‘Tis the season, folks. Another new league year is set to begin, rosters are being shaken up, trades are going down, and dudes are getting P-A-I-D. Despite my best efforts to stop using the term ‘legal tampering,’ I feel like that’s probably how y’all best know the period we’re in now. Free agency will being, in earnest, tomorrow. But, I’m going to do my best to keep up with the transactions for the Tennessee Titans and weigh in on them as they come in.
Stay tuned for updates as I continue to keep this bitch on track as best as I can.
Titans Free Agency Tracker 2022
Signings:
Harold Landry – More on that one here.
Geoff Swaim – One year, $3.5M (for some reason). Tough day for the ‘blow up the entire tight end room‘ crowd. Can’t at all imagine what it must’ve been like to be in that camp because I was a pro-Geoff Swaim account from Day 1. Never once said the Titans need all new tight ends or anything like it. Anyway, we talk about Swaim being primarily a blocking tight end, but the offense turned to him in the passing game to get the ball going on more than one occasion (the Colts OT game immediately comes to mind). I often joked during the season about Ryan Tannehill needing to get Swaim involved earlier because he was such a spark plug. But, in all seriousness, he’s a reliable guy that the coaching staff trusts – I can’t say I’m too surprised by it, but obviously, there’s still some work to do with the tight end group.
Jamarco Jones – I’m beginning to think that Jon Robinson thinks the Titans won’t be able to function without their ‘sixth man’ swing tackle type along the offensive line. From Dennis Kelly to Kendall Lamm to now Jones, this regime always has a guy like that. Jones will join the Titans by way of the Seattle Seahawks, and does so on what has been reported as a two-year, $5.75M deal.
Jamarco Jones:
— No Flags Film (@NoFlagsFilm) March 14, 2022
– Athletic upside (25.7 years old, 35+ inch arms)
– Comfortable & effective blocking Tennessee’s run concepts
– Unbalanced/messy footwork in pass pro, hand usage is solid
– Positional versatility
– Not an expensive contract pic.twitter.com/SBOwQl4J9m
He might get a shot at right tackle if David Quessenberry walks, and they aren’t able to bring him back on down the road.
Ben Jones – It had to happen, and for two years and $14M, it does. Keeping Jones was pivotal to the stability of the offensive line, especially after the Titans released Rodger Saffold. But, it doesn’t hurt that Jones had one of his better seasons as a pro in 2021. The Titans will need to start putting a contingency plan in place for the interior of the offensive line, but at least for 2022, they’ll have their stalwart center.
Teair Tart – JRob has really hit on a couple of hidden gem undrafted rookie free agents in the form of Tart and Naquan Jones. Tart gets a one-year deal, and after the Landry re-signing, it certainly looks like a concentrated effort to keep that defensive front intact.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine – Is it officially “NWI WR2” season? I think it’s officially “NWI WR2” season. This is a guy that this coaching staff loves and provides excellent depth in the receiving room. He’s a great blocker, special teamer, and gives the Titans good size against opposing slot corners. He has also shown a knack for getting open when he needs to.
Logan Woodside – Another guy that this regime and Ryan Tannehill love. I don’t know who they’re going to bring in to compete with him for the backup job, but Woodside’s streak against QB3s is getting about as long as the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
Morgan Cox – I’m not even going to pretend to be able to break down the play of the long snapper. Good for Morgan Cox, and good for continuity on special teams.
AJ Moore – I happen to be of the opinion that you can never have too much depth in the secondary, and that’s exactly what this move is – a quality option for your 4th safety, and an ace on special teams.
Trenton Cannon – I don’t know if Cannon’s really going to be in the fold in the running back room but if he is, he’ll be a change of pace kind of guy. It sounds like he was signed for his return ability and his special teams play.
Zach Cunningham – Good news for the Titans, as Cunningham came in and played at a high level late last season. They restructured his cap hit to get it down to $6.4M (as opposed to $10.4M), but most importantly, this sets the Titans up for a Cunningham-David Long, Jr. tandem at ILB, which should make Titans fans feel a lot better about that group (especially when you consider the flashes Monty Rice showed in relief in 2021 as well).
