Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Julio Jones RETURNS + Titans 2022 Offseason Primer: Cap Space, Needs & Free Agents

Episode Date: December 7, 2021

The Tennessee Titans moved Julio Jones into his practice window and off injured reserve on Monday!! Julio and a few others will now hit the practice field prior to a Week 14 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars!! Tyler discusses the roster moves and what they mean! Then, Tyler does a 2022 offseason primer for the Titans. How much cap space will the Titans have? Who is set to be a free agent and should the Titans bring them back? What needs will they have? All answered on today's show!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.StatHeroStatHero is the first of its kind Daily Fantasy Sports platform where it’s YOU vs. the HOUSE in head to head fantasy matchups - winner take all. Sign up for FREE - RIGHT NOW - at StatHero.com/LOCKEDON and use promo code LOCKEDON for a One Hundred Percent Deposit Match. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, we are going to take a little bit of a peek forward at the 2022 offseason. I'm going to talk about who's going to be a free agent for the Titans. Should they stay or should the Titans let them go? Also, we're going to talk about the salary cap, what the Titans should be able to work with, and what moves they can make

to create even more cap space for this next offseason. And then we will talk about what team needs I think the Titans will have going into next year. What positions could they really use an upgrade over the offseason? But before we get into all of that, we got some big news on Monday from the Titans. The activation of Julio Jones off injured reserve. Now it doesn't necessarily mean that Julio will play on Sunday, but he will be back out on the practice field. And that is obviously the biggest news of the day on this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Let's get it! You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, it is a Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans Podcast. We're going to get into a 2022 offseason primer and the latest news on Julio Jones. Before we do, I want to let you guys know that this episode of the Locked on Titans podcast is presented by On Location. On Location is the official hospitality partner of the NFL.

It's the only place to score a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl ticket and experience package. Visit OnLocationationexp.com slash SB56. Once again, that's onlocationexp.com slash SB56 for more information or search Super Bowl on location. Also want to thank you guys

for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the show, make sure you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the show on every platform and always free. Also check out the video version of the podcast on YouTube. Subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live.

Throw a like on the video right now if you are watching. Check me out on social media on Twitter at TicTacTitans for all my film breakdown content. Check out the show Facebook page at Locked on Titans pod. But with all of that housekeeping out of the way, we have a lot to go over. Julio

Jones was activated from IR on Monday, along with Dane Cruikshank, which is a sneaky big one, and Racey McMath, the rookie wide receiver out of LSU. Now let me explain why this is good news, but not great news just yet. So all three of those guys were activated, I say with finger quotes, yet. So all three of those guys were activated, I say with finger quotes, because now it opens a 21-day window where those guys can be at practice without actually being activated fully to the 53 man roster. So there is a chance that Julio Jones could practice for three weeks without being activated to the game day roster and actually playing. But, of course, the most optimistic view of this is that all three guys,

after having a month out now with the three games and then the bye week, would be able to practice fully throughout the week and then be activated on Saturday to the active 53-man roster. Now, also got some other moves. The Titans released John Simon from their 53-man roster. Now, also got some other moves. The Titans released John Simon from their 53-man roster, and they signed outside linebacker Tazar Skipper to the practice squad while also getting back tight end Austin Fort to the practice squad from COVID. But the big news, Julio Jones, Dane Cruikshank, and Racey McMath

brought off injured reserve now within their 21-day practice period. Hopefully all those guys will be officially activated to the 53-man roster this weekend, specifically Julio Jones. It's obvious the Titans need a ton of help when it comes to skill position players on offense. Literally just one NFL-caliber wide receiver could get this Titans offense back to what we are accustomed to seeing. So really need Julio Jones. But I think Dane Cruikshank

being back for the Titans would be maybe not as big of a deal, but pretty close because Dane Cruikshank playing safety, playing dime linebacker when the Titans have six defensive backs on the field, being a matchup man nightmare for tight ends, that really unlocks the defense. Because when you have Crookshank to do that and play that man coverage on tight ends and play that dime linebacker, now what you can do is you can let Kevin Byard and Imani Hooker

