Titans Biggest Weakness Revealed

The Tennessee Titans have a big hole in the roster.

Oct 29, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) is sacked by Tennessee Titans linebacker Jack Gibbens (50) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans have made upgrades all across the roster, but there are still some holes on the team with less than a month until training camp.

ESPN writers and analysts Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder dove into every team's roster and identified a weakness. For the Titans, they named the off-ball linebacker position.

"Azeez Al-Shaair (who led the team in defensive snaps last season) departed for Houston during the offseason, so Tennessee signed Kenneth Murray Jr. -- a former first-round pick who didn't work out for the Chargers -- as a replacement. That's a downgrade and the depth behind him doesn't move the needle much. Former UDFA Jack Gibbens was a serviceable running mate for Al-Shaair last season and the team will need some production from fourth-round rookie Cedric Gray," ESPN wrote.

Al-Shaair will be tough to replace. The sixth-year undrafted free agent had a career-high 163 tackles last season, ranking fifth in the entire league. He signed a three-year, $34 million contract with the AFC South rival Houston Texans in order to reunite with coach DeMeco Ryans, who was his defensive coordinator while the two were with the San Francisco 49ers.

But Murray was a former first-round pick with some gas still left in the tank, and he'll have the first opportunity to try and fill the void.

Murray, 25, started 53 out of 59 games for the Los Angeles Chargers across four seasons, including 15 starts in 2023. He matched a career-high with 107 tackles and broke his previous record with three sacks last season. Murray signed a two-year, $15.5 million deal with the Titans this offseason, and the hope is that he can give a fraction to what Al-Shaair was able to do last season.

Al-Shaair's presence can't be replaced by a single person. Gibbens was second on the team in tackles last season behind Al-Shaair with 95, and he'll end up playing a big role for the defense as well.

Then, there's fourth-round rookie Cedric Gray, who had 121 tackles in his final season at North Carolina.

While Al-Shaair isn't on the team, there are paths towards replacing him, and the Titans hope these alternatives can prove ESPN and their other doubters wrong.

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