2015 NFL Free Agency Primer For The Tennessee Titans
By Les Bailey
Now that the NFL Scouting Combine is in the books for this off-season, The Tennessee Titans can turn their attention to the upcoming 2015 NFL Free Agency period that kicks off on March 10th. The Titans cut ties earlier with Offensive Lineman, Michael Oher, but he was only a $3 million part of a $34.5 million problem.
On the heels of a 2-14 season, it appears General Manager, Ruston Webster, and Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt are ready to clean house, and basically start over. You have to give Whisenhunt credit, he took a year to watch his team play, before getting out the knife.
Obviously, after all the players have had the chance to shop their talents around the league, the Titans will attempt to re-sign some of the players who played well, but maybe had a little bigger contract then they could live up to.
You can find a list of players, and their salaries that the Titans have optioned out, around the internet, but I will provide one for you.
As you can see, the lion’s share of the dollars are dedicated to only a few of the players with huge contracts, with others not so much. There are, however, some players with smaller salaries that will likely be cut whether they find another job, or not.
The first of those players has to be Quarterback, Jake Locker, and his $4.004 million salary and cap hit.
Unfortunately, Locker never really got going in Tennessee, largely due to injuries caused by an ineffective offensive line, but this is a tough league, and if you can’t produce, you need to go.
The big hit is Offensive Tackle, Michael Roos. His current salary comes in at $6.625 million, and that’s a lot of money to pay a 32 year-old Tackle after ten years in the league, who only started five games in 2014.
If Michael doesn’t get picked up by someone looking for someone with that much experience, I could see bringing him back at a friendlier salary. The same deal should be on the table for Wide Receiver, Nate Washington.
You couldn’t ask for a more loyal player, than the 31 year-old wide-out from Tiffin University. He signed for six years, and has stayed the course with his contract to give the Titans all six years.
If the Titans re-sign him, they would need to re-negotiate his $4.8 million salary.
Safety, George Wilson is on the fence with a $2.2 million cap hit, that will be tough to get on the open market. The nine-year veteran will probably get an offer from the Titans, but we will see how he does on the open market.
The name that catches my eye here, is Outside Linebacker, Derrick Morgan. I think that if Tennessee wants to keep Derrick, they are probably going to have to pay him. He is comparable to Jason Worilds in Pittsburgh, and his numbers in 2014 were a little better.
If you put some good players around Derrick Morgan, much like the projected first-round draft pick, Leonard Williams, from USC, he will get much better.
Morgan is carrying a $3,541,668 million salary, but if the Titans don’t pony up here they will lose him to someone looking for that type of talent.
Be sure to read my post from last week: Should Tennesee Titans look at Jason Worilds In Free Agency for more content.
I don’t see why the Titans won’t re-sign Punter Brett Kern, and Kicker, Ryan Succop. They are not huge hits on the salary cap, and as long as you can’t convert on third down, you are going to need a good punter.
Kern punted for a 46.8 yard average in 2014, and had a career punt at 79 yards. Succop was 86.4% last year, making 19 of 22 field goals, and scoring 84 points.
There are more options on the Titans free agency list, and as the date gets nearer, we will be discussing those options here at Titan Sized.