Titan Sized
FanSided

Tennessee Titans free agency: Eric Berry should be a FA

By Will Lomas

Jan 15, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry (29) reacts to a play during the first half in the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium. The Steelers won 18-16. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry (29) reacts to a play during the first half in the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium. The Steelers won 18-16. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Eric Berry should be a free agent, and the Tennessee Titans should go after him.

The news over the past two days has been filled with some interesting nuggets. The Indianapolis Colts lost one of their top-5 players, everyone in New England loves Jon Robinson, every team in the NFL other than the Tennessee Titans seem to be eyeing either Tyrod Taylor, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jay Cutler, or Tony Romo, and Eric Berry isn’t playing under a free agent tag.

For now, that last bit is the most important thing for the Tennessee Titans because as you know, they have quite a bit of money and a need for some safety help. If Berry isn’t going to play under a tag, I don’t see any way that he isn’t a free agent.

Here is my thinking, it all starts with cap room. So right now, according to OTC, the Kansas City Chiefs are bottom 3 in cap space not just this year but next year as well.

More from Titans Free Agency

If they were just in the bottom 3 this year then yes they could probably cut some people, restructure others, let some free agents go, and do other things to wiggle out the cap room for a move like this.

However, if they are going to pay him market value for Eric Berry that would be north of $13 million per year according to my research in the Ultimate GM mode post which you can find here.

Live Feed

Titans re-signing Jeffery Simmons leaves a Hulk-sized footprint in AFC South
Titans re-signing Jeffery Simmons leaves a Hulk-sized footprint in AFC South /

FanSided

  • Bergkamp FIFA 23 Challenges: How to Complete the Trophy Titans Icon ObjectiveDBLTAP
  • Other teams should get in on Aaron Rodgers sweepstakesWith the First Pick
  • 3 NFL teams that need to swoop in, steal Aaron Rodgers from the JetsNFL Spin Zone
  • Will the Tennessee Titans trade up for a quarterback?With the First Pick
  • Titans could select local product for latest quarterback projectFanSided

    • So how can a team that is going to have to pinch pennies afford to pay Berry that while they are also paying for Alex Smith, Justin Houston, Jeremy Maclin, and Travis Kelce who all make $9 million or more per year and are all crucial to that team’s success.

    On top of that, they could probably take about 4-5 million off of that projected annual figure for Eric Berry and instead use that money to retain another key free agent: Dontari Poe.

    So, if the Chiefs were smart they would have ponied up last year and thrown a bunch of money at him instead of letting it get to this point. Instead, they are looking down the barrel of free agency and there is really no option but losing him without a drastic measure or two.

    My guess is that a smart GM like John Dorsey takes his lumps letting Berry leave to a team like the Tennessee Titans and then re-signs Poe and takes his (likely) 3rd round compensatory pick and moves on.

    This is one of those rare opportunity when a potentially game changing talent hits the free agent market. While Jon Robinson rarely goes after big name guys, one thing I want everyone to remember is Tim Shaw.

    This year Tim Shaw was a huge influence on the Tennessee Titans, or at the very least Mike Mularkey who couldn’t get enough. Shaw is awesome and his attitude and story is just an amazing one.

    So, when Eric Berry came back from cancer and returned to being an upper echelon player he just exudes toughness, effort, love of football, and you could go on and on. He is a guy this team will love from top to bottom with strong ties to the state of Tennessee and this fan base. I can’t imagine a better or more ideal solution for he or the Tennessee Titans.

    Home/Titans Free Agency