Five Named Titans Captains for 2020

Four of the five, as chosen by the players, have not filled that role previously for Tennessee.

Mike Vrabel likes to say that players can lead in any number of ways.

Well, five Tennessee Titans will do so in the most obvious manner this season. They will wear the ‘C.’ Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, running back Derrick Henry, safety Kevin Byard, nose tackle DaQuan Jones and punter Brett Kern have been named team captains for 2020.

The five were determined by a players’ vote Monday and represent a dramatic shift in the makeup of the team’s leadership group. Only Byard has been a Titans captain previously, and he filled that role for the first time last year.

"We voted (Monday) morning," Vrabel announced on his weekly radio show, via the team’s official website. "There were some guys that got a lot of votes on defense, kind of split that next wave of votes. But in the end, I think that those guys were the runaway winners.”

An additional captain will be named for each game based on performance the previous week.

Three of last year’s captains – Jurrell Casey, Marcus Mariota and Wesley Woodyard – no longer are with the Titans. Center Ben Jones was not re-elected despite the fact that he was a captain in 2018 and 2019.

Henry emerged late last season as the emotional center of the locker room, a player who set the tone leading into, and immediately following games, particularly in the postseason. That, combined with his role as the pivotal piece of the offense made his choice a no-brainer.

Byard and Tannehill and have the primary spokesmen among Titans players throughout the offseason, including on recent social justice issues. Plus, in Tannehill’s case, the starting quarterback at the start of the season has been named a captain every year since 2007, when teams began to recognize those players with a ‘C’ on their jerseys.

Kern is the senior member of the roster and an elite performer at his position. He has been voted to the last three Pro Bowls and a was a first-team All-Pro for the first time last season.

Jones is the longest-tenured member of the defense and has played all 16 games in four of the past five seasons.

"I think with Derrick, we have talked about the leadership role, and the improvement that he's made in that area,” Vrabel said. “Obviously, Brett has been such a consistent, positive player for us on our punt team, and the job that he does. You let the players vote, and then we'll hold one spot for (a game day captain) that we feel like each week deserve it or are worthy of it."