Tennessee's aggressive free agency blitz bolstered their roster. Meanwhile, rivals in the AFC South struggled to keep pace, signaling a significant shift.
The Tennessee Titans made sure to make the most of their cap space in free agency.
When it comes to the rest of the AFC South? They were pretty underwhelming.
Before free agency, the Titans traded T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.
Then, the real moves began.
On offense, the Titans added Mitchell Trubisky, Cordell Volson, Austin Schlottmann, Wan'Dale Robinson, Daniel Bellinger and Kyle Granson.
The defensive additions were John Franklin-Myers, Alontae Taylor, Cor'Dale Flott, Jordan Elliott, Jacob Martin, Joshua Williams, Tony Adams and Malik Herring.
The Titans made one special teams move, signing former Houston Texans punter Tommy Townsend. Tennessee also retained long snapper Morgan Cox and kicker Joey Slye.
The players that the organization chose not to re-sign include Chig Okonkwo, Arden Key, and Sebastian Joseph-Day.
The Titans have also released Lloyd Cushenberry, Xavier Woods and L'Jarius Sneed, meaning they have even more money to spend if they want to.
Now, let's look at how the Jacksonville Jaguars, Texans, and Indianapolis Colts did.
Jacksonville lost many players and didn't sign many in free agency. The Jaguars lost Travis Etienne to the New Orleans Saints, Devin Lloyd to the Carolina Panthers and Greg Newsome to the New York Giants.
The Jaguars have signed running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., cornerback Montaric Brown and linebacker Dennis Gardeck.
The Texans have made the most moves out of the three. Houston has brought in Reed Blankenship, Dominique Robinson, Foster Moreau, Logan Hall, and Braden Smith.
Houston's biggest losses were Christian Harris, Ed Ingram and Trent Brown. The franchise has retained some players, including kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn, Naquan Jones, and Sheldon Rankins.
They also acquired David Montgomery in a trade.
The biggest acquisitions for the Colts were Jonathan Owens, Key, Derrick Nnadi and Michael Clemons. They did lose receiver Michael Pittman to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Indianapolis reached extensions with quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce. Jones is back on a two-year, $88 million deal, while Pierce signed a four-year, $116 million contract.
When you look at the rest of the teams in the AFC South, it's pretty clear that the Titans were the team that improved the most. Now, don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that Tennessee is just going to magically go from a three-win team to making the Super Bowl, but it's definitely promising ahead of the 2026 season.
The Jaguars, Colts, and Texans may have improved slightly from 2025, but not by much. The Titans, on the other hand, are looking much better than they were last season, on offense and defense.
Tennessee has definitely moved the needle on improving its roster this offseason even if ESPN's Bill Barnwell called the Titans one of the losers of free agency.
General Manager Mike Borgonzi is following the same path as the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, spending the most in free agency in hopes of a quick turnaround.
There's a chance that these moves could end up being a disaster, much like the free-agent contracts of Sneed, Calvin Ridley, and Cushenberry under former GM Ran Carthon.
However, you can't deny that the Titans are looking like the most improved team in the AFC South. Now, they'll have to prove that on the field.