Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Beasley Signing Announcement Delay, April Fools Celebration & NFL News

Episode Date: April 1, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the Vic Beasley signing is official. The Titans have officially announced that agreement with Vic Beasley has become real for the first time. On this day, it is hard to determine exactly what is real and what is fake, but we are going to talk about the realness of the Vic Beasley signing, but we also want to talk about the realness of the Vic Beasley signing but we also want to talk about the timing there were other signings that were announced before Vic Beasley and they

were deals that were agreed upon after the Beasley deal was reported so I want to talk about the timing of that and how that might give us a little bit more information about some other ongoing issues with the Titans offseason. So we will talk about that first. In our second segment, it is April Fool's. As I mentioned, it can be difficult to determine what was real and what was fake on today's date, but we are going to do that with recent Titans stories. I just want to talk to you guys about things that I could have told you last

April 1st and you would have been convinced it was an April Fool's joke, but in fact, it was not. So we are going to talk about some of those storylines and play up the holiday, just holiday, I say in finger quotes, play up the holiday just a little bit, and then we will round off our show. The NFL had a conference call today. Some of the executives in the NFL's league office talked about the draft, procedurally speaking, for the players and the prospects, also for the teams. Some adjustments they might be looking to make to the process or additions they may be looking to make to the draft process. They also gave a firm deadline for the NFL to release next year's regular season schedule. So we will talk about that date on the NFL's calendar.

And speaking of the NFL's calendar, obviously we are in uncharted waters in terms of how the rest of the NFL league calendar will play out when certain things will be able to get done based on how the country is doing and how the globe is doing in terms of a medical situation with COVID-19. So the NFL did speak on how they're proceeding with their league calendar and how they see things playing out. So I will give you guys that information as well. As you can see a lot to cover on this April Fool's Day so we are going to dive into all of it now. Let's get it. Early on in the free agency process it was reported that the Titans and Vic Beasley had

agreed to a one-year deal, but we didn't see the official signing announced by the team until Tuesday, despite the fact that there were deals reported after Vic Beasley's was reported, like special teamer Nick DeZubnar and the re-signing of backup tight end Michael Pruitt, teamer Nick DeZubnar and the re-signing of backup tight end Michael Pruitt, but those signings were officially announced by the team before Beasley's deal. So it makes you wonder why there was such a delay on Beasley's agreement specifically. Well, there are two different routes you could take to explain this. Both have the ability to make some sense. One is much more logical than the other, but we will cover both paths. The obvious answer and the most realistic answer is that due to the COVID-19 crisis, teams are having a very difficult time getting a reliable physical done on a player. And considering

that Beasley has had some injury issues in the past, it makes sense that the Titans would want to lock down a reliable physical from a doctor that they can trust before they will ink any deal that was agreed upon. So that could be the only reason for the delay and they could have simply just been waiting to see if they could get a reliable physical on Beasley before officially signing the deal. But there is another route that could make sense in concert with the first route. It doesn't mean that the delay in the physical is untrue or isn't the case. That could be part of it as well. But there also could be another factor in the delay in the official announcement of Vic Beasley. It is no secret that the Titans are after Jadavion Clowney in free

agency. And one of the suitors that they have to go up against is the incumbent Seattle Seahawks, where Clowney played last year. And we got a report from Jeremy Fowler recently that could explain where the sweepstakes sits right now. And Fowler went on my Sports Update podcast and had this to say, quote, unless somebody else is lurking, it's Seattle. Maybe the Jets, but my understanding is they won't go crazy with the money. So he's in a bit of a holding pattern right now.

And that's what Fowler had to say on Tuesday about where Clowney sits. Now, of course, that could be Clowney's agent leaking that information what Fowler had to say on Tuesday about where Clowney sits. Now, of course, that could be Clowney's agent leaking that information to Fowler in hopes to get other teams other than Seattle and the Jets involved, making them think they still have a chance. But if you take that report for face value, that means that the Titans really aren't in the Clowney sweepstakes right now. And this signing becoming official with Beasley could maybe be an answer to us there.

