 What's that Robbie, are we good here? Yeah, we're good, go ahead and start. Great, yeah, no, I appreciate everybody taking some time to jump on here and chat. We typically have these conversations at the combine at Indy. Obviously it's a different kind of world that we're in now still dealing with pandemic issues and so I thought I would take some time as we get ready to go into the all season program here and kind of talk through some things from last season and the roster moving forward. And I want to say, send some special condolences out to my former family down in Tampa with Vincent Jackson passing down there, got to know VJax and my short time down there, just a consummate pro, great, great person. So our thoughts and prayers are out to certainly his family and the entire Buccaneer community down there. So with that, Robbie, we'll open it up to some questions. Right, Jen, you want to guess, Paul? How you doing, John? I guess with the draft process impacted by no scouting combine, what are some ways that you can maybe maneuver through this all season and be prepared for the draft without going to Indy? Yeah, so we're kind of working with the league and the guidelines that they've put in place with the amount of contact we can have with prospects. We've already had a set of Zoom interviews with some guys over the last week. We've got some more this afternoon, where we're spending time with those guys virtually. Our coaches, we get five of those Zoom calls. It's unlimited phone calls, but the Zoom calls, the face-to-face interactions, you get five. So trying to maximize our time there, really waiting on some of the colleges to plan out how they're going to map out pro day, what are the players actually going to do? And is it worth the trip to a particular college if can you have interaction with the coach, with the player? We're just being mindful of all of the state and guidelines as it relates to travel and then the campus guidelines when we're on campus. John Lai. Hey, John. Wonder if you could just talk in general about the challenges that you guys might face with a salary cap that, I guess, is reportedly going to shrink and the fact that you guys are a little above the figure, and there's a number of players that are in need of new contracts. Yeah, I mean, we're working through that. John, we've got several different models that we've looked at. Once the salary cap number is actually given to us, that number, it affects the franchise tag numbers. It affects a lot of things. So there's several, like I said, models that we've kind of mocked up based on a couple of different numbers. And we've got a little bit of work to do. We're in better shape than some teams are cap-wise, and we're not as good as others. But we'll work through it, and at the end of the day, try to do what's best for the team and continue to put a winning product on the field. If I could toss in a quick follow on that. Are there any potential free agents for you guys that you know won't be coming back at this point? I don't think we've rolled anybody out yet, John. I think we're, again, we're waiting to see, you know, what that salary cap number is and can we, you know, what moves can we make to get ourselves in position to maybe keep as many as possible? Thanks. Teresa Walker. John, that said, at the top of your shopping list for free agency in the draft, how high is pass rusher and trying to fill that need once and for all? Yeah, I think, yeah. Teresa, I think that's, you know, that's one thing we've got to do better is affect quarterback and that comes in a myriad of ways. You know, it's rushing the passer, it's coverage, it's blitzing. There's a lot of ways to affect the passer. But yeah, I mean, that's something that's high on our list is to find guys, you know, whatever position it is defensively that can affect the play of the quarterback. Tara. John, obviously with JJ Watt being released by Houston, he's out there and available for anybody that would want to touch to try and go after him. You have connections or Mike has connections to him at all. Have you guys had any contact with his representatives or anything like that at this point or is it still wait and see until the cap is settled? Yeah, no, great question. He probably doesn't remember, but I actually worked him out when I was with the Patriots. When he was coming out of college, he pushed me around on the field pretty good for about two hours. So yeah, we've had some contact. You know, it's early in the stages. I think he's having, we obviously know his skill set and what he's meant to the Texans having played against him twice, the type of player he is. So we'll just kind of see how it goes like a lot of these guys that are coming available over the next few weeks. See kind of where their interest is and then make a determination if it's an avenue that, hey, we want to go down and are we a fit potentially for some of these guys that become available. Joe Rutger. Yeah, John, just wondering about the future of Isaiah Wilson, anything you can share on conversations you've had with him, his status, what you want to hear and see from him to make you feel like he's committed and wants to do this. Yeah, I think, you know, again, we put him