Why the Tennessee Titans Were Conservative in Free Agency
The Tennessee Titans were conservative in free agency. Here’s why.
Coming into free agency, the Tennessee Titans had the sixth most cap space of any team in the NFL, with over $60 million available. With so much cap space and great talent available, such as Alshon Jeffery, Tony Jefferson, Terrelle Pryor, Dontari Poe, Micah Hyde, Martellus Bennett, and so many more, why didn’t the Titans make a bigger splash?
Although the Titans didn’t make big splash moves like the New England Patriots or the Jacksonville Jaguars did, the Titans did make a few sneaky good signings in Logan Ryan and John Cyprien. The Titans secondary was the team’s weakest link in 2016. With these two signings, the secondary should receive a boost. But why wasn’t more money spent on more talent? To answer that question. let’s take a look ahead to the next three years for the the Tennessee Titans.
2018: Avery Williamson becomes an unrestricted free agent. He will only be 26 years old, and he has spent his entire four year career being an anchor in the middle of the Titans defense. Jalston Fowler hits the open market. A fullback drafted in the fourth round who also plays a big role in Mike Mularkey’s exotic smash mouth football team. Others: DaQuan Jones, Josh Kline, Quinton Spain.
Tennessee Titans
2019: The man responsible for protecting Marcus Mariota’s blind side, Taylor Lewan will be an unrestricted free agent. He has done a nice job being a leader and keeping our quarterback safe, and he will be in the prime of his career at 27 years old. A key member of the Titans defense hits the open market in Jurrell Casey. Casey has been a consistent force along the Titans defensive line and has demanded attention. Derrick Morgan will hit the open market for the second time. He has spent his career in Tennessee and has put quarterbacks on their backs year in and year out. He will be a hot commodity as he made a smooth transition from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker and he’s been productive at both positions. Brian Orakpo will also be in need of a new contract. The Titans brought him in from the Washington Redskins and he had a Pro Bowl season during 2016, in which he recorded double digit sack numbers. Delanie Walker, who has been Marcus Mariota’s safety net, will hit the open market. He has been a consistent playmaker and has made the Pro Bowl in two consecutive years. Others: DeMarco Murray, Angelo Blackson, Karl Klug, Rishard Matthews.
2020: The face of our franchise, Marcus Mariota, will be set to hit free agency. He displayed during his rookie contract that he has superstar potential and maybe by 2020 he will have lived up to that potential. He has shown us that he is everything we look for in a quarterback; he has a high football IQ, a golden boy type of personality, and, to boot, he has superb athleticism. If there was one player on this list the Titans will never let go, it’s Marcus Mariota. If management was to let that happen, the owners would be sure to put them out of a job. Others: Kevin Byard, Derrick Henry, Ben Jones, Tajae Sharpe.
Here is the good news: whatever cap space the Titans have leftover this year will roll over to the next, and so on and so on. So it is imperative that the Titans handle business the right way, in order to keep our young core players in Titans blue.