Tennessee Titans: Free Agency Can Bring Star Power To Nashville
By Les Bailey
Now that we have flipped the calendar to March, with the Scouting Combine well in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to turn our attention to the business side of the NFL. While assistant coaches go off to the film room to analyze 2015 NFL Draft possibilities, the rest of the Tennessee Titans coaching staff will start deciding who, and who will not be wearing Titan Blue when the 2015 season begins.
NFL Free Agency Tampering Period
The NFL Free Agency Tampering Period is set to start on Thursday, March 7th, and provides a three-day window in which unrestricted free agents are allowed to start negotiating with teams who may be interested in them, prior to March 10th, which is the beginning of the normal free agency period.
Affectionately known as the “tampering period”, this policy was instituted in 2013 to alleviate the previous illegal contract talks which had taken place by agents of players who had been designated as unrestricted, prior to the start of the official free agency period.
There are some rules involved in this procedure, and you can find them by following the above link to our friends at SB Nation for more detail.
Regular free agency starts on March 10th, and players designated as unrestricted free agents can sign with other teams all the way through the trade deadline that comes in October.
Players designated as Restricted free agents must be signed by April 24th.
The NFL Owners meetings start on March 23rd, and wind up on March 25th.
The one thing I found out, when coming over to Titan Sized last month from Pro Golf Now, was the absence of “Star Power” that seems to surround the Tennessee Titans.
The team has almost reached the point of obscurity in the realm of NFL teams. They are rarely mentioned on NFL AM, SportsCenter, NFL Live, or Inside The NFL, and you are most likely going to find them at the bottom of any list.
The hiring of Ken Whisenhunt in 2014, brought some instant credibility to the Titans organization, but it was the hiring of Offensive Assistant Head Coach, Dick LeBeau that told me they were serious about re-building this team, and returning them to headlines around the NFL.
Both coaches have ties to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, which has had years of success in operating a successful football team. If nothing else, team ownership should learn how to build a product they can be proud to put on the field, going forward.
The 2015 free agency market has several players available, who can bring instant star power to Nashville, simply by opening their checkbook.
The likes of a Ndamukong Suh, DeMarco Murray, or any other big names will bring reporters, and attention to a team, and fan base almost forgotten by everyone involved in professional football.
It has already started. Since the Titans hired Dick LeBeau, there has already been interest shown by veteran players around the league, who have put Music City on their list of places they would consider wanting to play.
The Titans will hit the 2015 free agency market this month, with over $45 million in salary cap space. If ownership will open their checkbook during this period, they can buy some talent, “Star Power”, and more importantly, more wins on Sunday this fall.