Robert Saleh has enjoyed the luxury of having Fred Warner on his defense in four separate seasons. He’s only gone against the modern-linebacking standard-bearer for a day, but that experience certainly left an impression.
“Fred is … I’ll go ahead and say it: The guy is a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Saleh declared a few days after his Jets’ 32-19 loss to the 49ers back in 2024. “And I don’t know if a lot of people recognize that, but … at times during the game, it felt like there were three of him out there, the way he was running around. And so, it was a different feeling being on the opposite sideline for the first time ever in his career, to watch it. He did a lot of things that … There are a couple of plays that are touchdowns versus 25 other teams.”
I’m not saying Sonny Styles is Fred Warner 2.0, but that’s the comp everyone wants to make. So it’s natural to assume Saleh has at least considered what his new D as Titans head coach would look like with the athletic freak manning the middle.