on the reserve non-football illness list there. I haven't spoken to him since that list got put out. You know, I think, you know, we did a lot of work a year ago leading up to selecting him, you know, the evaluation process, talking to, you know, different sources, visiting with him countless numbers of times and for whatever reason, you know, the player that this fall was here in Nashville wasn't the guy that we spent time with last year. So I think, you know, he's going to have to make a determination if he wants to do everything necessary to play pro football. And that's going to be, you know, on him. So I know what the expectation level is here. It's no different than any other player on the football team. You know, we have a certain standard that we want players to prepare and perform at professionally and as people and a lot of work to be done there. How do you feel about things at this point? I know you just said you didn't talk to him. How do you feel about where things stand now and how close are you to feeling like you have to move on? Yeah, I mean, we'll see. You know, I'm constantly monitoring situation. You know, we have people that have been in contact with him that I've talked to. So I kind of third party wise, but we'll see how that one goes. Toronto. Yeah, what's up, John? All right. In regards to Jayon Brown and some of the things he brings to the table, you know, a lot of attention is focused on the pass rush. But what is something that he brings that will also help improve the defense and impact the quarterback? Yeah, you know, I think that, you know, he's a really instinctive player. He's good in zone coverage. He's good in man coverage. He's been disruptive as a blitzer for us. You know, he's kind of this, I don't want to say new age of linebacker, but this kind of this undersized, productive player who relies on his instincts, his speed and his ability to match players. You know, if you can take a target away that the quarterback's going to throw to, then the quarterback's got to hold the ball longer and it gives you a chance to get there in the rush. So, you know, he's been a good player for us. You know, unfortunate, we certainly could have used him down the stretch there when he got hurt, but we'll see kind of how that goes moving forward. And as far as Shane Bowen is concerned, when he was named to DC, there was a lot of negative reaction from Titans fans on social media. How can you vouch for Coach Bowen getting that title of DC? Well, I think that, you know, that when you have continuity with the staff, I think that's, you know, that's a, that can be a good thing. You know, it's, I would say the continuity is pretty good. You know, the carryover. I certainly wish Arthur and Chandler, Hindley, the best down there in Atlanta. But, you know, when it comes to the execution of defense, it's, there's a lot of things that go into it. There's, you know, the call itself. There's the execution of the call. There are the, it's the players that are on the field trying to execute the call. You know, it's more than one thing, when things go good and when things don't go so good. You know, it's a combination of a lot of different things on every single play. So I'm excited about the continuity and I look forward to improving in a lot of areas on that side of the football. Thank you, Paul. Hey, John, good to see you. Hey, Paul. Every time the pass rush comes up, you and Mike both tend to go away from the edge rusher position and talk about the whole picture. What's wrong in the Titans philosophy with the idea of a dominant pass rusher who draws double teams and goes and gets them? And how come you guys never talk about that guy never invest resources in chasing that guy and always kind of cover for the lack of having that guy rather than expressing a desire to have that guy? No, I mean, I think we would love to have, we would love to have that guy. I mean, that's kind of our, you know, we want all of our players to be successful including the edge rush guys. And we're looking for those kind of players and willing to invest resources. You know, again, we try to put a plan together last year with building a team and adding some players. And, you know, there were some players that came on the team in free agency that bought in and were about what we're about. And there's some that didn't work for a myriad of reasons. But I think that that's a position that, you know, we're definitely interested in. And we'd love to have a guy that commands double teams and gets two sacks. I mean, the end of the day, the players are the ones that make the plays and we've got to try to get as many of them as possible. Given the misses there, is there any kind of re-evaluation of the way they're scouted, they're coached, they're deployed? Yeah, I mean, I think that we've gotten production out of those positions. You know, Harold's a good player for us. Today, he did some good things for us last year before he got deemed with some disruptive plays. You know, the statistical piece might not have gleaned, but he was a disruptive player on the edge for us. Didn't get a lot of run out of it. I've commented on that one back in October, November, whenever we made that move. But no, I mean, it's