KERRY COLLINS: “I AM A STARTER IN THIS LEAGUE”

Now that they’ve begun their offseason, the Titans have to figure out their quarterback position. Kerry Collins is a free agent and he made it clear to The Tennessean that he isn’t willing to return for a 15th season as anything but a starter. “I made my case known, that I’d like to be here and feel that I can be a part of several more good seasons. I have several good years left in me, I know that,” Collins said. “I will pack up and go somewhere else. I don’t want to, but that’s the reality of this business. . . . I am a starter in this league and if nothing materializes that way I will retire.’’ Titans coach Jeff Fisher seems amenable to bringing Collins back for another year. “Certainly getting Kerry back is important to us,’’ Fisher said. “Kerry has one or two options in my opinion: He starts, and hopefully that is for us, or he is on his tractor, on his farm. According to The Tennessean, the Titans would like to explore a two-year contract in the range of $4 million plus incentives. If Collins is the starter, that would mean another year on the bench for Vince Young. Financially, such a move works in the short term. Young is due to make $2.16 million in 2009, but his salary rises by more than $5 million in 2010 before topping out at $8.5 million in 2011. That’s an awful lot for a quarterback who might not have seen meaningful action in two years.