.
At 1-8, Tennessee defines this broken state, and their latest game against the Los Angeles Chargers only further evidenced their conundrum.
In a 27-20 home loss – admittedly, one of the team’s closer games in recent memory – the Titans ultimately failed to keep pace with Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense, despite making remarkable progress in that direction in the game’s earliest trends.
Out mulitiple key players ahead of the trade deadline, the Titans’ “nearly there” performance looks that much more impressive given the team’s current state. Then again, with their aforementioned record being the reality, this isn’t exactly a point in the season in which fans can take solace in moral wins. Even so, if the franchise wants to build something positive in the future, a base is necessary to build such a future from.
The things that Tennessee did well against Los Angeles can be used as that launching point going forward.
On both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Titans saw big play breakthroughs from players waiting in the wings. First, while the aforementioned Herbert found himself backed up in Los Angeles territory, Tennessee linebacker Cody Barton jumped on a mistimed pass and took it back for the Titans’ first pick six of the entire season.
The score brought Tennessee a rare sense of momentum, and it wasn’t the only standout play of the day.
Rookie wideout and special teams sensation Chimere Dike, having already received conference player of the week honors for that latter ability, ran back a kick for a touchdown of his own. That’s two Tennessee scores driven by non-offensive plays.
Considering the team’s final 20-point tally, the discrepancy clearly lies in the inability of the team’s scoring unit to put points on the board.
As frustrating as that is for the franchise, having budding playmakers elsewhere is certainly a positive worth pointing to as just about everything else seems to go south. If nothing else, the team can hold onto moments like these until a new coach kicks down the doors and, hopefully, begins to right the ship for the long-term.
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Tennessee football and coach Josh Heupel picked up a commitment from Brentwood Academy four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman on March 28 while he was visiting the school.
Bowman narrowed his list to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami on March 2. All five schools were among his top 10 he acknowledged on Oct. 30. Texas, LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Oregon were among the schools left off his list.
The 6-foot, 174-pound Bowman is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state for the 2027 class. He is the No. 6 wide receiver nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. He has more than 35 other offers. He decommitted from Oregon last September, more than two months after committing to the Ducks.
Bowman was a Division II-AAA Mr. Football semifinalist, who caught 49 passes for 665 yards and 11 TDs, during BA’s 2025 state runner-up season. He also had a rushing TD and was named the DII-AAA West Region Offensive MVP. He was named to The Tennessean’s 2025 All Midstate Large Class football team and is a Middle Tennessee Sports Awards offensive football player of the year nominee.
Bowman helped BA finish 11-1 in 2025, losing to Baylor in the DII-AAA state championship game.
Tennessee and Heupel have also offered Brentwood Academy offensive tackle Rance Brown, a 6-6, 290-pound lineman who transferred from Southside (Alabama). The Vols are pursuing BA junior four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II as well.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
The Tennessee Titans have made some improvements throughout the offseason and appear better positioned heading into the draft than they were in 2024, with added depth on both sides of the ball.
Yet, even with the added talent, they still have multiple needs they must continue to address to help both now and in the future, and another solid draft would go a long way in finding a sustainable path forward. Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated looked at the roster and saw some of the same things as he broke down their remaining needs heading into the draft.
Tennessee Titans
Draft needs: RB, WR, edge, S
The running back duo of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears hasn’t been a productive one. Cam Ward desperately needs a game-changer at one of the skill positions. Newcomer wideout Wan’Dale Robinson doesn’t exactly fit that bill, but he’ll make life easier for the second-year quarterback.
With Robert Saleh now the head coach in Tennessee, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Titans used the No. 4 pick on one of the top edge rushers.
There is no doubt that the Titans should add some playmakers in this draft class, and they shouldn’t bank on hitting a dynamic playmaker in the fourth round again. Tennessee could definitely use a premium pick on at least one or possibly two offensive weapons.
Tennessee also must invest in the interior of the offensive line to help Cam Ward and the offense. While it’s true that Pollard and Spears did not blow the doors off the running game, they were also hampered by subpar play along the offensive line for the past two seasons, after line guru Bill Callahan failed to transform the Titans’ line into a consistent unit. It wasn’t until after he and his son Brian Callahan left that the play-calling for the running game took off.
CHICAGO − Iowa State’s star forward Joshua Jefferson is questionable against Tennessee basketball according to the NCAA player availability report released at 6:32 p.m.
The No. 6 Vols (24-11) and No. 2 Cyclones (29-7) play in the Men’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 at the United Center on March 27 (10:10 p.m. ET, TBS).
Jefferson sprained his ankle in the opening minutes of Iowa State’s first-round game against Tennessee State. He sat for the remainder of the game and missed the Cyclones’ win over Kentucky on March 22. Iowa State didn’t need the All-Big 12 forward as it generated 20 Wildcat turnovers in its 19-point victory.
Senior Nate Heise started in place of the 6-foot-9 Jefferson. He had 12 points against Kentucky, but senior Tamin Lipsey stepped up with a season-high 26 points and 10 assists.
Jefferson averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals and shot 47.1% from the field.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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