News broke at the NFL Combine that the Tennessee Titans have granted outside linebacker Harold Landry III permission to pursue a trade. New Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi appears disinterested in keeping Landry on the roster at his current salary cap number. His salary no longer matches his production.
It was two general managers ago, Jon Robinson, who signed Landry to his current five-year deal worth $87.5 million. The Titans view his scheduled 2025 cap charge of $24 million as bloated. If a trade doesn't occur, designating Landry as a post-June release and saving $17.5 million (cash owed) against the cap becomes the most realistic possibility, unless he agrees to a pay cut.
Landry suffered a torn ACL injury months after putting pen to paper. In 2024, he recorded nine sacks, the most on the defense. A deeper dive into the numbers proves Landry was largely ineffective on a snap-to-snap basis, something the eye test agrees with.
Landry had an ineffective pass-rushing grade of 49.6, the worst on the team among Tennessee's five defensive players who played a minimum qualifier snap count, according to Pro Football Focus. His 30 pressures ranked third behind Jeffery Simmons (45) and Arden Key (39).
Still, Landry led the Titans in sacks and none of his teammates came within two quarterback takedowns of his team-high total. As a defense, Dennard Wilson’s unit recorded a third-worst 32 sacks. All to say they already needed to acquire more pass rushers this summer, and Landry’s inevitable departure will make an existing roster hole even bigger.
The Titans have to address their pass rush in a major way this offseason. The most premium resource at their disposal is the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Landry news makes it far likelier that they're considering Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter with that selection.
Borgonzi and head coach Brian Callahan met with the media at the NFL Combine. They were swamped with questions about Carter, quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, as well as the possibility of trading down.
The general consensus is the Titans will do one of those five things at No. 1 overall. Of their options, Carter is the most straightforward evaluation at a premium position of need, one that grew larger following the Landry reveal.
The Titans are attempting to keep their draft plans concealed, but indications are they are currently leaning towards selecting Carter at No. 1.