Caste Clown Mike Vrabel is gone, but the first year of new head coach Brian Callahan and GM Ran Carthon (now in his second season) is a continuation of the same old same old.
Vrabel was a great example of the Caste System in action, a star defensive end with Ohio State, drafted by the Steelers in the third round as a linebacker but used only as a deep backup and WSTD for four seasons, then signing with the Patriots as a free agent and instantly becoming a star for 8 years before playing his final two seasons with the Chiefs. One would have thought Vrabel would have been more sympathetic to underappreciated White players but that wasn’t the case during his reign in Nashville.
Last year’s edition of the Titans had 4 White starters and 14 total on the roster. This year they dip to 3 and 13.
Starting QB Will Levis is the only player to follow closely. His story is well known on Caste Football – the White quarterback picked annually to rapidly and inexplicably fall down the mock drafts of the draft “gurus” and “experts” as the NFL Draft nears, usually with groundless rumors of “character issues” thrown in for good measure.
Levis dropped from seemingly a surefire first round pick and maybe even the first QB taken, to the first pick of the second round. As almost always happens with highly drafted White QBs, his every mistake was scrutinized and magnified and he was written off by most “gurus” and DWFs as a bust before he even played. But Levis eventually did start during his rookie season when it could no longer be denied that Malik Willis was a huge bust and Ryan Tannehill was injured, and Levis acquitted himself well enough considering he was a rookie and Tennessee once again had its now time-honored tradition of fielding a terrible offensive line to protect him.
If the first two games of the new season are any guide, Levis will once again be operating under difficult circumstances as the line looks to be its usual sumo-majority lousy self.
Mason Rudolph smartly got out of Pittsburgh after four seasons and will back up Levis, and possibly start at some point. Like Levis, Rudolph is another White QB who took a quick tumble down the mock drafts, going from a projected first round pick to lasting till the third round, whereupon Mike Tomlin never groomed him to be the successor to Big Ben and then kept him third string even after Kenny Pickett was taken in the first round as Mitch Trubisky was signed to back up Pickett. But Rudolph finally got some starts down the stretch in the ’23 season after Pickett was hurt and played very well, being the primary reason the Steelers snuck into the playoffs before being immediately dispatched by Buffalo.
Rudolph has starting ability if called upon, but Peyton Manning would likely struggle with this group of Titans.
Peter Skoronski was an All-American left tackle at Northwestern and was taken in the first round by Tennessee in 2023 – but as a guard. You know the drill – T-Rex arms, stiff hips, boring feet, take your pick of the excuses used to convert capable White tackles into guards.
Dillon Radunz starts at right guard. And that’s it for White starters.
Josh Whyle and Nick Vannett are backup tight ends.
Jack Gibbens started last season at LILB. This year he’s been demoted, playing just 5% of snaps in Week 2. Hello Jack Gibbens, White Special Teams Demon.
Backup tackle James Lynch is the only White defensive player. He was beastly when he was at Baylor and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round, but he doesn’t seem to have made the jump to the NFL very well as the Vikings are as relatively White friendly as it gets when it comes to White defensive players.
Other than Levis and Rudolph this is a very forgettable team.
QB: Will Levis, Mason Rudolph
LG: Peter Skoronski, Andrew Rupcich
RG: Dillon Radunz, Daniel Brunskill
TE: Josh Whyle, Nick Vannett
DT: James Lynch
ILB: Jack Gibbens
P: Ryan Stonehouse
PK: Nick Folk
LS: Morgan Cox
Practice Squad: LB Luke Gifford, WR Mason Kinsey (three seasons with Titans, 2 career catches and 13 punt returns), G Cole Spencer, C/G Corey Levin
IR: LB Chance Campbell, LB Garrett Wallow
Number of White Starters: 3
Number of Whites on 53 Man Roster: 13
Grade: F-
Vrabel was a great example of the Caste System in action, a star defensive end with Ohio State, drafted by the Steelers in the third round as a linebacker but used only as a deep backup and WSTD for four seasons, then signing with the Patriots as a free agent and instantly becoming a star for 8 years before playing his final two seasons with the Chiefs. One would have thought Vrabel would have been more sympathetic to underappreciated White players but that wasn’t the case during his reign in Nashville.
Last year’s edition of the Titans had 4 White starters and 14 total on the roster. This year they dip to 3 and 13.
Starting QB Will Levis is the only player to follow closely. His story is well known on Caste Football – the White quarterback picked annually to rapidly and inexplicably fall down the mock drafts of the draft “gurus” and “experts” as the NFL Draft nears, usually with groundless rumors of “character issues” thrown in for good measure.
Levis dropped from seemingly a surefire first round pick and maybe even the first QB taken, to the first pick of the second round. As almost always happens with highly drafted White QBs, his every mistake was scrutinized and magnified and he was written off by most “gurus” and DWFs as a bust before he even played. But Levis eventually did start during his rookie season when it could no longer be denied that Malik Willis was a huge bust and Ryan Tannehill was injured, and Levis acquitted himself well enough considering he was a rookie and Tennessee once again had its now time-honored tradition of fielding a terrible offensive line to protect him.
If the first two games of the new season are any guide, Levis will once again be operating under difficult circumstances as the line looks to be its usual sumo-majority lousy self.
Mason Rudolph smartly got out of Pittsburgh after four seasons and will back up Levis, and possibly start at some point. Like Levis, Rudolph is another White QB who took a quick tumble down the mock drafts, going from a projected first round pick to lasting till the third round, whereupon Mike Tomlin never groomed him to be the successor to Big Ben and then kept him third string even after Kenny Pickett was taken in the first round as Mitch Trubisky was signed to back up Pickett. But Rudolph finally got some starts down the stretch in the ’23 season after Pickett was hurt and played very well, being the primary reason the Steelers snuck into the playoffs before being immediately dispatched by Buffalo.
Rudolph has starting ability if called upon, but Peyton Manning would likely struggle with this group of Titans.
Peter Skoronski was an All-American left tackle at Northwestern and was taken in the first round by Tennessee in 2023 – but as a guard. You know the drill – T-Rex arms, stiff hips, boring feet, take your pick of the excuses used to convert capable White tackles into guards.
Dillon Radunz starts at right guard. And that’s it for White starters.
Josh Whyle and Nick Vannett are backup tight ends.
Jack Gibbens started last season at LILB. This year he’s been demoted, playing just 5% of snaps in Week 2. Hello Jack Gibbens, White Special Teams Demon.
Backup tackle James Lynch is the only White defensive player. He was beastly when he was at Baylor and was drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round, but he doesn’t seem to have made the jump to the NFL very well as the Vikings are as relatively White friendly as it gets when it comes to White defensive players.
Other than Levis and Rudolph this is a very forgettable team.
QB: Will Levis, Mason Rudolph
LG: Peter Skoronski, Andrew Rupcich
RG: Dillon Radunz, Daniel Brunskill
TE: Josh Whyle, Nick Vannett
DT: James Lynch
ILB: Jack Gibbens
P: Ryan Stonehouse
PK: Nick Folk
LS: Morgan Cox
Practice Squad: LB Luke Gifford, WR Mason Kinsey (three seasons with Titans, 2 career catches and 13 punt returns), G Cole Spencer, C/G Corey Levin
IR: LB Chance Campbell, LB Garrett Wallow
Number of White Starters: 3
Number of Whites on 53 Man Roster: 13
Grade: F-
