Casey Close to Realizing Single-Team, Championship Dream

Pro Bowl defensive lineman never considered going elsewhere, regardless of how the Titans struggled at times

NASHVILLE – Jurrell Casey’s intent always was to stay put in order to chase a championship.

So, from the moment the Tennessee Titans selected him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, he never looked at another team as a possible destination.

“I always said whenever I got drafted that I wanted to make sure I – one – stay around the team and be a leader and whenever I got the opportunity, if I’m not in the Super Bowl, I didn’t want to go nowhere.” the Pro Bowl defensive lineman said this week. “I wanted to stay with whatever team I was with and make sure I lead that team to be a Super Bowl contender.

“… So [when] I’m done, I’m either going to retire not going to the Super Bowl at all with the Titans or I’m going to be able to go to one.”

After nine seasons – all with Tennessee – he is as close as he ever has been. He will be a central figure on defense for the Titans when they face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship. The winner moves on to Super Bowl LIV.

To get to this point, Casey has come farther with the franchise than all but one other player on the current roster, punter Brett Kern who has been with the Titans since midway through the 2009 season.

A rundown of the current members of the Tennessee Titans who have been with the team the longest:

Player, position	Acquired	Regular season games	Playoff games
Brett Kern, P	Claimed off waivers (Denver), 2009	192	4
Jurrell Casey, DL	Drafted, third round, 2011	139	4
Beau Brinkley, LS	Undrafted free agent, 2012	128	4
Taylor Lewan, T	Drafted, first round, 2014	85	4
Daquan Jones, DT	Drafted, fourth round, 2014	83	2
Wesley Woodyard, ILB	Free agent, 2014	93	4
Marcus Mariota, QB	Drafted, first round, 2015	63	4

 There are plenty of reasons to take Casey at his word when he says he never wanted to go anywhere else. Millions of them, in fact.

With one year remaining on his rookie contract, he agreed to a four-year, $36 million extension despite the fact that the Titans had just one winning record and no playoff appearances in his first three seasons. That deal was done months after a coaching change at a time of uncertainty for the franchise.

Three years later he agreed to another extension, this one for four years and $60.4 million. He agreed to stick around at that time despite the fact that Tennessee had finished with the NFL’s worst record in two of the previous three seasons.

“When you stick with a team, it’s loyalty,” Casey said. “You’ve got to be with that squad. You’ve got to ride with them. No matter how tough it is, you’ve got to fight it out.”

If Casey ever had allowed himself to become a free agent, he certainly would have had options. He is a four-time Pro Bowler who turned down another couple opportunities to go because he originally was an alternate. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2013 when he set a career-high with 10.5 sacks, second among all NFL defensive tackles that season.

Plus, he is a two-time Titans NFL Man of the Year, which recognizes his community involvement.

“I actually coached him in the Pro Bowl,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a heck of a kid. He’s a good athlete. He’s been doing it a long time now, and he’s been doing it at a Pro Bowl-level, All-Pro level, so we know that. They’re moving him around, which is great for him. Hard to get a beat on him, where he’s at. He’s a good athlete, he’s got good skill and he’s smart.”

And he made up his mind years ago that – no matter how badly he wanted to go to a Super Bowl – he wouldn’t go anywhere else. It’s possible that two weeks from now that’s exactly where he will be.

“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Casey said. “Can’t ask the Lord for nothing else but to play in the NFL and play these moments in these type of games. … My mindset is just to take care of this AFC Championship, and hopefully my dream comes true.”