Offensive tackle Jack Conklin will be signing with the Cleveland Browns. In 2016 the Titans selected Conklin with the eighth pick in the draft. Conklin played a tremendous rookie year and was actually named the First-Team All-Pro Right tackle as a rookie. It was pretty amazing stuff. Conklin hasn't really had any personal shiny accolades since then but he is still a very good player.
Conklin was a very good lineman for the Titans! Always seemed respectful and classy. Hope he has a good career going forward!
Overall, talent lost is not great. But the Titans quickly showed that they believed they could survive without Conklin.
Quickly after news of Conklin to the browns, the Titans re-signed long-time and very reliable backup/utility offensive lineman, Dennis Kelly, on a multi-year contract. It's highly likely he will be the starting right tackle for the Titans in 2020, and perhaps beyond if everything goes well of course. He is only 30 years old, so he is in the prime of his career.
Since 2016, Kelly has floated along the offensive line. He has played several positions along the line. That ability to change positions, and play them well has always been highly regarded and respected in the organization, among teammates and fans. Over the years he has frequently filled in and patched the line whenever injuries or similar things came up. Several times he started several games consecutively. Kelly is super reliable and respected and has apparently shown enough skill and improvement to earn an extension and likely starting job.
Kelly's long hair, enormous size (6'8 - 321 pounds), play style, and overall likability and everything else I mentioned above makes him just a solid guy to have on the roster. Since he was in-house and not an insanely sought after free agent, Kelly's contract is very reasonable. As a fan this is a great thing, I'm excited at how great our GM is doing.
#Titanup baby!!