Tennessee Titans top 6 impending free agents for 2020

Logan Ryan, CB

The situation for cornerback Logan Ryan and the Tennessee Titans will be a tricky one after this season.

Ryan, who will be 29 in January, is still young enough to warrant another multi-year deal, but he does come with an expensive price tag of $10.6 million in total for 2019. That means he’ll likely be looking for something similar in 2020, unless he takes a hometown discount.

As expensive as his original three-year, $30 million contract was, Ryan has been a steady hand as a slot corner for the Titans and proved himself to be one of the better players at his position last season.

There’s no doubt of Ryan’s talent, however the sad fact is that the Titans can’t re-sign everyone. In that case, Tennessee might have to think about letting Ryan walk with a lot of money already invested in the secondary once Byard is signed to an extension.

The writing might be on the wall for that happening already. The Titans drafted a slot corner in fourth-round pick Amani Hooker, who finished as the No. 1-graded slot corner (88.5) in the FBS last season, via PFF. Hooker could be groomed to take Ryan’s spot in 2020.

This is nothing personal, though. One of the brutal realities of the NFL is that teams can’t keep every player, no matter how beloved they are to the team and the fanbase. Ryan has been a model citizen for the Titans and deserves every penny he gets, but this scenario might be unavoidable.

And that’s especially true if Hooker can emerge as a viable replacement in the slot for Ryan when the rookie gets his chances on the field.