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Tennessee Titans: The Rocky Timeline of Kenny Britt's NFL Career

Chad MintonSep 26, 2013

It's been a rough road to say the least for Kenny Britt since joining the Titans back in 2009.

Britt is immensely talented, but the talent hasn't translated consistently to the field for the Titans. It can be argued that Britt has created more bad than good during his turbulent career with the Titans.

It could very well be the end of the line for Britt with the Titans. He has enough talent to maybe get an opportunity somewhere else, but the Titans are most likely done with the guy that was supposed be their next star wide receiver.

Here is the rocky timeline for Britt with the Titans, and where it all went wrong.

April 25, 2009: Kenny Britt Is Drafted 30th Overall by Titans

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There was reason for excitement when Kenny Britt came on board in 2009. The Titans were fresh off of a 13-3 season that ended in a close loss to the Ravens in the playoffs.

Britt was a guy who offered the Titans a chance to finally get that star wide receiver that they had been lacking since becoming the Titans.

It was viewed generally as a solid pick by the Titans back in 2009 by draft gurus Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN. They saw him as a guy who could contribute immediately to the Titans' offense, and that he did when he finished with 701 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie.

At this early stage in the draft process, it looked like the Titans had done their homework and made a great pick to help their offense build off of a combined regular season record of 23-9 over the previous two seasons.

Nov. 29, 2009: Britt Catches Game-Winner over Arizona

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Taking Kenny Britt in the first round was looking good before this memorable game, but this one really got people excited about Britt's future in a Titans' uniform.

Just as a refresher, this was more of a memorable game for Vince Young than it probably was for Britt. Nonetheless, this was Britt's first big game in a Titans uniform.

Britt ended up catching the game-winning touchdown to get fans to start believing again after this team started 0-6 with Kerry Collins.

It was a career day for Britt as he finished with 128 yards and the touchdown. That's a good day for most veteran receivers, but it's definitely a good day at the office for a rookie. 

There was obvious reason to be excited about Britt at this early point in his career. He had just caught his first career touchdown the week before on top of this performance.

Young was getting most of the attention during this time, but Britt deserved a chunk of that as well. The Titans had always been thin at receiver, and it was refreshing to see a rookie receiver making such an impact. 

April 12, 2011: Britt Is Arrested in New Jersey After Car Chase with Police

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This surprised virtually everyone at the time. Britt was coming off of a respectable season statistically, and was looking to make the leap into stardom.

There is no doubt that this incident set him back, and can be viewed as the first domino that fell in the collapse of Britt in a Titans' uniform.

Even though the charges were later reduced, it wast still a major red flag moving forward for an organization that had already had some questionable draft picks before.

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Sept. 25, 2011: Britt Tears MCL Against Broncos

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This tough injury for Britt could be viewed as the moment when things really started going sour. Britt was coming off of a season where he caught nine touchdowns and had 775 receiving yards.

However, the recent arrest was also hanging over his head. Some people were ready to forgive and hope that his talents trumped the matter.

He was on a record-setting pace through his first two games of 2011 before suffering this injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Now there was off-the-field issues and an MCL injury for fans to chew on. That's never a good combination.

Injuries are a tough part of the game, and one has to wonder where Britt would be on his career path if that injury would have been avoided. Players unfortunately get into trouble all of the time, but season-ending injuries usually spell disaster for player at early stages in their careers.

For what it's worth, the Titans finished 9-7 that season. A playoff appearance would have been feasible with a healthy Britt, and this current situation in 2013 may be a lot different.

August 2012: Britt Suspended for First Game of Regular Season

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He ended up missing the season-opener with the Patriots, a game that the Titans certainly could have used his services. It was another case of wasted talent for a player who could really help this Titans' offense.

More than a year later, it's still happening. Luckily for the Titans, they're somewhat deeper at wide receiver to alleviate from the void that Britt is leaving.

However, Britt still had every opportunity to come back strong following this suspension. He had another chance in the bag to showcase his talents and help the Titans avoid what ended up being a dismal 6-10 season.

Britt would end up having yet another meeting with police in the early part of 2013.

2012 Regular Season: Britt Struggles to Be Consistent

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By many standards of NFL receivers, Britt had a strong showing in 2012. He finished with just a shade under 600 yards to go along with four touchdowns.

Here's the major problem that goes outside of the numbers when it comes to looking over Britt's 2012 season: He did absolutely nothing to alleviate what he had done off the field that led to him missing the first game.

If Britt comes out with a 1,000-yard season, then you have to think that it would've been much easier to forgive and forget. He had a very ordinary season, and that's why the criticism began to leak out.

We all know how talented Britt is and how much he could have elevated the Titans' passing offense over the last three average years. The fact that he didn't maximize his talent in 2012 reinforced the notion that it wasn't going to end well for Britt in a Titans' uniform.

2013 Offseason: Britt Shows Glimmer of Hope

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The 2013 offseason was probably the last chance that Britt had to get it right as a member of the Titans, and he had his teammates fully behind him heading into offseason workouts.

In other words, the table was set for Britt to finally avoid the drama and just play football. 

Britt didn't really light it up in the preseason like a player in his position should have.

He finished with five catches for 55 yards, but the stats weren't necessarily the problem. Preseason stats usually mean very little, but Britt showed absolutely no signs that he was ready to embrace his great talents and play football in 2013.

However, he did have plenty of people optimistic that he was finally going to live up to the first-round pick that he was awarded in 2009.

September 2013: Britt Fires Back on Twitter

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Twitter is one of those things that can be so deadly for athletes and their reputations. What was left of Britt's reputation was basically destroyed after the stunt he pulled on Twitter heading into a Week 3 showdown with the Chargers.

Britt took the preemptive strike by tweeting that he expects this to be his last season with the Titans. He even used the Jared Cook situation as an example.

"

Looks like the Titans pullin that Jared Cook card .. Looking like this the last year ill be sayin #TitanUp .. So lets make it a Great year

— Kenny Britt (@KennyBritt_18) September 17, 2013"

Sometimes athletes have to learn to keep their thoughts under the radar when it comes to how they feel in their current standing with their team. In Britt's case, it created drama that he was already known for.

This wasn't a guy that had a clean slate and was just frustrated. He was supposed to be buckling down and having a drama-free season.

Maybe Britt had a point in how he felt about his involvement with the offense. That's an argument for another day. How he handled it on social media is the problem at hand. It simply can't happen if you're truly trying to make things right with the organization that drafted you.

After this latest antic with Britt, there just seems to be no way that this situation ends well with him in a Titans' uniform.

There is still a long season ahead for Britt to prove everyone wrong, but that's something you just shouldn't bet on. Unless a Pro Bowl season comes out of Britt over the last 13 games, the Titans will cut their losses with him and move on with a fairly deep group of receivers.

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