The Tennessee Titans had a disappointing season in every possible way.
In the span of one year, they went from being a bona fide Super Bowl contender that had home-field advantage in the playoffs, to a team that couldn’t even sneak into the tournament as part of the worst division in football.
The Titans dropped their last seven games to end the year and finished with the first losing record of the Mike Vrabel era
Injuries obviously played a major part in all this, but even that’s a disappointment in its own right considering they clearly never found a solution to a problem that has plagued them for two years in a row.
Truthfully, this Titans season will largely be a forgettable one for a variety of reasons. Let’s go ahead and discuss some of those reasons as we go over five of the biggest disappointments of the 2022 campaign.
Offensive line
This is probably the easiest decision on the list. To say the entire offensive line was a disaster in 2022 would be a massive understatement.
Things started roughly in Week 2 when they lost their starting left tackle, Taylor Lewan for the year — and it only got worse as the weeks passed.
By the end of the year, the Titans were down their starting left tackle, center, and right guard.
Meanwhile, as far as the other two remaining starters are concerned, one was an undersized guard, while the other was a third-round rookie offensive tackle, and both struggled.
This group especially struggled with pass protection, largely due to them having a liability protecting the quarterback’s blindside. Dennis Daley was tied for the league lead in sacks allowed with 12 on the year. In total, the Titans allowed 49 sacks, 26 percent of which came from Daley alone.
If there’s one positive to take away from that group in 2022, it’s the fact that things probably can’t get much worse than what happened last year.
-Shaun Calderon
Wide receivers
You can’t talk about the 2022 Titans’ disappointments and not mention the entire wide receiver group. As you probably know by now, this nightmare began on draft night following the trade of A.J. Brown.
Skepticism immediately surrounded the position group, and unfortunately, it did not pan out thanks to underwhelming results all year long.
Part of the reason was the inconsistency at quarterback, considering the team used three different signal-callers this season. Nonetheless, it’s still fair to say this group left a lot on the table in its own right.
Rookie Treylon Burks showed flashes of stardom at times, but he essentially missed half the season with two different injuries and was limited to just 444 yards and one receiving touchdown.
Their top receiver was their eight-figure wideout in Robert Woods, who accounted for a just 527 yards. However, to be fair, he was coming off an ACL injury and he was one of the few players who at least played in every game this season. That said, that doesn’t explain his issues with drops.
As far as the rest of the group goes, it was significantly underwhelming by every metric possible.
To put their struggles into better perspective, it was the Titans’ backup running back, Dontrell Hilliard, who led the team in touchdown receptions (four) despite missing five games.
Expect this group to be completely revamped by the time next season rolls around.
-Shaun Calderon
S Amani Hooker
This is a difficult one to include because Amani Hooker has been a fantastic player for this team whenever he’s on the field.
Unfortunately, that was a major part of the problem this season. Hooker had just signed a $33 million extension in the offseason, but he was unable to live up to those heightened expectations in Year 1.
The Titans safety only played in nine games this season, tallying 46 tackles, three pass break-ups, and one interception.
-Shaun Calderon
CB Caleb Farley
At one point in time, Caleb Farley had a ton of hype surrounding him as a prospect. Chris Simms even went as far as calling the Virginia Tech product a “generational talent” at the cornerback position during the pre-draft process.
Sadly, that hype has now completely vanished and turned into universal skepticism.
Farley’s biggest knock coming out was his undeniable health concerns with his knee and back. Fast forward a few years later and those two areas of concern have now prematurely ended the first two years of his career.
Adding to that, even when Farley has been able to get on the field he has looked lost, leading to his being an afterthought in the defense prior to his season-ending injury.
We’ve now reached the point where Farley will legitimately have to earn his spot on the roster in 2023.
New Titans general manager Ran Carthon has no ties to that selection, so it shouldn’t be hard for him to cut ties if things don’t drastically improve this offseason.
Fortunately, Tennessee’s first-round cornerback has been optimistic that his doctors finally solved the issues at hand with his back. Farley even claimed that his once explosive speed had returned after his latest operation.
Only time will tell how true that is, but this team could reap massive benefits in the near future if the former Hokie is truly healthy and can right the ship.
-Shaun Calderon
ILB Zach Cunningham
Last season, the talented linebacker was claimed off waivers by a Titans team that desperately needed help in the middle of its defense. Zach Cunningham instantly provided a positive impact on the unit, ultimately earning himself another stint in Tennessee this past season.
Things didn’t work out nearly as well this time around, though. Cunningham missed several games with injuries and was often struggling whenever he was on the field.
His inconsistent presence often forced players into the lineup that simply weren’t competent enough to be out there (Dylan Cole, Joe Schobert).
Because of that, it’s probably a safe assumption that the Vanderbilt product has likely played his last down in Tennessee.
-Shaun Calderon
OLB Bud Dupree
Dupree was given somewhat of a pass in his first season with the Titans after he missed six games and wasn’t very effective even when he played in his return from a torn ACL. That said, he wasn’t completely absolved.
Dupree entered 2022 with his seat at least a little warm thanks to his massive contract, and the Titans needed much more out of him with Harold Landry lost for the season.
Unfortunately, Dupree did not deliver. He missed six games once again, and exited out of multiple others early. There were flashes of the difference-maker he can be, but not enough to justify what he’s making.
As a result, Dupree figures to be a cap casualty in 2023.
-Mike Moraitis
QB Malik Willis
We always figured it would take Willis a year to develop and be ready for a starting role, but the hope was that he would show he was at least close when called upon late in the season.
However, that was not the case, and instead Willis was benched for Josh Dobbs, who outplayed him and proved to be a significant upgrade for the offense after spending just eight days with the team.
If the Titans truly want to give themselves the best chance to compete in 2023, they cannot trust Willis as the starter at all, which is no doubt a disappointment.
Now, that’s not to say we’re giving up on Willis just yet, but there’s no doubt his outlook isn’t great. The Liberty product will likely compete for a backup job, and hopefully he can prove himself to be ready for a bigger role down the road.
-Mike Moraitis
