Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon hinted at being active in free agency after the draft, but it hasn't manifested the way that many people thought it would.
Tyler Boyd was a great addition and instantly made the Titans' wide receiver room better, but Titans fans are still waiting for help at the safety position.
Before the draft, the Titans had been linked to Marcus Maye and Justin Simmons. Maye made sense because he had history with defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, and Simmons has been one of the best safeties in the league for years.
However, Maye signed a low-cost deal with the Miami Dolphins, and there hasn't been any movement on the Simmons front in months.
Everything remains quiet for all of the available safeties right now, but CBS' Jonathan Jones recently explained what is going on with the safety market.
A position market that has (again) gone quiet is safety. Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams are all free agents, among others. Sources expect some of those eventual contracts to have lower base values with upside for more via incentives.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) June 25, 2024
That comment is insightful from a compensation standpoint, but it also is interesting because it serves as a reminder that there are several quality safeties still on the market in late June. If the Titans are looking for a new safety to pair opposite Amani Hooker, they have options, and should use the slow-moving market as leverage.
Instead of just being linked to Simmons, they should reach out to Jamal Adams and host him on a free-agent visit in Nashvile.
On the surface, Adams makes a lot of sense for Wilson's defense. Like Maye, Adams has a history of being coached by Wilson during their three years together with the New York Jets.
The Titans have question marks at linebacker and safety, and Adams solves both. During their time together in New York, Gregg Williams (and Wilson by proxy) only used Adams as a deep safety on 23.7% of his snaps.
Wilson has been clear that he intends to run the Titans defense in the mold of his mentor Williams, which means that Adams could slide right back into his old role where he played the best football of his career as a downhill, in-the-box defender.
Even if the Titans aren't that interested in Adams, having a very public visit with another safety could light a fire under Simmons. The market isn't exactly on fire right now and there are a lot of things to like about the Titans from a cap space and tax situation perspective. Simmons would also receive support from players like Hooker, L'Jarius Sneed, and Roger McCreary in the secondary.
Though they would be used in completely different ways, signing either Simmons or Adams would solve the Titans' issue at safety. Hooker and Elijah Molden are flexible enough to move around and play different roles, so the Titans should focus on getting the best player at the best price.
Showing interest in Adams would make sense given his history with Wilson.