Austin Hooper – The tight end market had Titans fans sweating throughout the course of free agency, but the Titans still land a guy who should be effective in this offense. Hooper should be the unquestioned TE1 moving forward for this team, unless they draft a guy that is so good this summer that they wrestle that designation away from him. Hooper’s a solid blocker, a good athlete, and has some wiggle in the open field. I don’t know that he’s elite in any one category, but he gives the Titans a much-needed spark in that tight end room, and should be a guy that rarely leaves the field.
Buster Skrine – The Titans had some veterans step up in big moments last season, but Skrine was a guy that consistently stepped up when called upon. I was rooting for him to stick around, so I was ecstatic to see him get a deal to stay. I assume the Titans are going to roll with Kristian Fulton and Caleb Farley in 2022, but with the release of Jackrabbit Jenkins, having a veteran presence back there was necessary. Skrine alleviates that need.
Jordan Wilkins – Wilkins hung around the practice squad some in 2021 – maybe this year he’ll get a chance to really compete for a roster spot with Cannon, Dontrell Hilliard, and a draft pick (I’m guessing here).
Randy Bullock – It has to feel good to get a kicker locked down after going through kicker purgatory for the last two seasons. Randy Bullets did a fantastic job in 2021 and earned his keep.
Dontrell Hilliard – Good for Hilliard. He was one of the guys who stepped up in a big way after Derrick Henry‘s injury and played well when called upon. As it stands now, he’s the favorite to land that RB2 spot as a change of pace guy whenever Henry exits the field.
Robert Woods – Okay, so this wasn’t a free agent signing, but I’m counting it here among the acquisitions anyway because I am so jacked out of my mind that the Titans were able to pull this off. Assuming all is right after the ACL tear (which it should be – let’s not act like this is the same death knell it once was for players), this is your clear WR2. Woods is among the best blocking receivers in the game, he is a precise route runner, and a guy that can make things happen after the catch. I couldn’t think of a better complement to AJ Brown. These two could wreak some havoc in an overhauled Titans passing attack (love you, Tim Kelly).
Who they released/let walk in free agency:
- Kendall Lamm – An easy decision…Lamm didn’t do a whole lot and this move provided the opportunity to clear up $3.5M in cap space.
- Darrynton Evans – He just couldn’t stay healthy. I liked his skill set a lot, but if you can’t get on the field, the hourglass is going to run out eventually.
- Rodger Saffold – Saffold was beginning to struggle to stay healthy, and his pass protection tailed off a bit because of it. With a hefty salary, he made the most sense to move on from along the offensive line. People were calling for Taylor Lewan’s head, but 5-sack game aside, he played at a Pro Bowl level in 2021. The Titans would’ve been in worse shape looking for a left tackle replacement, while they have some quality options in-house already to fill in at guard. Another easy decision to make in my book.
- D’Onta Foreman – The Titans just weren’t in a position to pay Foreman $2M like the Carolina Panthers were, and with Henry coming back healthy, he wasn’t going to get the playing time in Tennessee. He’ll likely get the chance at significant play time in Charlotte, and good for him. To me, this was just a case of “we can’t keep everybody” from the Titans.
- Jackrabbit Jenkins – Jackrabbit played well in 2021 despite what a certain sect of Titans Twitter would have you believe. But, given their cap situation, some hefty contracts were bound to be cleared out, and Jackrabbit’s was one of them.
- Khari Blasingame – It’s Tory Carter szn, y’all.
- Julio Jones – I was admittedly surprised by this one, but JRob has shown a willingness to cut bait early when he tries something and it doesn’t work. I held out on calling this trade a failure until the Bengals game was on the line and Jones wasn’t even on the field. Something about this makes me think that the Titans staff didn’t really trust Jones’ hamstrings anymore and it was time to get someone a little more consistent in the room. That’s just reckless speculation, though – something I happen to specialize in.
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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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