Saturday night was date night. Aura and I had a nice relaxing evening – we went out to Paddywax Candle Bar and poured our own candles while sipping on some booze before we ventured back to our side of town. After a pit stop at Rick’s Comic City (every woman’s ideal pit stop on date night), we settled in for a big meal at Party Fowl. I’m not supposed to be working on date night, but sometimes, duty calls. That’s when news broke that the Tennessee Titans would be trading a sixth round draft pick in 2023 to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for wide receiver Robert Woods. Highway robbery.
I started breaking down all of the reasons I loved the trade – between the Titans giving up next to nothing to get him, all of the things he does well as a receiver, and how great of a fit he should be with the Titans culture. Eventually, Aura said, “okay but can you stop? You’re slinging your food all over the table.” What can I say? I gesture when I’m excited. Sorry to whoever had to clean up grit cakes off the floor that night. Nonetheless, it provided me an excellent moment to say, “y’know…I should just shelf this for when I can write about it considering I do write about the Titans for this website…” The conversation shifted back to the wedding we’re planning in May, and after another pit stop at Target for some Jeni’s ice cream, we made it back home for the evening. But, a confession that I know she won’t see because she never reads the bullshit I write on this website – I couldn’t stop thinking about this move.
Bobby Trees, baby. I’ve been a fan of his from afar for quite some time – he’s an underrated guy with a hell of a tool kit at the receiver position. He comes to the Titans after a 2021 campaign that was cut short due to an ACL tear in November. In nine games, Woods amassed 45 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns. But, watch the man play. He is a crisp, polished route runner that can make some thangs happen with the ball in his hands (36.5% of his 2021 yardage came after the catch). He’s versatile – the Rams put him in the backfield and handed the ball off to him. He’s great on screens and on jet sweeps. His route savvy allows him to get open down the field. And, he’s a hell of a blocker. If PFF scores are your type of thing, they have him graded as the 11th best pass blocker at the position, and the top dog, numero uno, run blocker in 2021. If that’s not your thing, then just trust Mike Vrabel, who called Woods one of the best blocking receivers in the game ahead of their game against the Rams back in November.
He’s one of the most complete receivers in the league, and the Titans can use him as a chess piece with new passing game coordinator Tim Kelly overhauling that aspect of the offense. I expect them to use Woods as a true second option in the passing game, and I would hope Kelly can scheme up some of the things he did in Houston to get Brandin Cooks *ahem* cooking in that Texans passing game, too. Titans fans should be absolutely thrilled by this trade.
I get the concern about the ACL tear and the contract that the Titans have inherited. But, let’s remember that the ACL tear is not the death knell it was for a player 10 years ago. Guys come back from ACL tears all the time. That’s not to say Woods won’t be impacted by the injury at all – I’m just saying there’s no reason to think he’s going to be a dud strictly because of that. As for the contract, I’ll let PK break down why it might be a little more reasonable than some are insinuating right now.
While he may want a new deal, the #Titans inherit pretty reasonable cap hits ahead with Robert Woods per @spotrac:
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) March 20, 2022
2022 13.5M
2023 13.75M
2024 15.75M
2025 17.5 M
Can get out after 1 year for 3.5M dead, after 2 for zero.
He is 29 and does a lot of what they like in a WR.
Now, let’s cap this off with some Robert Woods highlights, shall we? You’ll have to go to YouTube to watch that video because the NFL blocks embeds on websites. *shrugs*
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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