Breaking down Vic Beasley’s Tennessee Titans contract and the cost of sacks
By Will Lomas
What is a DPR?
I’m glad you asked.
A DPR is a designated pass rusher. Call them a sack artist, pass rush specialist, sub package pass rusher, etc. but they all fall into the DPR category.
The job of a DPR is to come in on 3rd and long and sometimes 2nd and really long, and provide a difficult matchup for the offensive tackle. Ideally this guy gets a sack on third downs, but pressuring a QB or forcing a hurried throw is also good to see.
I bring this up because last year the Titans signed a DPR in Cameron Wake.
Despite promises that Wake was the “starter” we all knew that the best course of action was to just have him come in on third downs and get after the quarterback for 10-15 plays per game. Anything more than that and you were going to run into trouble, which the Titans did.
Some teams like to have these specific guys where other teams would rather have several well rounded EDGEs who can plug and play at any time. Under Mike Vrabel, it seems like the Titans prefer to have a DPR with Harold Landry presumably brought in to play that role in 2018, followed by Cameron Wake and now followed by Beasley.