It could be a sign that the Titans have officially removed themselves from the Clowney sweepstakes because they could have possibly reworked Vic Beasley's contract, added some different language, moved some money around to give them a better chance to get Clowney, and this could be a sign that Clowney is no longer in the Titans' plans. Also, when you look at some recent moves that the Seahawks have made, they released safety Tedrick Thompson. They also released tight end Ed Dixon, saving them about $3.4 million on the cap this year. Now you're starting to see Seattle maybe clearing out some room so

that they can sign Clowney. It could be another sign that Clowney is going back to the Seahawks or at the minimum is not coming to Tennessee. And the last piece of information that we have here on the Clowney situation comes from a report from Chris Thomason who does cover the Minnesota Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and it is in regards to Everson Griffin another edge rusher a veteran edge rusher on the market right now basically what Thomason reported was Griffin has interest in Seattle and Seattle does have interest in Griffin but it depends on whether or not they re-sign Jadavion Clowney so clearly Seattle is still in the business of bringing Clowney back and we see the other moves that they have made along with the report that Seattle is basically still in the lead and it could be a sign that the

Titans are ready to move on from the Clowney Chase and start making other moves to help the 2020 roster in this offseason. Speaking of starting to make other moves to bolster the roster for the 2020 season, as I'm recording the podcast, the Titans have signed defensive tackle Jack Crawford, who had previously played for the Raiders, the Falcons, and the Cowboys. He is going to be adding depth on the interior defensive line. Think of him as a replacement for Austin Johnson. But we are going to talk more about that signing and what it could mean for the Titans tomorrow when I have had time to properly prepare

and do the adequate research to make sure I'm giving you guys the most intelligent analysis possible. But for now, we are going to move on to our April Fool's Day segment, Titan style. I'm going to tell you some things that if I would have told you them last year on April Fool's Day, you most certainly would have called me a liar. If you've been a listener of this podcast, I'm sure you've heard all the great advertisers working with Locked On to reach sports fans. But you may not know that Locked On is a great way for your local business to reach passionate

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Text the word ADVERTISING to 33777 or visit lockedonpodcast.com advertising and let us know who you are. We'll get a team to help your team achieve Locked On advertising success. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777 or visit lockedonpodcast.com advertising. We look forward to hearing from you. Okay, guys, so I know that I promised you two more segments today, but unfortunately, I have to cut the show short. I have something that I have. Okay, I'm a terrible liar. That's my best attempt at an April Fool's joke. The show will go on. And we have a fun April Fool's Titan style segment here for you guys today. And what I'm going to do, the essence of this segment,

is basically just for us to relive all of the positivity that came out of last season, but also going to put in, you know, got to have a little bit of balance here. So one thing that may have you feeling a bit emotional or nostalgic, but mostly we are just going to talk about some positives here. So think back to April 1st, 2019. One, we can remember it fondly just because things were normal. You know what I'm saying? Just normal.

But think about last year, April 1st. Titans fans are still pretty optimistic about everything that could come ahead. The Titans fresh off another 9-7 season looking to go from good to great, right? That was the big thing for the offseason last year. And what if I would have told you on April Fool's Day last year that the Titans would end up one game away from the Super Bowl. You might have believed me. I guess there's a chance.

There was a lot of optimism right at that time, and there should have been with the Titans roster and how strong it is. So you might have believed me if I told you that. But what if I would have told you that the Titans, on their way there, you that the Titans on their way there would dethrone the league's MVP on his own home turf now that would have been something that maybe Titans fans would have called me a liar on thinking MVP at that time any of the stud quarterbacks probably not thinking Lamar Jackson but Tom Brady Aaron Rodgers Pat Mah Mahomes, Russell Wilson. Maybe even at that time, Andrew Luck was still a possibility and was still in the league.

