With Kerry Collins' retirement after a 16-year NFL career, the Tennessee Titans could be in a tight spot once the league starts up again. First-round draft pick Jake Locker now will have a larger burden placed on him whenever training camp opens since Collins was expected to return and help Locker transition to the NFL.
Kerry Collins Retirement Could Make Jake Locker Starter By Default If Veteran Isn’t Found
But without Collins as an option, either Locker is going to wind up winning the job during camp or a free agent quarterback is going to come in and make things a little easier for the Titans. Matt Hasselbeck has already been the subject of speculation, but ESPN's Paul Kuharsky offers a few other names to think about: Marc Bulger, Trent Edwards, Matt Leinart and Matt Moore. The latter is likely not an option to return to Carolina with 2011 No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen both there.
However, Music City Miracles doesn’t think the loss of Collins affects the team that much this season:
[...] I am not sure that the record would be that much better with Collins at the helm than it will be with whoever it is now. He would have been serviceable but could we really expect much more than the 2-11 he put up the last two years in games he started?
[...] I dare say the ’11 version of the Titans D will be better than the ’10 version, but I don’t see it being the type of defense that carries a team to playoff level success.
Matt Hasselbeck? Jake Locker? Option X? It probably doesn’t matter who is under center this season since there still needs to be improvement on defense.
Check out Music City Miracles for more reactions to the news.
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