The Tennessee Titans are dominating the offseason
I said it a few weeks ago and I will say it again now: have faith in GM John Robinson and the Tennessee Titans front office staff to make the correct and smart offseason moves!
Over the last week, the Titans have released and signed some crucial players from last year's team that will help them exponentially in 2020.
The Titans shocked the NFL making a run to the AFC Championship game after managing to qualify for the postseason in the final game of the regular season against the Houston Texans back-ups.
Here is a quick recap of the players the Titans parted ways with in the last few days:
RELEASED: RB Dion Lewis (saving $4 million in cap space), OLB Cameron Wake (saving $5.6 million in cap space), TE Delanie Walker (saving $6.4 million in cap space), and K Ryan Succop (saving $2 million in cap space)
These were the four players I said the Titans should move on for the moment the season ended.
Dion Lewis was supposed to be the skat back to help Derrick Henry on third down and when needing a weapon out of the backfield, but the former Patriot was ranked as one of the worst running backs in the league in terms of production.
The other three on this list were released because of age, injury problems, and lack of production over the last season or two.
Cameron Wake was a bold signing last offseason coming over from Miami, and after a stunning performance in week 1 against the Browns where he had 2.5 sacks and two tackles, Wake finished the season with just three tackles total and didn't have another sack the rest of the year.
Walker and Succop should be considered Titans legends for their years of service to the franchise. Walker was with Tennessee for seven seasons while Succop was in Nashville for six and both were members of some amazing teams over the years.
However, over the last two seasons, Delanie has been dealing with a serious ankle injury and has been limited in his game time.
The same can be said for Succop who spent time on the injured reserve during 2019 after some complications from surgery and struggled to make kicks, going one for six on field goals, when he did return.
FREE AGENTS THAT WALKED: QB Marcus Mariota, OT Jack Conklin
These two were also predictable departures. In Mariota's final year of his contract, he lost the starting job to Ryan Tannehill and Tannehill took the Titans farther in half a season in Nashville than Marcus did in four and a half seasons.
Jack Conklin was, in my opinion, less than impressive in his last two years and it was smart of the Titans not to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.
Considering that Conklin is going to sign with Clevland on a three-year, $42 million deal, thank goodness he is gone.
Mariota is close to agreeing to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders and will back-up Derek Carr there for at least a couple of years.
RESIGNED: QB Ryan Tannehill (four-years, $118 million), RB Derrick Henry (franchise tag), OT Dennis Kelly (three-years, $21 million), CB Chris Milton (one-year)
The Titans have reloaded their offense bringing back King Henry and locking up the QB that turned the team around for another four seasons. A lot of people may be upset by the amount of money that Ryan Tannehill is guaranteed, but it is the right move by the front office.
They have shown that they have faith in the Texas A&M grad and are also making it very obvious that he will be the guy until the contract is up. And, after signing a one-year deal last offseason, how can you hate on a guy who showed his worth, made the Pro Bowl, and won NFL Comeback Player of the Year?
The masses believe that Henry should've gotten the long, lucrative deal, but it was much smarter to tag the running back than Tannehill. It is quite difficult to find a quality QB who can run a team and lead them deep in the playoffs. Tannehill did that.
I too want to see Derrick get paid a ton and don't worry, he will. The Titans are being smart with their cap space and will give the beast in the backfield the money he deserves in 2021.