So there might have been some skepticism there if I told you that on April Fool's Day. Now, what if I would have told the Titans fan base that the Titans would end the Patriots dynasty, beat Tom Brady in the playoffs in New England, and send him packing to Tampa Bay where all retired folk go. You would not have believed that. Who could have imagined that the Titans would have run into New England and destroyed the dynasty. Wow. Just really impressive that we sent Tom Brady packing to Tampa where old folks on the East Coast go to retire. So I probably would have been called a liar on that one, but that's not it. That's not the only craziness that we saw from the titan season what if i would have told you on april 1st last year that the titans would have paid ryan tannahill who they had just acquired for a fourth round pick and was expected to be a backup behind the titans in quotes franchise quarterback and Marcus Mariota what if I would

have told you that a year from now the Titans will have signed Ryan Tannehill to a four-year 120 million dollar deal with 60 million guaranteed up front and 90 million most likely guaranteed throughout the duration of the contract now that if you are sitting there right now saying that you would have not called me a liar, then you, in fact, are a liar. No one would have believed that Ryan Tannehill would be getting a four-year, $120 million deal from the Titans one year ago. I would have been called a liar for months,

for weeks, for days, and probably for years. And then, and then, not just that, not just that Ryan Tannehill would have gotten a four-year, $120 million deal, but what if I would have told you that the Titans would have started out two and four? Not many people would have believed that on its face. But if you add in that the Titans came back from being two and four and were able to go on the run and do all of the improbable things that I mentioned before, you would have looked me dead in the face and called me a liar. You would have said this is one of the more unbelievable April Fool's jokes

that I have ever heard and I wouldn't have blamed you because I wouldn't have believed it either and all of these things are pretty crazy they're improbable just that's why I said I wanted to take a moment and just look back on the Titan season from you know this view that we have being so far away from everything that happened we've already changed our minds and shifted gears into what the Titans are doing for 2020 who they're signing you got people all over Twitter upset that the Titans aren't good enough so let's just take a moment and think about how crazy everything that took place over the last year has actually been for the Titans. And out of all of those improbable, all of those crazy things, I saved what I think might be the most improbable for last.

The Titans had a rookie wide receiver, have over a thousand yards, blossom into one of the better wide receivers in the NFL in his rookie year. Being a second round pick, I could have stopped at the Titans have an awesome wide receiver I could have just stopped and most likely a year ago I would have been called a liar because the Titans just aren't allowed to have great wide receivers it's just not something that is allowed to happen for this franchise so not only did the Titans stumble upon a great wide receiver and one of the better wide receivers in the league last year, but he's a rookie who they got in the second round,

not even in the top 50 picks. Pretty incredible, pretty improbable, and you most certainly would have called me a liar if I told you that a second round rookie who wasn't a top 50 pick was going to come in and be one of the best wide receivers in the league for the Titans. You would not have believed that. And that may be the most improbable of all of these things that we just talked about. And of course, I like to keep balance. So something else that's pretty improbable. And, you know, as we go along in the off season, I understand how there's more anger festering because of this, but it really does make some sense if you take a step back. And who would have thought, and if I would have told you a year ago on April Fool's Day that the Titans would trade Jarrell Casey

for a seventh-round pick within the next year, you would not have believed that. And some people still can't believe that and with reason it's understandable that there's still some anger you know surrounding that deal and that move so it's completely understandable but you most certainly wouldn't have believed that if I told you that a year ago so I hope you guys had fun just going through the different improbable things that have taken place for the Titans in the past calendar year. It's been pretty incredible, and I could not be more grateful to be on this journey and

have all of these improbable things happen in our first year together here on the Locked on Titans podcast. So I am going to move forward to some of the highlights from the NFL's conference call today with some of the league's top executives, go over a couple of different highlights from the NFL's conference call today with some of the league's top executives go over a couple of different topics, the draft, the regular season schedule, and also how the league is looking at the NFL calendar going forward. the NFL had a conference call today with some of the league's top executives speaking about some hot topics that not only Titans fans but NFL fans at large will be interested in hearing so we will start with all of these were reported by Tom Palacero from the NFL Network.

So I want to give him a shout out for getting all this information out here. First, of course, it did come from a conference call that other people were privy to, but still like to give credit where credit is due. So the first thing that I want to comment on and get you guys updated on is how the NFL will be handling the draft. So we talked a little bit about that earlier this week, but got some more clarity from NFL executive Peter O'Reilly. So basically what he said is the NFL is going to focus on being good role models during this COVID-19 situation. They're going to have teams and players in their homes make sure that

they have no more than 10 people in any room. Everybody is six feet apart. They're practicing good hand hygiene. So that probably means using hand sanitizer, avoiding handshakes, high fives, fist bumps, anything like that. And they're also going to make sure they don't have anyone with a fever or upper respiratory illness in the room. But I mean, that's obvious at this moment in time. It's not like the NFL is going to have people live on TV having their temperature taken, you know, like, give me a break. That's not going to take place.

