Over the last few years, Tennessee Titans head coach, Mike Vrabel, has made it a point of emphasis to publicly acknowledge the six players who had a strong offseason leading up to training camp.
This year’s winners on the offensive side of the ball were quarterback Ryan Tannehill, tight end Thomas Odukoya, and interior lineman Corey Levin.
As for the defense, Tennessee’s three winners were defensive lineman Jayden Peevy, inside linebacker Jack Gibbens (Dr. Gibby), and outside linebacker Arden Key.
However, Vrabel did make sure to mention how second-year signal caller, Malik Willis, who he also stated made a “glaring improvement” throughout the offseason. Vrabel said Willis was “very, very close.”
#Titans offseason award winners:
TE Thomas Odukoya
QB Ryan Tannehill
OL Corey Levin
DL Jayden Peevy
LB Jack Gibbens
DE Arden KeySays QB Malik Willis was “very very close.”
— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) July 26, 2023
The Titans head coach chose to go with his starting quarterback, who seemingly spent the entire offseason training and rehabbing his ankle in Tennessee as opposed to previous years when he would occasionally stay away from the facility for lengthy periods at a time to train on his own.
Vrabel also went out of his way to individually praise the noticeable improvements made by each of the other recipients on the list, while continuing to harp on the contagious energy Key brings to the entire building.
Unfortunately, these offseason awards have seldom turned into anything meaningful in terms of performance during the season. For example, last year’s award winners included Dillon Radunz, Tory Carter, Dez Fitzpatrick, Caleb Farley, and Amani Hooker.
DeMarcus Walker was the most successful offseason winner from the 2022 group, producing career-highs in practically every major statistical category by season’s end.
Let’s hope the majority of this year’s recipients of the offseason recognition are able to translate the success they had in the spring and summer to the upcoming fall and winter.
