Titans decision to franchise tag Jonnu Smith should be a no-brainer
By Will Lomas
Scenario 3: Play out the 2021 season and revisit after
You are going to hear a lot of people say, “This is a great* year to be a free agent!”
*If you play a premier position and want to get more guaranteed money than usual spread out over a longer time.
Jonnu Smith isn’t in that situation. Tight ends aren’t highly valued in the NFL and on paper it is hard to get behind giving a long-term contract to a tight end who has never had more than 500 yards.
I would argue that no team in the NFL is going to value Jonnu Smith as much as the Titans will, with the exception of the Atlanta Falcons who just hired his long time position coach/offensive coordinator as their new Head Coach.
If Jonnu Smith stays, I would imagine that he would become a bigger part of the passing game with Adam Humphries as a strong cut candidate and with Corey Davis potentially hitting free agency.
A year where Smith stays in an offense he knows and becomes more involved as a receiver would increase his free agent value and also give him exposure to more teams who would have to play against him.
I think this is the best option for both Smith and the Titans, but like nearly everything in free agency, it is mostly about agreeing on how much money Smith deserves.