The Tennessee Titans were one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL last season and now heading into 2014 they have a new head coach and with RB Chris Johnson at odds with the franchise, a trade to the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, NY Giants or Arizona Cardinals could be in the future or the team could release him as a free agent.
Johnson has been at odds with the team over the past few years since rushing for 2,000 yards and looking to get paid and while he signed a new contract extension, he still has made waves and now he could be on his way out of town. Making matters more interesting were some comments made this week by tight end Delanie Walker, who called out some players on the team as "cancers", saying that at least six players on the roster did not care what was happening with the team and that is a reason why coach Mike Munchak is gone.
Walker supported Munchak in his quotes and while he did not call out Johnson directly, many have speculated that he was one of those players who Walker said, "did not care" what was happening with the team and whether they were winning or losing. The Titans finished 7-9 last season and were very disappointing at times, especially after the club started off 3-1 on the season before falling apart and now they have a number of questions about the future under new coach Ken Whisenhunt, including whether Jake Locker is the future and whether or not they will keep Johnson, who is making a ton of money and has not played that great over the past couple seasons.
Johnson broke out onto the scene five years ago when he had 2,000 yards rushing and now reports from earlier in the season say that the Titans want the running back to take a pay cut or there is a chance he will get released. Johnson is on a 4 year, $53.98 million deal and made $10 million for 2013 and that could be an issue for the team and while a trade could be tough, teams like the Dolphins, Cowboys and Giants need more consistency and a player like Johnson could be a fit.
This season Johnson rushed for over 1,000 yards for the sixth straight season, which are all his seasons in the NFL, but he a career low in yards per carry and his second lowest yardage total of his career. Johnson has only missed one game in his career and he is durable, but the issues with the team may be too much and after scoring just 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons and scoring 14 during his 2,000 yard season in 2009, the team may be ready to move on. The Titans ranked 14th in the league in rushing yards last season and now they must try and work things out on offense and they could of after a running back in the draft or in free agency with names like Darren McFadden and Ben Tate on the market.
