Checking In on the Tennessee Titans Offensive Line: New Coach, New Center, and More to Come. Stay Tuned

It's possible, if not likely, that the Tennessee Titans offensive line will have two or more new starters come September.

Tennessee Titans new free-agent center Lloyd Cushenberry fields questions at Ascension Saint Thomas / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

NASHVILLE — In general manager Ran Carthon's ongoing renovation of the Tennessee Titans, the offensive line already looks different.

New coach.
New starting center.
Probably a new left tackle from April's NFL Draft.

The expectation is that come September, their play will look different, too.

Since the beginning of NFL free agency on March 13, Carthon so far has signed nine new players, six of whom are expected to be starters. AllTitans.com will periodically examine each position group — offensive and defensive lines, defensive secondary, and so on — to assess the significant changes occurring to the Titans' depth chart leading up to the 2024 kickoff.

The foundation for the offensive line is coach Bill Callahan, father of Titans head coach Brian Callahan and long considered one of the NFL's finest teachers. He is tasked with improving a group that ranked near the bottom of the league.

"I've been around a lot of good offensive line coaches, but my dad is unique in how he teaches offensive line play," Brian Callahan said during the NFL Combine. "He's a great communicator and there's a high level of expectation. He's on the cutting edge of offensive play. He's adapted and adjusted as well as anybody, which is why he's one of the best coaches in the game."

The first new building block this offseason is the acquisition of center Lloyd Cushenberry, who will play alongside guard Peter Skoronski, Carthon's first No. 1 pick and a 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team selection.

Cushenberry, 26, was one of the league's top pass-blocking centers last season, earning a 76.4 Pro Football Focus grade and allowing only one sack.

"He's a young player who has grown in each year that he has been in the league," Carthon told tennesseetitans.com on Sunday at the NFL Owners meetings in Orlando. "We feel like his skill set and everything he provides, we feel like him with Callahan can help take his game to a whole new level."

Cushenberry, 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, played every offensive snap last season for the Denver Broncos and has started in every one of his 57 career games.

Cushenberry looks forward to working with Bill Callahan as his position coach. "His resume speaks for itself," Cushenberry said during his introductory press conference. "He’s coached a lot of great guys, and I’ve heard a lot of great things about him. I think it’s a good opportunity for me to continue to grow my game and take the next step as a player.”

The Titans' next big move is expected to be the selection of a left tackle in the NFL Draft. Notre Dame All-American Joe Alt is the projected choice if the Titans keep the No. 7 overall pick. But if Tennessee trades its pick, a half-dozen tackles are considered first-rounders: Olu Fashanu, JC Latham, Taliese Fuaga, Troy Fautanu, and Amarius Mims.

The offensive line depth chart currently looks like this:

Starters
LT Nicholas Petit-Frere
LG Peter Skoronski
C Lloyd Cushenberry
RG Daniel Brunskill
RT Dillon Radunz.

Backups: LT Jaelyn Duncan, LG Saahdiq Charles, RG Andrew Rupcich, RT John Ojukwu, RG Lachavious Simmons

NFL teams typically carry nine or ten offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. At the NFL owners meetings, coach Brian Callahan said that he expected to add more reinforcements to the current group.

“There are some guys who I think played well for us that are young and need development, is probably the best way to put it,” Callahan said Monday during the NFL Owners meetings via Paul Kuharsky. Between JD and NPF, those guys have some skills, they need some development, they’re going to compete. We might end up adding a tackle in the draft, we might end up adding another tackle later. There are a lot of different ways.

I would say there are still veteran options available at some point. But I do like what those guys have shown. I think they are young and talented. They need some development on top of it. They’ll have a chance to compete.”