do what they do best, and that's play zone coverage over the middle. Kevin Byard playing that robber over the middle in the intermediate to short area. Imani Hooker playing that deep range safety in the back while everybody else plays man coverage. That's what the Titans did so well during their hot streak, and having Dane Crookshank back will allow them to do that. So Dane Crookshank, big piece,

and we're going to talk a little bit more about Dane Crookshank as he is set to be a free agent when we do our 2022 offseason primer. So, what we're going to do next is we're going to talk about what the cap space situation could be, how the Titans could create more cap space in the moves that they have available, potential cut casualties. We're also going to play a little stay or go when we look at the Titans' free agents for next offseason

and who I think they should prioritize bringing back and who I think they should let walk. And then at the end of the show, we will go over what I think are the obvious team needs for the Titans, and I will rank those positions from 1 to 7. Now, before we get into that, though,, do want to tell you guys about Boost Mobile. You listen to podcasts for the power of knowledge. So switch to Boost Mobile for the power of saving money, because with Boost, you get

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Free phone limited to new customers and one per line. Additional restrictions apply. Offers coverage not available everywhere for all phones and networks. See BoostMobile.com for details. Also, want to tell you guys a little bit more about the title sponsor of today's show,

On Location. Super Bowl 56 is at SoFi and it's less than 100 days away. And On Location, the official hospitality partner of the NFL is the only place to score a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl ticket and experience package. Select your exact seats.

Choose from elite experiences featuring an exclusive pregame celebration with NFL legends, a five-star LA hotel and food by the great Wolf Gang Puck. Visit onlocationexp.com slash SB56 for more information or search Super Bowl on location. That's onlocationexp.com slash SB56 or search Super Bowl on location. Titans fans, let's continue this Tuesday episode of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about all of the big roster news

that we needed to go over from Monday. Now we're going to get into a little bit of a 2022 primer. So right now, the cap is going to be set at $208 million. And based on that alone, the Titans would be looking at about $19 million in cap space. But here's the thing. The Titans do have the ability to create some additional cap space in certain space. But here's the thing. The Titans do have the ability to create some additional cap space in certain ways.

So number one, Taylor LeJuan could have his contract restructured. He's going to be set to make about $15 million next year. And while I'm not somebody who wants to replace Taylor LeJuan outright, that seems a bit high for what they're getting from Taylor LeJuan.

So you can restructure his deal, get it down to about $6.8 million, $7 million to round up rather than the $15 million, and that obviously creates about $7.78 million more dollars of cap space, which could get the Titans up to around $26 million. They also could look at some cuts of some players to save themselves some money. Roger Saffold, he's been excellent, but $12.875 million, $13 million next year for Roger Saffold.

I think that would be a tough pill to swallow. I don't want the Titans to let him go, but if they could find a way to maybe release him, resign, less punitive in the future restructure, that would be a good option. Jackrabbit Jenkins, the Titans can get out of his contract completely and make $7 million, so the Titans could look to go with a cheaper veteran there with the emergence of Christian Fulton, and depending on the health of Caleb Farley and Chris Jackson, can't believe I'm

saying that. and Chris Jackson. Can't believe I'm saying that. Can, excuse me, Kendall Lamb, $3 million. Kendall Lamb,

I mean, he's been good, but can you really pay Kendall Lamb $4 million next year? You have to think that Dylan Radins is going to be ready to step into the starting lineup, right? If not, there's massive problems on our hands. So with that in mind, you have to be able to let go of Kendall Lamb and save yourself that

$3 million. There has to be a better player that you can get for that $3 million. Darrington Evans, this is really just my anger coming out. They're probably not going to cut bait with Darrington Evans. It's not going to save them a lot of money. It'd be about $800,000. That's it. Probably be better to keep the guy on and see if he can give you anything in his third season with the Titans before moving on or at least bringing him into training camp.

But I'm just angry at the whole situation with running back too. So that's why I put it on there. Then I do want to mention this. They could just cut Taylor LeJuan outright. So the way that Taylor LeJuan's contract is structured, basically his dead cap, if the Titans would have cut him this year, would have been $15 million of dead cap.