about effort. It's about guys wanting to get to the quarterback. It's about having some savvy and instincts. You know, when you're rushing on that tackle, how is he setting you? What is that tackle doing to you? Is he trying to, you know, just run you up the field? If that's the case, then you've got to have a counter. You know, how expansive is the player's bag of tricks as a pass rusher and then deploying them accordingly? If I may. Sorry, just one more. This kind of way. I wrote all this. This is where the initial question kind of comes from. You're kind of saying, hey, we got stuff out of these guys and you were the second worst sack team in history to go to the playoffs. And you and Mike always make it sound like, yeah, the pass rush was okay. When clearly, if you watch the team in the past rush wasn't close to okay. No, I think it's got to be better. Well, I think it's got to be better. It's got to be, you know, we got to execute better. But I'm saying there, I think that there are, there are different ways to affect the quarterback and we've got to be better on the edge rush. But I think there have been players that have been productive for us on the edge. Buck, sorry, Buck. Hey, John, you know, you talked a little bit about the circumstances that we're all in and the different, the differences that are going to have to be done, you know, while the pandemic is still kind of hovering over everything. Is there anything that you guys can take from the first time that you went through this last off season that can kind of, you know, if not streamline the process, kind of help you out or is it just as simple as, you know, we know what we're getting into this time and now we can go about doing it better? No, that's a great question, Buck. I mean, I think that, you know, it's going to be similar to what we did last year. I mean, you're trying to develop a relationship and get to know these players over a Wi-Fi connection, which isn't the best way to do it, but it's the hand that we've all been dealt. I think what I have tried, and what we've talked about trying to do is being more inclusive with other members of the organization, of the football staff to have, you know, maybe more people on the call to they can read body language, they can look at and listen to these prospects so that we get different opinions on how they're performing, you know, with the questions that we're asking. Jared? Yeah, John, back on the Shane Bowen front, you talked about how important the continuity was, but the defense last year ranks 28th in the league. So if things weren't going well on defense, what is the point of the continuity there and how much of the struggles on the defense? Did you look back at the personnel, perhaps guys maybe that came in last year that didn't fill the voids left by other guys and how much of it was maybe the coaching and the scheming? Well, I think I commented on that a little bit earlier. Like when you send a call into the game, it's about the execution of the call. Like, was it a bad call? Was it executed wrong? Were the players that were out there not good enough or not capable of executing it? There's a lot of things and factors that play into a play during the course of the football game. It's never really one thing, it's a myriad of things. And so that's what we're working through now is improving some of the calls, improving the execution of the calls, improving the personnel. That's kind of our goal this offseason. And, John, if I could, when you look back at the 2020 offseason, Ryan and Derek, we signed those for big deals and those worked out. Everything else, though, whether it was the draft or free agency probably did not meet expectations. Kind of your own self-scout of your process of your 2020 offseason going into 2021. Yeah, I mean, I think I've gone on record and said that before. I think that it's important that this offseason that we learn, that I learn personally from last year, that we've tried to improve. I would say that we've been more positive in the roster building than negative around here the last five years. I mean, I'm proud of what we've done so far. We're one of, I think, three teams to have five consecutive winning seasons. And we've been to the playoffs three times, won the division this last year, won 11 games to get the playoffs, not to toot our own horn. But that's a positive thing. And we've got to be better. And there's one team that's going to host a parade at the end of the year, one team. And the other 31 are going to be frustrated and look back on ways to try to get to that game and win that game. So yeah, I mean, I think we all have to be better and it starts with me. Mike Giardi. Hey, John, thanks for doing this. Anytime you tell Buck, he has a great question. It goes right to his head. So we're going to ask you to not do that anymore, if you would. I'm curious, when you look at the Chiefs, and obviously they didn't win the Super Bowl this year, but the collection of talent they have and talking to some other teams, the Bills brought it up like they're the gold standard. Do you and Tennessee look at them and say, I have to build a roster that ultimately is better than theirs because of what they've built there and what they've