Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi has some difficult decisions to make with the Nov. 10 trade deadline fast approaching.
On Wednesday morning, ESPN insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler offered some insight into what Borgonzi might be asking for when it comes to proven (but currently unproductive) wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
In their article laying out what they are hearing around the NFL, and one of the things Fowler mentioned was that teams view Ridley as a backup option at wide receiver if the rest of the market dries up or if a team misses on their primary trade target.
Titans' potential trade deadline asking price for WR Calvin Ridley revealed
"Also in the AFC South, Calvin Ridley of the Titans is considered a backup option for teams that miss out on primary WR targets. Word is Tennessee would need something like a fifth-round pick to part with Ridley. "
That phrasing is vague but also oddly specific, but people who have been following the Titans closely during Borgonzi's tenure as GM should understand exactly what that means. Over the past 18 months, there have been two trades he has made that are similar to the framework of a potential Ridley deal.
First was the Jarvis Brownlee trade, where the Titans sent Brownlee and a seventh-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Borgonzi used a player and a pick to make a trade that moved them up nearly 50 spots in the draft.
Even more similar to a potential Ridley deal, Borgonzi traded Roger McCreary and a sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
Based on recent history, that is the blueprint that makes the most sense for this vaguely specific phrasing. Maybe the Titans are pushing for a fifth-round pick outright, but given Ridley's lack of production this year, it seems likely that the Titans are willing to negotiate and send a pick back if a team is willing to give them a higher Day 3 selection.
To his credit, Day 3 has been a sweet spot for Borgonzi. That is where he landed Chimere Dike, Elic Ayomanor, Gunnar Helm, Fernando Carmona, Jackson Slater, and Marcus Harris. That is an excellent hit rate for that range of the draft, and if the Titans can pull off a move like that, fans should be ecstatic.
Add us as a preferred source on Google