OTAs are wrapping up around the league, and the Tennessee Titans will shift their focus to minicamp coming up.
But after that, it's on to the main event of the summer: training camp.
As training camp nears, teams will be looking to shore up roster spots and make last-minute moves before they carry their squads into the grueling practices and start shaping their roster as a whole. Could Tennessee make any additional moves before camp begins?
Recently, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport put together a piece featuring one trade candidate from every NFL team. We took a long look at that list and chose three candidates the Titans should pursue.
Adding safety Markquese Bell could give the Titans some competition
One trade candidate might come by way of the Dallas Cowboys. Safety Markquese Bell has been playing somewhat out of position in Dallas, lining up as a linebacker at times, but the Titans could use some competition at safety and Bell would be back at his natural position there. The Cowboys have two starting safeties already in Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, thus Bell is someone who could be moved.
The Titans' current starter next to Amani Hooker is Elijah Molden, who wasn't great in coverage last season. He allowed roughly two thirds of targets to be completed when thrown his way. Meanwhile, last season, Bell was phenomenal in coverage, even playing as a linebacker.
For the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of 87.6. Bell only allowed one touchdown all season long. Coming to Tennessee, he'd have a good shot at taking over Molden's job if given the opportunity during training camp.
Tremaine Edmunds could take this Titans defense to another level
The Chicago Bears signed Tremaine Edmunds to a big contract last season, but as the defense got off to a rough start in 2023, so did Edmunds. All season long, he played second fiddle to T.J. Edwards and seemed a step behind in Matt Eberflus' defense.
As the season went on, though, the Bears saw more consistency out of Edmunds. He's one of the better coverage linebackers in football, and the Bears have Jack Sanborn who can step in and start in Edmunds' place without the defense missing a beat.
Let's take last year and throw it out. If you look at Edmunds' 2022 season, he was given an extremely strong grade of 88.1 in coverage via PFF. Even if he plays between his 2022 and 2023 form, the Titans get a massive upgrade at this position.
The Titans have Jack Gibbens and Kenneth Murray right now, and they're fine. Gibbens is much better against the run than he is in the passing game. Meanwhile, Murray has been a huge disappointment since being a first-round pick back in 2020. The Titans could upgrade either one of those spots by trading for Edmunds, but they'd also need to be willing to take on Edmunds' cap hits of $22 million in 2024 and $17 million in each of the next two seasons.
Trading for Joey Bosa would sound an alarm over in Houston
It feels as though the Texans and Titans have traded offseason blows over the past few months. Both of these teams have made significant moves at multiple positions, but to this day, the Texans have had a better overall offseason having added names like Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter.
It's been close, but most would agree Houston has edged out the Titans. But, if Tennessee were able to pull off a trade for Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa, the conversation would be far from over.
Yes, Bosa has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons. He has played in only 14 of a possible 34 games. But, sometimes, these kinds of risks are worth taking. The Titans already added crucial pieces in L'Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie and T'Vondre Sweat to this defense. Bringing in a household name like Bosa could completely change the landscape for Tennessee.
This defense figures to be a lot better than it was a season ago, but if Bosa can prove to stay on the field and give the Titans a strong season with 10-plus sacks, the division will be much tougher for Houston to win than some fans think, right now.