Whether it was Mike Keith or Jim Wyatt, people connected to the Tennessee Titans have felt confident that the team was going to add a receiver before the season started.
While there was never a timeline specified, it certainly seems like if the Titans had their eye on someone specific we would know about it by now.
Free agents are trying to drum up their market any way that they can during the doldrums of the offseason and if Tennessee had called them it would have probably gotten out.
I previously speculated that this past week/weekend would have been the perfect time to sign a receiver. There were several reasons why that time frame made the most sense and the situation unfolded perfectly for the Titans and then…crickets.
Now that the June 1st transactions have been processed, Tennessee is sitting on $13.5 million in cap space and it doesn’t look like they are connected to the two biggest names still on the market.
Odell Beckham Jr. was recently connected to teams like the Cleveland Browns and L.A. Rams, but there was no mention of the Tennessee Titans and he has always seemed like a player who would be great for whichever QB starting in 2023, but he wouldn’t help much in 2022.
Will Fuller has been a very popular name to connect to the Titans because he has always seemed like a perfect fit. In theory, Fuller’s market is depressed enough to make him worth the risk while the rookie receivers get up to speed and he has worked with several Titans coaches including Mike Vrabel and Tim Kelly.
However, in a recent mailbag Jim Wyatt threw some cold water on that speculation:
"“Will Fuller is one of the guys I get asked about most. Hey, I like Fuller, too. He’s fast and he’s made a lot of plays in the league. But you said it yourself – he’s been hurt a lot, and missed a lot of time. So that’s a concern. I’m not ruling it out, but I also know some other guys are out there and more will be in time.”"
Nothing is ruled out, but it definitely doesn’t sound like anything is imminent with the speedster.
What will the Tennessee Titans do?
The last line of that response from Jim Wyatt is interesting because it seems to imply that this may be something that the Titans are willing to ride out until training camp and roster cuts.
Keep in mind, that the Tennessee Titans’ pass catchers as a whole aren’t bad they just don’t have a lot of variety. Robert Woods, Treylon Burks, Austin Hooper, and (to a lesser extent) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are all going to be very solid targets this year that can be effective as blockers and reliable as receivers.
Unproven players like Kyle Philips, Chig Okonkwo, Racey McMath, and Dez Fitzpatrick are going to be interesting because if you can get two of those players to contribute then they can be a curveball for opposing defenses.
Other than the Titans, three teams spent multiple draft picks on receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Those teams are the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers, (I’m excluding the Seattle Seahawks because their two picks were seventh-rounders).
Those are the teams I would keep an eye on going forward if the Titans haven’t signed anyone of note by the time cuts start around the NFL. Could they try to make a deal for another speedster like Anthony Schwartz or a player who isn’t happy with his team like Diontae Johnson?
Or maybe they will try to grab Amari Rodgers when the Packers cut him?
It is hard to say, but it certainly seems like there is nothing imminent with the names that are out there right now.