Why Michael Oher may mean more Craig Stevens for the Tennessee Titans

The Titans gave a fairly large contract to Michael Oher this offseason, in the hopes that he would solidify the right side of the offensive line. While there isn't a lot of guaranteed money in the contract, it does seem to point to Oher starting at least for the next year.

While Oher may be an upgrade over Stewart in pass protection and from a health standpoint, in the running game there will be some issues. This is why the Titans will likely use a tight end to cover Oher up. Delanie Walker is the obvious answer here, and while he will undoubtedly be the snap count leader among tight ends, the deficiencies in the running game will demand that another tight end see more time on the field, especially with a depleted receiving group.

Now, Taylor Thompson is another option but the new Titans coaching staff has nothing tied into Thompson and while he has been good in space and a good receiver every now and then, he has concerns. I worry about Thompson's hands and base as a run blocker, where Stevens has been the more consistent blocker year in and year out.

Also, since they haven't cut him or asked him to reduce his salary, it seems like they plan to use him more than the previous regime.

The only real concern here is that this might take the Titans out of the Eric Ebron competition at 11, due to his inability to block inline.