Editing Eddie George (section)

===Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans===
George was a first-round draft selection (14th overall pick) of the [[Houston Oilers]] (now the [[Tennessee Titans]]) in the 1996 NFL Draft, being selected after [[Jerome Bettis]] elected to be traded to the [[Steelers-Titans rivalry|rival]] [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] over the Oilers when the [[St. Louis Rams]] replaced Bettis with [[Lawrence Phillips]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1996 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/draft.htm |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8LfQvT0b-0|title=Jerome Bettis talks about the trade that changed his life|via=YouTube|date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> George won the [[National Football League Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Rookie of the Year award]] in 1996, and was the Oilers/Titans' starting [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]] through 2003, never missing a start. He made the [[Pro Bowl]] four consecutive years (1997–2000), and assisted the Titans to a championship appearance in [[Super Bowl XXXIV]], where they lost to the [[1999 St. Louis Rams season|St. Louis Rams]] 23–16. George gained 391 combined rushing and receiving yards in the Titans' three playoff games that year, and went on to rush for 95 yards, catching two passes for 35 yards, and scorimg two touchdowns in the Super Bowl.

George is only the second NFL running back to rush for 10,000 yards while never missing a start, joining [[Jim Brown]]. Only [[Walter Payton]] (170) started more [[List of most consecutive starts and games played by National Football League players#Offensive skilled|consecutive regular-season games]] than George's 130.<ref>[http://www.titansonline.com/news/article-1/Career-Flashback-Former-Titans-RB-Eddie-George/f883d645-5861-488f-8db6-d65ad8fefb0d Career Flashback: Former Titans RB Eddie George] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604162055/http://www.titansonline.com/news/article-1/Career-Flashback-Former-Titans-RB-Eddie-George/f883d645-5861-488f-8db6-d65ad8fefb0d |date=June 4, 2012 }}</ref>

Though George rushed for 1,000 yards in all but one season, numerous sportswriters suggested that a heavy workload caused a decline in George's productivity. In five of his eight seasons with the Titans, George carried the ball over 330 times. In 2001, George averaged just 2.98 per carry, the fourth-lowest number in league history among running backs with more than 200 rushing attempts in a season.<ref name=YA>{{cite web|title=Lowest yards per carry, 1920-2014|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=TSoBL|website=Pro Football Reference|access-date=December 1, 2014}}</ref> George's decline in production and several toe and ankle injuries were contributing factors in Titans' owner [[Bud Adams]]' decision to release him on July 21, 2004, in part due to [[salary cap]] considerations, after George would not agree to a pay cut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Titans-release-Eddie-George/13561090452983/|title=Titans release Eddie George}}</ref>