Inside the AFC South: Biggest Camp Questions
Every Saturday, reporters covering the AFC South teams for SI.com’s NFL community will weigh one aspect of the division as it relates to each of the franchises, the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.
This week we look at the most pressing question that faces each team as training camps commence.
TENNESSEE
It is a question that has been asked throughout the offseason and – as training camps commence – has yet to be answered. Will the Tennessee Titans sign free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney?
Nearly one-third of the NFL’s 32 teams reportedly have had some degree of interest in the 2014 NFL Draft’s first overall selection since the new league year started in March. The Titans have been prominent in those reports the entire time and continue to be one of the first mentioned when possible destinations for Clowney are discussed.
Players and franchise officials have been unusually outspoken on the matter. Normally tight-lipped general manager Jon Robinson has acknowledged Clowney would be a “good fit” with the scheme and the rest of the roster. Coach Mike Vrabel coached Clowney in Houston and routinely refers to him as “JD,” which indicates a certain comfort level between the two. Numerous players also have spoken out about their desire to see the three-time Pro Bowler in a Titans uniform.
The Titans freed up salary cap space recently when they signed running back Derrick Henry to a long-term extension, which means they can make a competitive offer. Any deal, though, is contingent upon a physical exam by team doctors, as well as Clowney’s timetable, whatever that might be. So, the answer – it seems – will have to wait.
-- David Boclair, AllTitans
JACKSONVILLE
The greatest question facing the Jaguars entering this year's training camp and season is one that the franchise has asked itself for countless years now: do they have a quarterback?
Jacksonville officially has made the move to turn to Gardner Minshew as their starter of the "now", but who their quarterback of the "future" is remains to be seen. There is a very real chance that it could be Minshew, but the second-year player will have to prove to the Jaguars in 2020 that he can be an efficient, consistent and a winner. Minshew was certainly better last season than Nick Foles, or Blake Bortles, had been during recent stints as starters, but the mystery remains, partially (and unfairly) because he was a sixth-round draft pick.
Reasons for optimism, however, are that Minshew's performance in 2019 was arguably the best of any rookie quarterback in 2019, and it was unquestionably the best season any Jaguars rookie quarterback has ever had. In 12 starts (14 appearances) Minshew compiled a 6-6 record completed over 60 percent of his passes for 3,271 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions to go along with 67 carries for 344 rushing yards. He won Rookie of the Week seven times in 2019, making him the only rookie to win it more than once last year. Minshew's pass completion percentage of 88 percent in Week 1 was also the highest of any player making his debut in NFL history (minimum 15 pass attempts, since at least 1950), and also the highest single-game pass completion percentage in Jaguars history.
Whether Minshew is the answer for the Jaguars' prayers at quarterback won't be known for some time, but it doesn't change the fact that it is the greatest question currently facing the team.
-- John Shipley, JaguarReport
HOUSTON
There is plenty of discussion about the Texans offense without DeAndre Hopkins, but with Deshaun Watson at quarterback, there is reasonable optimism that the unit will produce in 2020 with plenty of new faces.
The glaring questions lie with the defensive side of the football and whether the Texans did enough to improve a weak performing group from 2019. A unit that ranked in the bottom of the league in the pass rush added rookies Ross Blacklock and Jonathan Greenard. The Texans hope they can help J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, Charles Omenihu, and Jacob Martin beef up the pass rush.
With a new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver, questions are swirling on what new ideas will be brought to the table in 2020 and if the defense can help play complimentary football with the offense.
-- Patrick D. Starr, State of the Texans
INDIANAPOLIS
The biggest offseason news was the addition of quarterback Philip Rivers, but the Colts defense ranked 18th in points allowed and 16th in total yards allowed. A 5-6 record in one-score games could have been better if they had not blown three fourth-quarter leads and drop another game (to the Titans) that was tied after three quarters.
Fourth-year general manager Chris Ballard continually has added young defensive talent through the draft, but also showed a willingness to spend in free agency in signing defensive end Justin Houston before 2019. This offseason Ballard made the biggest splash since his arrival with the March trade of the 13th overall draft pick to acquire All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who will play the all-important three-technique position that has been described as the engine that drives Indianapolis’ scheme.
Ballard doesn’t typically part with draft picks. He usually stockpiles them (he traded down in each of his four drafts), but the move to land Buckner was a chance to add a defensive cornerstone and team leader. And the Colts paid the 26-year-old star accordingly with a four-year, $84-million extension. It’s the largest and longest deal Ballard has given anyone.
Buckner bolsters a pass rush that lacked a second punch after Houston, who had a team-high 11 sacks. Factor in that cornerback Xavier Rhodes was given $3 million in a prove-it deal, a fair price to gamble on a player who has been inconsistent for two years since being an All-Pro, and it’s fair to say the Colts have high expectations for the defense to improve dramatically. Some players are talking top-five in key stats.
The Colts made their defensive bed with Buckner and added some other free-agent depth signings like defensive tackle Sheldon Day and cornerback T.J. Carrie, so it’s unacceptable for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to have another unit that allows 23.3 points per game and fails to protect fourth-quarter leads.
-- Phillip B. Wilson, AllColts
