Tennessee pivots from aggressive free agency spending to a disciplined, process-driven rebuild, mirroring successful blueprints while prioritizing long-term roster depth over immediate, high-pressure playoff expectations.
The Tennessee Titans had General Manager Mike Borgonzi and head coach Robert Saleh go to the podium on Tuesday ahead of their first practice session of training camp.
The Titans didn't really hide what their plan was this offseason. They are attempting to recreate what the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots have done before them.
With all of their cap space, they put it to good use in free agency. The Titans were big spenders, just like the Commanders and Patriots were before their turnarounds.
Step two was to have a successful draft in April.
Time will tell if the draft picks Borgonzi made were the right ones, but he definitely had Cam Ward and the defense in mind.
He gave Ward another weapon in Carnell Tate and prepared for the future with offensive linemen Pat Coogan and Fernando Carmona. The two don't have to start right away but have the potential to be starters in the future.
Everything that Borgonzi has done so far has had a purpose. From the moves he made in free agency to the players he drafted in April.
While the Commanders and Patriots had rapid success after losing seasons, the Titans are taking the slow approach, which is absolutely the right move.
Borgonzi was asked at the press conference about how he manages expectations while acknowledging where the Titans are as a franchise. The moves that he's made are great, but in reality, this team has won six games in the last two seasons.
Until this team proves it on the field, it's going to be hard to believe that they are anything but a three-win football team.
Borgonzi is taking a self-centered approach and taking things day by day, and that's how things should be.
"You know, what we talk about with our guys is us," Borgonzi said. I get we play in a really good division. I get there's 31 other teams in the NFL, but the focus is on us. The focus is on our process. The focus is on winning the day, and the only chance you have at being successful in this league is if you have a great process, you win day to day, and put yourself in position to be as good as you can on game day, and that's really the main focus for our football team."
At the end of the day, this team may still be far away from competing for a playoff spot, and that's okay. Everyone has been talking about how the Titans could go from worst to first.
If they do, that's great. Rushing through the process won't help this team. The Titans are much better from a roster standpoint than where they were a year ago. If this team doesn't focus on winning the day, as Borgonzi says, then it won't matter.
The best thing that this team can do is make sure they are doing everything they can to win that particular day. That's all they can do.
Focusing on the here and now is just the right kind of mentality for this franchise to have, and Borgonzi understands that best.
