Tennessee Titans should trade with the Oakland Raiders
By Will Lomas
If the rumors are true, then the Tennessee Titans need to take advantage of Jon Gruden.
The Tennessee Titans need to attack interior offensive line at least once this offseason and maybe twice depending on contract situations.
Take this with the world’s tiniest grain of salt, but Jason La Canfora says that the Oakland Raiders are looking to potentially move Rodney Hudson and Kelechi Osemele.
The only reason I even bring this up is because this isn’t the first time we have heard these rumors and it seems like Jon Gruden is obsessed with taking all of the good players that he didn’t draft and turning them into assets that he can use on his guys.
Ultimately I don’t think that is inherently wrong, but you better be dang sure you know what you are doing. If you move Amari Cooper and get back a Pro Bowl talent elsewhere, the fan base will adapt and support the decision.
However, if you trade Khalil Mack you better use those picks to make a real and quantifiable improvement to your team.
With that being said I think it makes a lot of sense for Gruden to move on from both of those players if they are interested in a complete rebuild.
So what should the mind set be for the Tennessee Titans if they want to approach these players?
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Rodney Hudson
Rodney Hudson has one more year left on a big contract, so if the Titans made the move to bring him in then they would take on his steep $10 million cap hit for next year.
Hudson has been amazing over his career and while he is going to be 30 next season, that isn’t as old for centers as it is for other positions. Making a trade for Hudson would insure that you get him for Marcus Mariota’s most crucial year, while also giving you an option to franchise tag him after next year.
Even for a center as great as Hudson, I would rather take a “chance” on someone like Matt Paradis in free agency and give yourself some long term cap flexibility then risk sinking $20+ million in guaranteed money to Hudson over the next two years.
The price would have to be too good to pass up, like a 5th/6th round pick and I just don’t think they will make the move for that.
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Kelechi Osemele
The biggest issue with Kelechi Osemele is his contract. With two years left on his contract, he is scheduled to make $10 million in 2019 and nearly $12 million in 2020. However, as far as I can tell he actually isn’t guaranteed any money in either season. That is a huge plus in terms of his trade value.
If the Titans wanted to make a move for Osemele then they could and if he doesn’t pan out it isn’t the end of the world.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about his fit in Tennessee. I truly think Jon Robinson loves Osemele, he is essentially a bigger, stronger Quinton Spain and he is probably one of the best three or four guards in the NFL when he is on.
If the Titans can make a move to add Osemele by swapping their 3rd round pick for the Raiders 4th and Osemele, I think that makes sense for everyone.
The Raiders get the equivalent of a top-100 pick in their trade value, and the Tennessee Titans get a mauling left guard with position versatility. The physicality is something that Robinson will prize this offseason and without any real home run guards in this free agent or draft class, this may be the best and most cost effective (from a draft pick standpoint) way to make this much of an upgrade.