The Los Angeles Rams and the Tennessee Titans have vastly different outlooks for the 2025 season. While the Rams aim to maximize the final years of Matthew Stafford’s NFL career, the Titans are beginning a rebuild with a new potential franchise quarterback in Cam Ward.
Both teams experienced significant roster changes during the offseason. However, before the season begins, there is one position where both Los Angeles and Tennessee could benefit from an upgrade and one analyst has the perfect candidate in mind.
How Can the Tennessee Titans and the Los Angeles Rams Shore Up Their Defense?
Despite their vastly different seasons, the Titans and the Rams weren’t that far apart when it came to their respective defenses. Tennessee ranked 22nd on PFSN’s Defense+ metric, and Los Angeles was just two spots behind, at 24.
Their rating, too, was barely apart, finishing 70.2 and 69.9 for the season. For the Titans, their problem was a lackluster offense putting excessive pressure on their unit, whereas the Rams suffered from week-to-week variance.
Tennessee registering three wins were mostly due to its defensive effort, while Los Angeles had three weeks near the end of the year where their opponent did not tally double-digit points. But, an uptick is necessary for both teams as they try to accomplish their goals for the 2025 season.
And according to Moe Moton of Bleacher Report, in his rankings of the best remaining unsigned free agents, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley makes perfect sense for either of the two squads.
The former New England Patriots captain spent seven seasons with the team and showed steady improvement. A left pectoral muscle tear sidelined him in Week 2 of the 2024 season. Prior to the injury, he had recorded three consecutive seasons with over 100 tackles, including a career-high 122 in 2022.
The Patriots added Robert Spillane in exchange for Bentley, who was eventually released at the start of the offseason. Moton believes Bentley “can immediately strengthen the defense of a playoff contender.” Because of this, Los Angeles makes perfect sense as a landing spot.
“The Los Angeles Rams could look to him to fill a void at linebacker after they allowed Christian Rozeboom to walk in free agency,” he wrote, before adding, “Bentley could beat out Speights for the lead linebacker spot and become the best player within that position group on the Rams roster.”
Just in: The #Patriots are expected to release LB Ja’Whaun Bentley after seven seasons, during which he started 68 games, recorded over 500 tackles, and served as a multi-time captain. pic.twitter.com/uhzXvLJJwc
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 28, 2025
For Tennessee, though, the argument is much simpler. They lost Kenneth Murray via trade, replacing him with Cody Barton. But the position overall remains one that they aren’t extremely deep in.
As Ward begins his NFL career, he could use a boost from his defense.
The addition of Bentley as a veteran presence in the locker room and on the field, with a proven track record to boot, could give the offense a safety valve.