But next year it goes down to $1 million and some change. So the Titans could literally save $13 million on the cap by cutting Taylor LeJuan. Now I think that it's much more likely to see a contract restructure, which gets Taylor down from $15 to $7 million, and that makes a lot more sense for me as Taylor is now in his 30s dealing with a ton of injuries and not playing his best football right now. But if they, and I don't really see how they would have a solid option to do this

because you can't just say, oh, that guy should be gone. Who's going to replace him? Taylor LeJuan is still one of the top half left tackles in the NFL, and although he's getting paid like he's one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL, still, if you're not going to replace him with anybody of quality,

then it's a dangerous move to cut him outright. So a restructure makes more sense, but just saying $13 million of cap space could be had by cutting Taylor LeJuan, it would be a surprise, but I guess I'm letting you guys know early, it's not something that I think would be insane to see. So those are some cap casualty guys that you could look at. Now let's talk about the Titans' current free agents that they're going to have in the summer or the offseason of 2022 and just a quick yes or no on whether or not I would bring them back. Harold Landry. Duh.

And right now, SpotTrack has his market evaluation at about $17.8 million. The Titans can get very creative with how they use the signing bonus and the cap hits to keep his cap hit down so it doesn't kill the salary cap space that they want to have next year while also making sure they lock him in.

Ink and lock, Link. Lock him in to a four-year deal with big-time guaranteed money. Harold Landry cannot leave this team, especially with the health issues of Bud Dupree. You can't let go of your best edge rusher and your third best defensive player. After that, Ben Jones. Ben Jones is making about $7 million this year. That cannot be the case next year. I mean, Ben Jones may retire after this year. That's on the table as much as anything else. I don't think that he will. I think he'll be back. I think the Titans can find a $3 a half, $4 million range to get him back. He clearly wants to be here, but if he wants

$7 million again, then the Titans probably need to give that spot to Aaron Brewer and start to move forward down the chain. The Titans really need to think about their offensive line depth as we move forward with all the offensive line guys getting hurt constantly and their ages. So I would bring Ben Jones back. I want Ben Jones back, but it can't be for the $7 million. Jayon Brown, he's basically on a $3 million contract right now. If you look at the actual signing bonus and what it costs the Titans, it showed up as a $5 million deal, but that's not the case at all. It's basically $3 million. But Jayon just isn't athletically himself right now. And maybe he's just super banged up and that'll change. But David Long has been better in pass coverage and he's better as a run defender as well. So I don't see how the Titans could give Jayon Brown any significant money. If he wants to come back

as a role player on a couple million dollar contract, like he is now as like a third inside linebacker. I'm all for that though. Rashawn Evans, I'm just guessing he's going to get around $6 to $8 million. No. Goodbye, Rashawn. I'll take David Long. I'll take Monty Rice all day long rather than pay you $6 to $8 million.

Not a problem. Dane Cruikshank, I have no clue what his value is going to be. He's been hurt pretty much all of his career. But when he has played, he's been super solid in that role as a dime linebacker and a tight end stopper this year that popped up. Some team could see that on tape and choose to give him a little bit more than we're expecting, but I do. Yes. The answer is yes. I want him to stay. Jeff Swaim, $2.7 million this year. He can come back. That's fine, but absolutely not at that money level. I'm not giving Swaim, $2.7 million this year. He can come back, that's fine, but absolutely not at that money level. I'm not giving Swaim anything more than about $1.5 million.

Same thing with Marcus Johnson. The guy's always going to be hurt. He's been hurt his whole career. I'm not giving him anything more. He played for $1.7 million this year. I'd give him even less if possible if I were the Titans. And then David Questenberry, been okay at right tackle this year, only playing for about $850,000. If he wants to play for the same amount, then fine.

But I have a feeling that Questenberry's performance this year while being up and down will get him a better contract than that on the open market. And if I'm the Titans, I'm not the one who's going to pay it. Some lower level guys to think about, Morgan Cox, the long snapper, yes, that's an easy yes to bring him back. Ola Dainey might be the special teams pro bowler for the AFC. I would bring him back. Nick DeZubnar, see ya.

Can't play at all on special teams. I'd rather have a guy like Dylan Coleman in that spot heading into the year. Matthias Farley, I like Farley as a depth safety, so I'd like to bring him back, but the odds are that's going to be a no. The Titans maybe need to think about drafting a young safety like they did with Brady Brees. Maybe Brady Brees is ready to be that guy for Matthias Farley next year. So that's a no for me.