been able to do over the last few seasons? Well, I mean, I think you're trying to improve all facets of your roster every offseason. I think that's, and certainly the teams that are in the playoffs at the end of the season, those are the teams that found a way to compete at a high level, whether it's talent, it's execution, it's a lot of things. But that's the teams that you're likely going to be playing against late in the season and into January if you make the playoffs. So I think all those teams are teams that we've got to continue to try to improve at a minimum, keep up with, and then kind of let the Chips fall where they may. Corey. Hey, John, obviously you face a lot of tough decisions to get your cap number where it needs to be, but obviously a lot of other GMs face that same situation. It doesn't make it easier knowing that there's probably going to be more players out there than usual that you may be able to get at a little bit of a discount with the lower cap. Yeah, that's a good question, Corey. That's going to kind of come in waves, I think. You've got the guys that are, whose contracts are expiring or they're set to expire already, and then you have the guys that are going to be released. We've seen that over the last couple of days with some veteran guys that have hit the market. So you're going to have to be strategic and try to gather as much information. Again, I talked earlier about some of the models. We've tried to predict maybe some players that might become available. You don't really know for sure, but you're trying to kind of strategize of when to pull the trigger and when to be patient when it comes to acquiring and adding those guys. And with Adam Humphries, obviously missed a significant amount of time with the concussions at the end of the season. Is his career in Jeopardy? And if not, how do you evaluate a guy who's had an issue like that moving forward? Well, there's nothing more important. We've said it many times, and the health and the safety of our players. And that was a pretty tough hit he took there. Yeah, we're just continuing to monitor and talk to the doctors and talk to Adam and make sure everything is back to normal and just kind of see how that goes. David Bowclar. John, what factors weigh heavily in the fifth year option decision with Rashawn Evans and how much time do you plan to make that decision if you haven't made it already? Kind of miss the first part of that, but I think it's just the fifth year option decision. Yeah, we're working through that. There's a, we've got time to make that decision. That's really a 2022 cap year implication there. So we've got to get through kind of where we're at now and then work towards that decision a little later in the process. Adam Spark. Yeah, John, this is sort of a peaks and valleys type of league. Few franchises have kept their window open longer as being a contender. What do you think the common denominators are of those franchises that have kept the window open longer than others? That's a great question. I think it's continuing to have a good core nucleus of players that can play at a high level. It's adding the right types of players into your football team that can expand upon that. And that's one of the things that, we're trying to do this offseason is trying to keep as many guys as we can, knowing that we're not gonna be able to keep all of them and add to the types of players that we're looking for this football team. If you miss some back-to-back drafts, can you still keep that window open? Yeah, I don't know. That's kind of a speculation. I hope we're not missing on too many drafts. Thanks, Luke. John, how would you evaluate the future of your 2020 draft class based on what you saw from them during the season and what you know about their future and their health moving forward? Yeah, I mean, I spoke on the first round pick already, but I thought that Christian, he played for us early. I think he had an interception in Houston game, Jacksonville game, early on for us, got danged and then came back and really started to get back to form late in the season. You know, Darrington Evans, another one that had some bumps and bruises early on, but then provided some value for late in the season called Touchdown Pass and provided a spark on special teams. And then L'Oreal Murchison, he did some good things and he continues to improve and we've got some run out of some undrafted guys, Tierra Tart, Nick Westbrook, a lot of those guys really came in, Brewer Aaron Brewer did some good things for us. So excited about them getting that first year under their belt in a pandemic off season and looking forward to them growing as pro players this off season. Steve Lionel. Hey, John, hope you're doing well. Hey, Steve. Quick follow to Corey's question as it stands right now, do you think Adam Humphries will be healthy enough and cleared to go for this coming season? And then how does that impact how you might address Corey Davis or Johnny Smith, some of the other past catchers that you have to make decisions on? Yeah, I mean, we're constantly in discussion with our training staff and on where those guys are at and he's monitoring all that. And you know, whenever they're cleared and good to go, he