NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The smile on Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon's face said it all as he sat down with the media to recap how he got to the final 53-man roster after last week's cutdown day. It was clear that Carthon likes where the team stands on paper.
Armed with what seemed like an unlimited budget, Carthon orchestrated a shopping spree that gave the Titans a face-lift. According to Roster Management System the Titans spent $228.2 million during the offseason.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams-Strunk's willingness to greenlight the expensive plan shows she meant business when she outlined the franchise's direction in January.
"I will never shy away from acknowledging that I have unapologetically high expectations for the football team and every aspect of the Titans' organization," Adams-Strunk said. "Our vision is not simply to produce more wins than losses -- it is to regularly compete for championships."
The current state of excitement over a refreshed roster and new coaching staff could quickly shift from the honeymoon phase if the Titans don't make improvements from last season's 6-11 record.
The key for success falls on the right shoulder of second-year quarterback Will Levis -- who finished with a 3-6 record as a rookie last season.
"Pressure is a privilege," Levis said. "It means there's a lot of eyes on you, a lot of people counting on you to succeed. Pressure is cool. I welcome it with open arms."
Levis said he's taken up journaling early in training camp to help acknowledge what he has on his mind by putting it all on paper. If things go right, Levis' journal entries in a couple of years could detail what he'd do with a contract of upward of $200 million after his rookie deal ends.
With Levis being a second-round pick, he enters Year 2 of a four-year, $9.5 million deal. Tennessee's front office followed suit by investing in its roster as it tries to figure out whether Levis is the franchise quarterback the team desperately needs.
The Titans used the No. 7 draft pick on offensive tackle JC Latham one year after using their first-round pick on Peter Skoronski, who will line up next to Latham at guard. They also signed the top free agent center, Lloyd Cushenberry III, to a four-year, $50 million contract.
"I don't believe in pressure or stress," Latham said. "There are things you can control and things you can't. As long as I do my job to the best of my ability, I can't really control anything else. Perform to the level of training that you set. How can stress come in if you constantly push yourself to be greater?"
Levis has also been armed with a couple of valuable playmakers this offseason. Calvin Ridley was the top receiver on the free agent market, and Tennessee added veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd, who followed first-year head coach Brian Callahan from the Cincinnati Bengals after playing in his scheme since 2019.
Last year's receiver group posted only three 100-yard receiving games, all of which were by veteran holdover DeAndre Hopkins. Boyd and Ridley combined for five 100-yard games last season -- one from Boyd and four from Ridley.
It's been a long time since a Titans offense had any true luster. Tennessee hasn't scored more than 30 points in a game since Week 17 in 2021. The Titans hope bringing in an offensive-minded coach can end that 35-game streak.
The offense has shifted to a more balanced scheme that will still run the ball while maintaining Callahan's conviction that "teams that win the most games are generally the teams that pass the ball the best." When the Titans relieved Mike Vrabel of his coaching duties in January, the organization made it clear they wanted to go with a more modernized approach to offense.
With Callahan as the offensive coordinator, the Bengals saw 2019 first overall pick Joe Burrow become one of the NFL's best quarterbacks. Obviously, all of the credit doesn't go to Callahan, but it's no coincidence that he has a list of successful quarterbacks he worked with that includes Burrow, Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Super Bowl LVI winner Matthew Stafford.
Now Callahan's job is to add to his résumé by helping Levis become his next prolific passer.
"It's weird, but I welcome pressure because it means something is expected," Callahan said. "Pressure to me means there's expectation, and I like that. You earn that right. If there was no pressure, it wouldn't be much fun."
Tennessee is following a model that's very similar to what the Seattle Seahawks did in Russell Wilson's early years as a starting quarterback in 2012 by assembling what it thinks is a strong defense.
Seattle's stifling defense, known as the Legion of Boom, was one of the top units in the league. It set the tone for the team.
The Titans aim to have a similar tone-setting defense under aggressive new coordinator Dennard Wilson. That's why they invested in free agents Chidobe Awuzie, Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs in the secondary and inside linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr.
It's why they traded for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed and signed him to a lucrative contract. Carthon didn't stop there, as shown by Tuesday's acquisition of linebacker Ernest Jones IV.
Using the 38th pick on 2023 Outland Trophy Award winner T'Vondre Sweat is another huge acquisition, literally. At 6-foot-4, 362 pounds, the defensive tackle is easily the biggest player on the Titans and will help keep teams from constantly double-teaming Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.
Simmons acknowledged the acquisitions and stated the specific mission the Titans have for this season.
"We need to win," Simmons said. "That's the expectation when you're in the National Football League. We did bring in a lot of guys to our roster. They have the same mindset of everyone else, and that's to win.
"When you've been a fan of the game for so long and see guys who we signed like Diggs, like Jamal, that excites you. I've been watching guys like Jamal since he was in college. We brought in a lot of guys that can play at a high level. If they come in and play the way I know they can play, it will help us out a lot in winning games."