Titan Free Agents: Buy Or Sell? Jake Locker
By Les Bailey
Free Agent: Jake Locker (Unrestricted)
Position: Quarterback
Age: 26
Reasons To Buy:
1. Quality Back Up: When healthy, Jake Locker is not only a good back-up Quarterback in the this league, but could probably compete for a starting job on some teams. His best season by far was 2012 when he completed 177 passes on 314 attempts for 2176 yards. In 2013, he set a career high in completion percentages at 86.7%.
2. Protects The Ball: In parts of four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Locker has fumbled the football 10 times, losing it only six times.
3. Athleticism and Arm Strength: Locker has all the attributes needed to play Quarterback in the National Football League. His toughness, and competitiveness were all attributes that the Titans were excited about when they took him in the first round of the draft. At 6’2″ he has the size to see over defensive lines, and find open receivers.
Reasons To Sell:
1. Injury Prone: After being drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, from the University of Washington, Locker has only played in 30 games as a Quarterback, of which he started 23 games. His injury problems have largely been due to an ineffective offensive line, but he often has problems getting rid of the football.
Locker’s injuries late in the 2014, after rookie, Zach Mettenberger took over the starting job, came in Houston against the Texans in week thirteen.
2. Salary Cap: Locker’s base salary in 2014 was $2,091,273. Add in his signing bonus at $1,913,264, and you have to wonder what else you can get for $4 Million Dollars worth of cap space on the Free Agent Market.
If the Tennessee Titans would make a commitment in 2015 to legitimately fix the problems with the offensive line, and give whoever plays Quarterback for this team a chance to stay healthy, I would like to see him get another chance.
But with all the changes coming in 2015, there are no guarantees for his safety when he’s under center. Couple that with playing in the AFC South, and facing J.J. Watt twice a year, I think it’s time for Jake to move on.
Locker has not shown that he can take a licking, and keep on ticking during the season. So for at least the next few years, the Titans will need a Quarterback that can get out-of-the-way, and take a bit of a beating, something Jake Locker has not shown that he can do.
That will buy Offensive Line Coach, Bob Bostad some time to get a few good players, and really protect a much-needed passing game for the Titans.
Jake Locker – Buy or Sell? Sell