Tennessee Titans free agency: best (and worst) case scenarios with Jadeveon Clowney, Logan Ryan

Best Realistic scenario:

As I stated earlier, I do personally believe the Titans are going to bring in one of the two big free agents available that they have constantly been linked to.

However, I believe the team is going to go with the one that they publicly gloated about a few days ago, the one that they have been rumored to be “All in” from credible sources, and the one that can legitimately take this team from a contender to a champion. That free agent is Jadeveon Clowney.

Despite the narrative that he doesn’t get sacks, the evidence shows that Clowney has the third-highest pass rush win rate over the last two seasons. Adding someone like him would be a game-changer and would make the life of other defenders so much easier.

The former South Carolina Gamecock often demands double teams and uses his absurd athleticism to ruin plays before they even begin. Adding someone as disruptive as the South Carolina native could help someone like Harold Landry become a consistent double-digit sack artist due to Clowney constantly forcing the quarterback off his spot.

The superstar pass rusher even helps the secondary whenever he’s on the field as his mere presence often forces the offense to try and get the ball out quickly otherwise you risk the chance of him coming and forcing an errant throw into the arms of a lurking defender.

Many fans are rightfully emotionally attached to Logan Ryan for his three fantastic years in Tennessee, however, there has been little to no smoke on that front since the end of the 2019 season. The only thing the team has said publicly in regards to Ryan’s contract situation is that a return is hardly “imminent”.

This could very well change should Clowney decide to go elsewhere and Logan Ryan is still available, but regardless, Titans’ fans should prepare themselves for what seems like the inevitable reality of Logan Ryan playing in another uniform in 2020 and beyond.

Especially considering the fact that Ryan is demanding no less than $10 million a year, and the team already has lofty financial investments in Malcolm Butler, Kevin Byard, Kenny Vaccaro, and eventually Adoree’ Jackson.

Losing Ryan will undoubtedly leave a huge hole to fill but luckily for any rookie that comes in, he won’t be thrown into a room that is looking for him to become the savior of the group. In fact, you could make a legitimate argument that this may be the best place for a talented rookie corner to come in and learn from because he won’t exactly be thrown to the wolves from the get-go.

There are a few cornerbacks that I believe could be an option to fill the void at slot corner such as Kristian Fulton (LSU), Trevon Diggs (Alabama), and A.J. Terrell (Clemson). but the corner that I personally believe the team could plug right in and would fit perfectly would be Jeff Gladney out of TCU.

He’s a tenacious cover corner who is not afraid to be physical and stick his nose in the run game as well. He also seemingly has the type of mindset and consistency on tape that often seems to intrigue Jon Robinson. He’s also been described by Lance Zierlein as a “heat-seeking missile” when allowed to become a Blitzer. Sounds just like the guy he would eventually be replacing.

In reality, the team could go a multitude of ways during the draft and free agency, but if they are able to secure Jadeveon Clowney and Jeff Gladney at pick 29, this offseason will officially be a slam dunk.

Combine that with the fact that they have 19-20 starters returning from a team that just made it to the AFC championship game, and I wouldn’t bet against Tennessee making more noise in 2020 than they ever have before.