What about the King?
Before we go any further, I am not saying that trading for Bell is a replacement for Derrick Henry. Far from it, I think that Bell should be used exactly how the Titans tried to use Dion Lewis early in the season.
If I was Titans GM Jon Robinson, my simplified plan would look like this.
First, I would tell the New York Jets brass that the only way I would consider a deal is if they found a way to reduce his contract to one or two years and turned it into a deal somewhere below $4 million per year.
There is precedent for this because the Titans convinced the Miami Dolphins to reduce Ryan Tannehill‘s contract to a one-year, $2 million deal despite him having a huge contract there.
Secondly, I would cut Dion Lewis. After securing a younger player (Bell) who will play the same role with better historical production, there isn’t any reason to keep him on the roster and it saves you $4 million in cap space.
Finally, I would try to work out a deal with Derrick Henry but if a reasonable deal couldn’t be made that gave the Titans some flexibility down the line, then I would franchise tag him.
Now, the question always comes up, “Why would Henry take a franchise tag instead of hitting the market?” But that answer is easy enough.