gives me the thumbs up. So, you know, we're still working through all that and with a lot of guys. And then what does that mean? And I get the cap space isn't 100% at this point either, but what would your intentions be right now when it comes to Corey and Johnny and how important do you think they are to your offense being at the same level it was in 2020? Yeah, proud of both of those guys. You know, I had the same conversation at the end of the season with those guys that I had with, you know, with Jack Conk on a year ago. You know, I was like, you guys, you've had, you've done, you know, everything we've asked you here and we're gonna be competitive in trying to keep you. But at the end of the day, you're gonna have a decision to make if you have suitors, you know, with other teams. And, you know, I had that same discussion with those two guys and you know, we'll see what we can figure out but at the end of the day, if they choose to capitalize on free agency in the market, I wish them nothing but the best. They've done everything that we've asked them to do. Chris here. Hey, John. Hey, Chris. When, do you have any sense of when the league will let you guys know what it's kind of planning for the off season relative to workouts and practices so you guys can kind of formulate a plan and what do you do in the meantime to try to figure what you're doing out? Yeah, right now, you know, we're just kind of staying in contact with, you know, with our guys and seeing kind of, you know, they're still available. The weight room and stuff is available. Treatments available, not now because, you know, SNOMA get in 21 here in Nashville but they have to still have to come in and COVID test. We have that available for the players and the staff that are gonna come in contact with players. And then with the off season program, you know, the workouts, the OTAs still waiting on, you know, guidance from the league on that on how we're gonna attack that. I think it's mid-April around the 18th or 19th off the top of my head of when that date may be available for us to start ramping back up. But we'll wait for the, you know, for the green light from the league on that before we get guys back in here. Teresa. John, you mentioned waiting to hear about the college pro days and that. Do you know if the NFL is providing any kind of coordination or guidance or is this just gonna be put together on the college side and you all just have to adapt and make decisions on whether it's worth it or not? Well, I think that's a great question, Teresa. I think that with, you know, with the colleges there's so many different guidelines as it relates to, you know, the states, how they're dealing with, you know, the regulations with COVID. So I think that, you know, every state's kind of different so it's hard to have a uniform, you know, kind of set of rules in place. I do think we're gonna have to provide a negative COVID result that, you know, we can have here and you have a text message of it on your phone or whatever to show the universities when we show up on campus within, I think it's 48 to 72 hours. I think that's pretty much standard but everything else, you know, where is the pro day gonna be? Is it have to be outside in the stadium? Can you have it inside in the bubble if there's inclement weather? What contact can you have with the coaches? I think all that's gonna be up to, you know, the individual universities. Charles? Yeah, just to add to how unique this off season has been that the team of exos, they're holding a combine kind of like situation. Is that something that you plan to attend and what are your thoughts on the way that they're setting that up? Yeah, well, we can't go to it. We can't go and the only place we can time and test players is either at our facility and they have to be local as it relates to the draft guys or at their universities or their hometown. So, you know, I think that's kind of a unique concept that they're trying to do there to try to get some exposure for those players. And, you know, I would be interested to watch, you know, the workout portions of it and see, you know, the movement skills and maybe more so the football drills than, you know, the short shuttle or three cone times. But, you know, the actual football movement, the drills that they're gonna do, I think that's a really good concept to try to get exposure of those players out to the teams. I've still got a handful of follow-ups here. Joe? Yeah, kind of another off-season question, John. When you look back at both free agency and the draft, how much do you attribute to the weird off-season? You talked about vetting Isaiah, maybe it wasn't quite exactly, like it would have been a normal year. And if that's the case, are you making any adjustments this time around? Yeah, I kind of spoke on that a little earlier about including more people on the, you know, kind of on some of these Zoom calls, breaking that up with different people talking at different times to these guys, trying to get multiple opinions. You know, I think the prospects that we've talked to so far, you know, we've had seven, eight, or nine of our staff on that call, and it's been one of the more robust Zoom calls for some of these guys. So just