Titans confident they can compete vs. AFC's influx of talent

The Tennessee Titans have noticed the influx of talent from the NFC into the AFC. After posting the

The Titans started their offseason program Monday, and All-Pro safety Kevin Byard said adding talent to win championships is more prevalent in basketball.

“In football, you can't really buy championships like that,” Byard said. “You have to have the foundation first. Then you bring pieces into that foundation. And then that's when you talk about winning championships. So we have the foundation.”

The Titans tried to add pieces themselves last year. The

Center Ben Jones, who signed his own extension to stick with the Titans in March, said he thinks Tennessee did a good job of adding talent too. He says the Titans are building something special over the past four seasons with AP NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel.

“We don’t need just one year to go and get talent,” Jones said. “It’s a process you have to trust the guys who they put in the room. You’re here for a reason. ... You just don’t need one player to win a championship. It takes a team to win a championship.”

Tennessee also signed

One thing he's noticed quickly is how close-knit the Titans are.

“That's not something that shows up on the stat sheet, but that’s something that really matters in a team environment, in team settings,” Hooper said.

The Titans return 10 of 11 starters on defense with cornerback Jackrabbit Jenkins, released in March to create salary cap space, the only starter not returning. Shane Bowen is going into his third straight season with the defense and second with the title of defensive coordinator.

Vrabel missed the start of the offseason program, but the Titans were expecting a team meeting Tuesday.

Among those not attending the start of the voluntary program were quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has not talked to reporters since the

General manager Jon Robinson has made clear that keeping Brown is a priority for the Titans, but the franchise has only about $2 million in salary cap space until getting credit for releasing Jones on June 1.

“These things they all work themselves out, and obviously if you're talking about A.J., A.J. is one of the best receivers in the league and obviously Vrabel and Jon, they've talked about him being here,” Byard said. “So I have no concerns about A.J.”

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL