Tennessee Titans fans were thrilled when the team hired Mike Borgonzi to be their new GM. There have been some ups (Day 3 of the rookie class) and some downs (free agency), but it is clear that he and Chad Brinker are going to have full control over this rebuilding process.
One thing we learned about that process is that Brinker and Borgonzi are rebuilding the roster in their vision while tearing it down to the studs. Players like Jeffery Simmons and Peter Skoronski are among the few players in the team's long-term plans who weren't acquired by the new people in charge. Meanwhile everyone else is on borrowed time.
The front office has also emphasized that anyone who isn't under contract through 2026 is on the trade block. They are even willing to take relatively low trade value to move them. There is one difficult decision Borgonzi has to make ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Titans face difficult decision as Tuesday's NFL Trade Deadline approaches
For the most part, you can separate the Titans roster into two categories: "Borgonzi-approved players" and everyone else. However, one player who lands right in the middle of this Venn diagram is EDGE Dre'Mont Jones.
Jones was signed to a one-year deal with the Titans to round out their depleted EDGE group. The seasoned veteran has really come into his own over the last month with four-straight games with a sack. He has been a consistent force on the outside, and he has the size and power that Borgonzi values.
Some might question a decision to extend a soon-to-be 29-year-old EDGE. Consider that next season, the only EDGEs that the Titans have under contract are Femi Oladejo and Jaylen Harrell. Everyone else is slated for free agency, including Jones.
Jones is tracking toward a double-digit sack season. Re-signing him could make sense for a team likely to have more cap space than anyone else next season. Re-upping Jones' contract could solve one of their offseason problems, extending a player that the front office hand-picked last offseason.
However, if the front office looks at Jones as a band-aid solution they aren't absolutely certain they will extend this offseason, then they must trade him before Tuesday's trade deadline expires.
Borgonzi and Brinker are committed to their plan. Without question, Jones will go down as one of this front office's best free-agent moves from their first offseason. Letting him go for nothing in the offseason will squander an opportunity to compound the value of that move.
The choices are obvious, trade Jones or extend him. There is no other option for a smart GM.