Tennessee Titans: Jordan Babineaux Losing Grip on Starting Safety Role?

During the last two preseason games, Robert Johnson and Jordan Babineaux have been alternating in and out for certain packages with Johnson getting the start in each.

According to John Glennon of The Tennessean, when defensive coordinator Jerry Gray was asked about the apparent open competition at the position, he had this to say:

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We’re going to have a lot of different guys in there. Babineaux is going to start, Griffin is going to start and so is RoJo. … It just depends what package we’re going to put out there on the football field during the regular season.

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That statement seems to imply that Johnson, Babineaux and Michael Griffin are all starting safeties for the team. It could also be another situation similar to the Derrick Morgan/ Pannel Egboh battle.

The arrangement has Griffin playing his more natural position of free safety when Babineaux is on the field and strong safety when Johnson is on the field.

Babineaux finished the year with 93 tackles, good for second most on the team, despite only starting 14 games in 2011. Johnson has had strong showings throughout camp and is primed to take advantage of his growing playing time.

The three-starter scenario fits Gray's theme of creating a scheme that puts players in position to play to their strengths.

Babineaux has not excelled as a pass defender throughout his nine-year career, and last season was no exception.

The NFL is growing more and more pass-heavy by the year, so creating a rotation at the position seems like a wise alternative to finding the rare athlete capable of excelling at both run support and pass coverage.

Whether the rotation sticks is impossible to predict, but Johnson (third-year fifth-round pick) has managed to go from only being active in three games his entire career to being a possible starter.

Look for this positional battle to continue into Thursday's game against the New Orleans Saints, and expect Johnson to get the start since the Saints are a pass-heavy team.