Football Mythbusters: What Now for Titans, Young?

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

MYTH: Vince Young still has a future in Tennessee.

FACT: There is a very slim chance he plays one snap of regular-season football with the Titans ever again.

Young made all of the right moves during the offseason—until now. 

He said he was fine with being a backup and learning from Kerry Collins, yet he was still ready to play when he was needed. He showed up for all of the voluntary team activities, and even participated in a celebrity basketball game for charity.

Sure, he was onstage at a rap concert and “made it rain”—it looked more like a slight drizzle. He pulled a few bills out of his pocket and dropped them into the front row of the crowd. 

It is 100 percent ridiculous that people consider this an issue and are seriously comparing it to Pacman Jones coming into the club with a trashbag full of 80,000 one-dollar bills.

I, like a fairly decent-sized minority of NFL fans, believed the Titans were set at quarterback.  Kerry Collins was signed to a two-year deal, which gave Vince Young two years to further learn the Titans’ fairly new offense (this is only OC Mike Heimerdinger’s second year back with the Titans). 

I believed that at the end of those two years, or maybe even earlier if Collins faltered, Vince Young would be ready to step in and play. Unfortunately, Young might be a little TOO ready to do so.

He told WMAR, a radio station in Baltimore, that "I definitely want to get back out there playing ball and picking up where I left off, winning games, and having a good time with my teammates and with the fans.  At the same time, if the guys don't want me to be in there, it's time for me to make a career change for myself.”

This statement isn’t very different from those made by Kerry Collins, when he said he was only interested in returning to the Titans as a starter, and was willing to retire if no starting opportunities presented themselves.

“I’ve played so much in my career, and I’ve been a starter for so long. I feel like I’m a starter in this league…But if it comes down it, becoming a backup is something I’m not interested in right now.”

The major difference was that Collins was a free agent, and Young is still under contract.  Collins could have gone to any team willing to sign him, but Vince Young has to be traded.  And in the NFL trade market, perception is reality.

Due to a few overblown incidents, Vince Young’s reputation is shot.  So assuming that only teams who desperately need a quarterback will take him, where will he go?

Starting with the likeliest (in my opinion, anyway), here are some of the most probable landing spots.

Washington Redskins

Reasons it could happen: They’ve already tried to trade for a new quarterback twice this offseason. Is the third time the charm? 

Also, current Redskins starter Jason Campbell is very humble about the Redskins’ attempts to improve their QB corps. His attitude would fit in well in Tennessee, where he can back up Kerry Collins for two years and then be the Titans’ quarterback of the future.

Reasons it might not happen: Who’s to say Jason Campbell will be as humble if the Redskins end up trying and failing to replace him a third time? The Redskins might not be willing to take that risk.

Minnesota Vikings

Reasons it could happen: They’ve demonstrated an overt interest in getting better at quarterback.  Many people, myself included, believe the Vikings are a quarterback away from being perennial Super Bowl contenders. 

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