Will the Titans re-sign Kerry Collins?

Titans quarterback Kerry Collins appeared in ten games last year, starting seven with a 2-5 record.  It may have been the last time for Collins, who has spent the last five seasons with the Titans, to wear the two-tone blue.  Collins, who is now 38 years old, will become an unrestricted free agent in March.

Will the Titans re-sign Collins, either as a veteran backup, or as a starter/caretaker until a rookie is ready to take over the starting role?

Collins played with a torn tendon in the middle finger on his passing hand since Week Seven of last season and looked absolutely awful in several games.  He was horrible in the Dolphins game, consistently overthrowing receivers by several feet.  After missing the next two games with a calf injury, he stunk up the joint in his next outing, versus the Jaguars.

If that’s the Collins we’d get again next year, no thanks.  However, Collins did finish the season on a high note with passer ratings over 100 in three of his last four starts, with seven touchdowns and only one interception in those three games.  Based on his strong finish, we can probably attribute many of his midseason problems to his injuries.

Jim Wyatt said last year that Collins’ finger had been extremely swollen, so it’s understandable he wasn’t able to properly grip the ball and deliver it accurately.

All indications are that Jeff Fisher likes Collins a lot, probably a lot more than he should.  We can debate all that until the cows come home, but the fact remains that Fisher, rightly or wrongly, has consistently shown a preference for Collins to be his starter, even when Collins was not playing well.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Fisher will want to have Collins back, especially if he’s unable to get the guy he wants most, whether that’s Kyle Orton, Kevin Kolb or whomever.

There is perceived difficulty in being able to obtain many of the quarterbacks rumored to be on the trading block.  If that turns out to be the case, the Titans may believe their next best option will be the man who has been with them the last five years.