Big news out of the Tennessee Titans universe this morning, as the team has signed Rishard Matthews to a one-year contract extension that should see him stay with the Titans through the next two seasons.
Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews was set to be a free agent after this season. Tennessee got ahead of negotiations with a one-year extension for the 28-year-old wide receiver according to ESPN.
Titans and WR Rishard Matthews have agreed to a one-year extension through 2019, per @FieldYates. The extension is a team option with a base value of $7.75M for 2019.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2018
Matthews hasn’t participated in any preseason activities after being placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list after reporting to training camp. He was also limited throughout OTAs and minicamp with an undisclosed injury.
This is great news for Titans fans, and man – what an incredibly team-friendly deal. Matthews is a valuable cog in that offensive machine, so I’m happy to see him thrown a bit of a bone. He’s a largely underrated receiver in the grand scheme of the NFL, and has been the top receiver in Nashville for a couple of seasons now.
This should be one of those stories that you read, digest, and move on from. It’s a nice, informative bit but that’s all.
But, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a certain subset of Titans fans on Titans social media claiming this is why Matthews hasn’t been practicing. Not because he’s hurt, but because he’s holding out.
Titans Twitter never fails, and I do dearly love it. But, here’s why that’s wrong:
1) People act like Matthews chose to land on the PUP list. Like, he just up and decided, “I’m a little sore today – I’m not going to practice anymore….y’know what? Just put me on the PUP list.” That alone is impossible. But, the idea that he not only did it, but did it because he wasn’t happy with the lack of a contract extension? That this was his way of holding out? It makes zero sense at all. Feels like if you knew anything about how the NFL operates, you would know that. So, I don’t understand where that’s coming from at all. The team elects players for the PUP list, and they do it based on severity of injury. Period. No smokescreens here, folks.
2) This is a one-year, team-friendly deal. What’s the point of holding out to get such a mediocre raise? It’s just ludicrous. If this were really a holdout, and Matthews was really only looking for an extra million or two, this would’ve been taken care of back in the Spring. GTFO with this nonsense.
3) Mike Vrabel has set a clear precedent for not disclosing injury information – so, there is nothing about Matthews’ case that’s unusual. We don’t know what’s wrong with him. That doesn’t mean that what has him on the PUP list isn’t serious. Just because we don’t know the details, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s wrong. That’s what I feel like some Titans fans are thinking – that because Vrabel doesn’t want to share injury details, there must be nothing actually wrong. But, this is the type of thing Vrabel opens himself up to by not communicating – leaving Titans Twitter to assume things. Is Rashaan Evans holding out for a new contract? Come on, guys.
#BeBetter.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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