Revealing the Titans 8 ‘summer captains’ in charge of building culture, accountability, leadership in intensive offseason program

The Tennessee Titans are in the thick of their offseason program, which isn’t being taken lightly. After a 3-14 year where they finished dead last in the league, Head Coach Brian Callahan and his staff spent much of the late winter reviewing and revamping their process.

With 1st overall pick Cam Ward in the fold, the stakes are raised even further as they’re tasked with maximizing his career. So Callahan & Co. devised a one-of-a-kind intensive offseason program designed to give everybody a hard reset before 2025. I’ve written at length about what this detailed program looks like in articles linked here and here.

The heart of the program revolves around eliminating self-inflicted mistakes, establishing a high-level way of life inside the building, and building elite chemistry and camaraderie in the locker room. All of that is tied together into a gamification of their system: an eight team competition that spans the length of the offseason.

These eight teams are random factions of the roster, working together in practice, in team-building games, and even outside the building on their own time to earn points. Each team is led by a captain and a co-captain, and I’ve gathered the list of these leaders here:

Team Simmons/Okonkwo

DT Jeffery Simmons and his co-captain Chig Okonkwo are heading up the first team, and in a twist of irony, I was told at Tuesday’s open OTAs that they’re in first place. What’s ironic about that? Well, of the 91 players on the roster, Simmons is the only player who hasn’t been an active part of the offseason program yet. But it seems the spirit of his leadership… or maybe just Chig… is proving effective already.

Team Pollard/Sweat

We learned of this team when we spoke with RB Tony Pollard at the podium a few weeks ago. It’s no shock he’s one of the captains, but it is a bit surprising to see DT T’Vondre Sweat as the only 2nd-year player to be helping head up a team.

Team Ridley/Joseph-Day

WR Calvin Ridley is of course a captain, and his co-captain is DL Sebastian Joseph-Day. Ridley has been at practice and really preaching the utility of this new program to the media so far. He remains one of the most intense practice players I’ve ever laid eyes on; every rep seems like he’s got something huge on the line. His effort is the standard. Ridley also joked with us on Tuesday that he’s wondering if his team can make any trades, because it’s him and a bunch of linemen. He’s looking to acquire another skill player or two, though the unusual diversity of the groups is largely the point.

Team Hooker/Hekker

Amani Hooker is a no-brainer captain, seeing as he and Simmons are the longest-tenured Titans at this point. His co-captain is newcomer veteran P Johnny Hekker, and team Hooker-Hekker is my favorite because they sound like a fantastic ticket for political office. Or perhaps a law firm.

Team Sneed/Moore

CB L’Jarius Sneed is a captain alongside the Titans biggest free agent addition, LT Dan Moore. Sneed’s captaincy is of note because of his health status and offseason legal situation. I won’t try to summarize either in this piece, as they’re both worth looking up to fully understand. Long story short, both situations are being worked through as we speak, and the messaging from his coaches has been relentlessly positive. When he’s in the building, they say you couldn’t ask for a better person and leader. Hopefully this year he becomes that caliber of player again too, since that’s the guy they could really use on Sundays.

Team Cushenberry/Key

C Lloyd Cushenberry is the other veteran leader we weren’t sure would be made a captain because of his ongoing torn Achilles rehab. He is one, it turns out, and his co-captain is the energizer bunny known as EDGE Arden Key. These two managed to land Cam Ward on their team. Not bad.

Team Cox/Woods

The eight offseason captains consist of 4 offensive players, 3 defensive players, and everybody’s favorite stalwart special teams leader: LS Morgan Cox. His co-captain is free agent addition S Xavier Woods.

Team Skoronski/Kinsey

And finally, LG Peter Skoronski and his co-captain Mason Kinsey head up the last team. As of a week ago, players on this team joked that they were in last place so far but had plans for a comeback. Kinsey is a notable leader on this list because he’s the only guy who isn’t a lock to make the team. In fact, frankly, he doesn’t really stand much of a chance at all. But what Kinsey does for Tennessee is underrated and quite admirable, if you ask me. He’s carved out a significant role for himself as a leader despite not being a starter, as evidenced by his co-captaincy. That’s not easy to do in the NFL. He serves as the pace car in the offseason, and pushes everybody else to be their best. There’s a reason he’s had such staying-power all these years.