But they're going to do everything they can to have good optics on this situation. He also says that the league will use all three days of the draft to support and raise money for the most vulnerable and others in need during this pandemic. So I thought that was interesting information. If for any other reason than just having some comedy in this show, just imagine them NFL camera guys taking the temperature of different family members in the room of these prospects as they get drafted.

Just I can't help but laugh at that. Also, NFL executive Troy Vincent did say that the competition committee is discussing potential changes to the draft, including a one time option of extending by one to two minutes before their deadline for a pick to complete a trade. So imagine if the Titans were trying to get a trade worked out. Obviously, these are unforeseen circumstances. They're going to be doing the draft. These executives and John Robinson and the scouts are going to be doing the draft in a situation that they've never had to do it in before.

And that could create some complications in terms of the timing of discussions around trades and things like that so this would be like a challenge flag but instead of initiating a challenge on the rules it would just be telling the league we need one to two more minutes to get this trade done or to get this pick in because there are GMs around the NFL who seem to be concerned with how this procedure could take place. So I thought that was pretty interesting and a nice wrinkle that they could add to help GMs deal with these unforeseen circumstances that they're going to be in. Also, the NFL did say that they will release the regular season schedule no later than May 9th.

So mark your calendars. That'll be the deadline on that. We will get an NFL schedule by May the 9th. So mark your calendars. That'll be the deadline on that. We will get an NFL schedule by May the 9th. And then NFL executive Jeff Pash actually commented on the league's calendar going forward and how the NFL plans to handle changes to the calendar. And what Pash had to say is basically that the May 18th through the 20th owners meeting in California is still on the calendar. Also, he said that he expects international games will still be on the schedule for the 2020 regular season. And that they're optimistic that conditions will permit the season to go forward in the United States, but also abroad.

United States, but also abroad. Pash had this to say specifically, quote, our planning, our expectation is fully directed at playing a full season starting on schedule and having a full regular season with a full set of playoffs. Am I certain? I'm not certain that I'll be here tomorrow, but I'm planning on it. So I appreciate here, Pelissero said that he asked a couple of different follow up questions about whether they have contingency plans, what kind of conversations are being had right now about starting on time, whether they'll have fans, whether it'll be regular stadiums, things like that. And of course, Pash had this to say, quote, if the modeling is as we have been given to understand, we may not have to get very far down that road, end quote. So from the NFL's perspective, at least from Jeff Pash, it seems that they are very optimistic

that the season will continue as scheduled and that they won't have to change anything around the league's calendar going forward. And hopefully that is the case because it would be quite the travesty if circumstances got bad enough to where the NFL had to change anything about its calendar. The last piece of information that they talked about is obviously Las Vegas is missing out on the draft. They were expected to host the draft and that can be a big deal to a city even as big as Las Vegas, as we saw with Nashville last year. Think about if that opportunity was ripped away from the Titans in the city of Nashville based on this sort of pandemic.

It's unfortunate that it's happening in general, but it's still unfortunate for Vegas, and basically the NFL has come out and said that for the 2022 NFL draft which is the next one that the location is open Las Vegas will get to be put into consideration for that so that wraps up all of the pertinent information that we got from the NFL's conference call today again thank you to Tom Pellicero for tweeting out all of that information in a very organized fashion. That is going to do it for our episode of Locked on Titans. Like I said, tomorrow I'm going to be back with you breaking down the signing of Jack Crawford and talking about what that can mean for the Titans and how it impacts the roster. Since you are done with today's Locked on Titans episode, make sure you tell your smart

device to play the Draft Dudes podcast from the Locked on Titans episode. Make sure you tell your smart device to play the Draft Dudes podcast from the Locked on Podcast Network. Get ready for the NFL draft. Now we are in April, folks. It is time to get ready and we are going to get ready on the Locked on Titans podcast as well. But they will get you all ready to go

on the Draft Dudes podcast. It never hurts to take in some extra draft content this time of the year. But that is going to do it for us today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.