Tennessee Titans right tackle JC Latham is entering the most pivotal season of his football life. Year three in the NFL could set him up for generations to come if he follows the motivation that just fell into his lap.
Tennessee Titans tackle JC Latham (55) and tackle Aamil Wagner (69) go through drills during minicamp at Vanderbilt Health Football Center Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.
Tennessee Titans right tackle JC Latham just got the motivational blueprint entering a pivotal 2026 campaign for both himself and an organization still searching for long-term answers under franchise quarterback Cam Ward and head coach Robert Saleh.
Latham has been a major topic of the Titans offseason because of how much this year means. Tennessee is trying to determine its long-term plan with Ward behind center, whether Saleh and his coaching staff can lead the franchise out of the darkness that has lingered since the Titans’ last playoff appearance in 2021, and whether general manager Mike Borgonzi’s roster can compete. Borgonzi did not draft Latham, but the Titans offensive line has been putrid for most of the post-2021 era. The organization spent the 7th overall pick in 2024 on the Alabama tackle to fix that problem.
Latham’s ‘down and up’ 2nd season
After playing left tackle as a rookie, Latham moved to right tackle, his more natural college position, and had what I’m describing as a down and up year in 2025. Not up and down. Down and up.
The problem with the “up” part of Latham’s season was that it came when the Titans were already dead. Brian Callahan had been fired, interim coach Mike McCoy was still unentertaining and losing. But Latham ended the 2025 regular season allowing only 1 sack in his final 6 games. In his first 7 games, he allowed 7 sacks. A hip injury that first popped up in training camp recurred in Week 1 and cost him games 2 through 5, and he came back too early from it.
Darnell Wright contract sets the blueprint
Wright, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Tennessee, signed a 4-year, $116 million extension with Chicago, including $93 million in guaranteed money. That $29 million average annual salary makes him the highest-paid right tackle in NFL history. The $93 million guaranteed is also the most guaranteed money for an offensive lineman ever.
To put that in perspective, the Titans signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill in 2020 to a 4-year, $118 million deal at $29.5 million per year. Right tackles are now getting quarterback money from just 6 years ago.
I’ve already written about how Latham and Wright’s first 2 years are not that far apart. Wright struggled to transition into the NFL as a rookie on a bad offensive line and a bad offense. His second year, he had a No. 1 overall pick quarterback who took a lot of sacks and created a lot of sacks, just like Latham experienced with Cam Ward in 2025. Then Wright put it together in year 3, and going into year 4, Wright got paid.
Can Latham follow the same path?
Is Latham going to break the market for right tackles next year and get paid more than Wright? I doubt it. Latham has been similar to Wright through their first 2 seasons, but Wright has been better. Wright had a strong third year and was voted a top-10 tackle in the NFL by ESPN’s poll of executives, scouts, and coaches.
I don’t think Latham gets a top-10 tackle vote next year. But can he be a top-20 tackle? Top 25? Can he at least be part of the Titans’ long-term plan? That’s the important part, because the blueprint is right there. If I’m JC Latham, I’m looking at Darnell Wright’s contract and saying, “That could be me. If I have a really good 12 months, that could be me.”
That’s not just life-changing money. That’s generation-changing money. Every NFL contract is life-changing, but $93 million guaranteed is something else entirely.
Saleh and the Titans coaching staff have talked highly of Latham. He’s got an offensive line coach to help him get there. Everything is dangling right in front of him. He needs to stay consistent, stay healthy, and go chase it.
Some Titans fans think Latham is injury-prone, but the reality is he’s had one injury. The hip cost him 4.5 games last year, and he came back too early from it. He didn’t miss a game as a rookie or a game at Alabama due to injury. He had some time missed with a pec strain this summer, but it’s the offseason and not a concern.
JC Latham has it all in front of him. He’s got to go chase it.
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