Tennessee Titans:
The National Football League’s Tennessee Titans are currently in their offseason, and they have made a lot of moves since their last game. The Titans finished the 2022 season with a record of 7 wins and 10 losses after losing their last 7 games. They were unable to make the playoffs after three straight seasons of making the postseason, one of which (2019-20) they made the AFC Championship, one win away from the Super Bowl. First, they hired a new general manager: Ran Carthon, former San Francisco 49ers’ executive and Indianapolis Colts/Detroit Lions running back and kick returner. Now, the Titans are in full “rebuild mode” as they are aiming to save more money and develop their youth, rather than trying to actively win games. This includes releasing expensive players. The Titans cut kicker Randy Bullock, wide receiver Robert Woods, linebacker Zach Cunningham, left tackle Taylor Lewan, center Ben Jones, outside linebacker Bud Dupree, and others. But the biggest talk around the organization is their quarterback situation. The starter, Ryan Tannehill, not only seemed to have lost his touch, but he was also injured for a good portion of the year. Then-rookie Malik Willis started a few games, but he only completed a handful of passes, showing his inability to get the ball off in time before being sacked or to even throw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack. With Willis not being ready and Tannehill on the decline with a luxury salary of ~$38 million, it could be very likely the Titans draft a quarterback in the first round. They have the 11th overall pick, but rumors suggest they are willing to trade up for the third overall pick in order to select Florida Gators sophomore Anthony Richardson. We’ll see! This next year will look a whole lot different than the last five years of Titan football.
Nashville Predators:
The Preds of the National Hockey League are also on the decline and now officially in rebuild mode. With the Winnipeg Jets defeating the Minnesota Wild Tuesday night on April 11, the Preds have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in a decade (2014) despite stars, Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Juuse Saros, Matt Duchene, Ryan McDonagh, and others’ great efforts. The Predators will be starting the rebuild without a familiar face, David Poile. Poile has been Nashville’s general manager since their first game in 1999, becoming the winningest GM in NHL history. With Poile retiring, the Preds will bring in another familiar face to replace Poile, former coach of Nashville, Washington, and New York: Barry Trotz. Poile was the first general manager of the team while Trotz was the first coach of the three in the franchise’s history. The Preds have made significant moves at the trade deadline, moving many quality players for draft picks and prospects. Forwards Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay), Nino Niederreiter (Winnipeg), and Mikael Granlund (Pittsburgh), along with defenseman Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton) were all shipped off. The Preds received two first round draft picks, four second round draft picks, one fourth round draft pick, one fifth round draft pick, and prospects plus quality defenseman Tyson Barrie (from Edmonton). Nashville made all these moves while cutting a total of $16 million off the yearly payroll. Another story of the team this year was all of the rookies who stepped up this season. Rookie Tommy Novak, in 49 games, put up 41 points. Other young players, Cody Glass, Juuso Parssinen, Philip Tomasino, Kiefer Sherwood, and Luke Evangelista have all been standout youngsters that we can look forward to seeing more of next season. The Predators, although going through a rebuild, still have a great future ahead.
Nashville Soccer Club:
One of the newest teams in Major League Soccer, Nashville SC, has performed well. Last year, in 34 games, the team had a 13 win, 10 loss, and 11 draw season which placed them 5th in their conference and 10th overall in the league’s regular season. They, however, lost in the first round of the playoffs. The new season has been underway for almost a month, and it will be exciting to see if Hany Mukhtar, who had the most goals in the MLS with 23 last year, can continue his amazing run of excellent shot placement as Nashville will certainly need him for a playoff run. Nashville will be a team to watch this season!
Nashville Sounds:
The AAA Minor League baseball team, the Nashville Sounds, have also started a new season. The Milwaukee Brewers’ affiliate had a solid year in the 2022 season. The Sounds ended the regular season with 91 wins and 58 losses to finish first in the International League. Sadly, their postseason didn’t last long as they fell to the Durham Bulls, the Tampa Bay Rays’ affiliate, in the International League championship, one win away from the AAA National Championship, which the Bulls ended up winning. Standout players from last year included a number of faces: shortstop Brice Turang, 2nd baseman Pablo Reyes, catcher Mario Feliciano, right fielder David Dahl, 2nd baseman Mark Mathias, left fielder Abraham Almonte, center fielder Jonathan Davis, and left fielder Sam Frelick. Key pitchers, Hobie Harris, Jason Alexander, Caleb Boushley, and Josh Lindblom all contributed to the incredible season. This year, the roster looks very different as it always does in minor-league baseball each year. As they play through the summer, they will be fighting for another chance of postseason baseball.
- Jacob Francy
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