trying to get as many, you know, contacts with the player as possible, much like, you know, if they come in on a 30 visit, they spend time with, you know, with me, with the position coach, with our scouts, with the personnel directors, with a, you know, a lot of different people touch that player on their 30 visits. So trying to kind of take the same approach there. John. John, I wanted to touch one more if I could on Isaiah. I guess outside, you know, potential money loss in terms of the contract, is there a reason at this point not to release them? I guess what I'm asking is a reasonable to believe that he could, you know, eventually help the team. Again, spoke on that earlier. You know, we've tried to exhaust a lot of resources trying to help him, but at the end of the day, he's going to make a determination if he wants to do things the way we want it done. And, you know, we're not asking anybody to do anything different than we are the other, you know, 90 guys in the all season program or 53 when we get down to the cut time. Thank you. Jared? Yeah, John, it was reported that Dean had been offered a consultant position by the team coming out of retirement, obviously took the DC job in Atlanta. Was there any thought to bringing Dean back as defensive coordinator? And kind of what were the discussions surrounding that? Oh, I got a ton of respect for Dean. He did a great job for us when he was here and retired and, you know, wish him nothing but the best in Atlanta, but, you know, I got to get into any speculative, you know, things that may or may not have been put out there. Tara? John, one of the things, I guess, that this team has not had a lot of over the years of speed at the receiver position. Obviously, you've got AJ, who's kind of a combination of strength and speed. But as far as just a pure burner at the wide receiver position, is that something that maybe you're going to make a priority to look for in the draft or in free agency? I think the priority for that position is to get open and catch the football and then run with it after you catch it. There's a lot of fast guys in this league that can't catch, a lot of fast guys that can't get open. So I think that when it comes to that position, specifically, every how they get open. AJ gets open different than Khalif Raymond. Khalif gets open different than Corey. They all get open different ways. But we want guys that can get open, catch the football, run with it after they catch it. And one of the more unsung jobs is their ability to block. We got a guy we like to hand the ball to a lot. And we got to have guys that can go in and dig out those safeties, dig out those weakside linebackers. Steve? John, good picture here. You talked a little bit about maybe the frustrations of last off season. Do you feel right now, your roster is better than it was a year ago coming off the AFC Championship game? And based off that answer, how much pressure do you feel personally going into this off season to be better in 2021? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of players that took steps in the right direction. We won 11 games this past year. I won the division for the first time, for a long time, guys that improved. But we've got to continue to add players to the team. That's what it's about. We've got to continue to add guys that are going to be about what we're about, as people, as football players, and guys that can have an impact on the game, in whatever role it is. You've got some of the guys that are the premium players and you've got some guys that pitch in there and their role players and they're good players for you. And we've got to continue to find guys that love ball. That's the one thing that we want is guys that love ball, guys that want to be pro football players, not guys that just put pro football player as their hashtag on their Instagram or Snapchat or their Twitter. Like guys that actually want to play the game of pro football, because it's a strain. Pro football is hard and you've got to really love football and want to do it. And that's more than just putting it on your Twitter as your occupation. Uh, Jeff. John, it's somewhat similar to Mike's, but anything that you learn from the playoffs and how they unfolded about your team or maybe how they unfolded for other teams that maybe give you something to look at to improve for 2021? Yeah, I mean, I think that the, you know, it's the health of teams, it's important. You know, having players available, you know, for a full season and certainly in the playoffs, that's important. So, you know, guys that are gonna, making sure we get guys that are gonna take care of the body, guys that are tough-minded, that are gonna play through things, which we got a bunch of those guys on our football team that play ding, that play hurt, continue to get more of those guys so that you have as many, you know, that you start that season with, that 53 that you start the season with, you got as many of those guys, same guys, you know, in January, you know, to make a run at it. All right, we ran through all the questions. Appreciate it, John. Awesome. Thanks, guys. You guys stay safe out there. Thank you, John. Thank you, John. Thank you, John. Thanks, John. Thanks, John.