And then Randy Bullock and Sam Ficken, would love to see Ficken get back to actual health here, but the Titans are just going to have to choose one of those guys. Whoever is playing better in training camp should get the spot, but that's going to do it for kind of the money conversation went over potential salary cap went over free agents to be. And what I would do there, some moves the Titans could make to create some extra salary cap as well.

So that's where they're looking at from a financial aspect going into next offseason. Now we're going to finish the show talking about the Titans' needs as a team and where I think they could choose or where they could look to upgrade in the offseason. Before we get into that,

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coming off IR into his practice window. We talked about the Titans financial situation in the 2022 offseason, moves they could make to create more cap space, stay or go for the players I want to see stay in free agency, the players I would be okay with watching go as well. Now I want to look at the Titans' team needs, and that conversation is not just a future conversation. It's definitely a current conversation as well as we're seeing what's playing out on the field.

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But thinking about the Titans' current situation, okay? Number one, I hinted at it earlier. Depth on the offensive line. The Titans have to start filling the pipeline for guys who will take over for some of these 30 plus vets. Taylor LeJuan, dealing with a knee injury, not looking his best, over 30. Titans got to get a tackle they can trust. What we've seen from Dylan Radins, I can't trust him to be a starting

tackle on this team ever. If he was, he would have shown something by now. He would have at least been activated on game days. So, I don't trust Dylan Radins. You can basically scrap Dylan Radins. He's probably going to end up as a guard at this point

if he ever has a productive NFL career. I don't know how the Titans can trust themselves to go after offensive linemen in the draft at this point with what we've seen with the disappointment that Braden's has been. And then obviously Isaiah Wilson. I know Nate Davis was a solid pick, and they've gotten Aaron Brewer in there from undrafted free agency.

But for the most part, not a lot of high picks have looked good on the offensive line for the Titans, at least in recent memory. Now, there's still a lot of time for Raidens to work out. I get it, but how can you be encouraged with what we've seen right now? Which means for my money, from my perspective, the Titans

only have Nate Davis and Aaron Brewer, who they feel comfortable with going forward as the future of the offensive line. That's the guard spots. Or, you know, Aaron Brewer could play center. So basically, two interior offensive line spots I feel comfortable. The Titans have to find a way to get some offensive line depth. Younger guys who they think can fill the spots for Taylor LeJuan,

Roger Saffold Ben Jones and David Questenberry Questenberry is not a long term answer anyway he was a one year stopgap Ben Jones may retire he's old and beat up Roger Saffold cannot finish games practically at this point

he's in his 30s as well and he's going to cost $13 million next year and we already talked about LeJuan and his contract and his play He's in his 30s as well. And he's going to cost $13 million next year. And we already talked about LeJuan and his contract and his play. So I think offensive line depth for the Titans and getting young players who they can eventually plug into the lineup is the most important thing in this offseason, period. After that, pass catcher. Whether it be wide receiver, whether it be tight end,

a lot of rookie tight ends don't play well in their rookie season. They're not ready to contribute. It's a tough position to transition to. And then, there's not a lot of free agents that are good at the tight end position year to year normally. So when you take that into consideration, it's going to be hard for the Titans to upgrade at tight end, but at wide receiver, there's always options. I mean, Elijah Moore, when it picked

34 this year, the Titans would have drafted him at pick 22. That very well could have been a better pick than what they're going to get with Caleb Farley. Seemed a little early for Moore, but now does it? No, not really. Moore's been solid. So, getting a wide receiver in the first round,

looking for wide receiver help in free agency, I think that'll be key for the Titans. We've seen here outside of Julio Jones and A.J. Brown, they have nobody. They have nobody. And we can all talk ourselves into all these other jags, just another guy, NFL term, just another guy. We can talk ourselves into all these other jags, just another guy, NFL term, just another guy. We could talk ourselves into all these jags if we want.

But the reality is the Titans need another game-breaking pass catcher, another play-making pass catcher, whether that be a tight end or a wide receiver. So pass catcher is my number two need for the Titans. Number three, edge rusher. Bud Dupree has been hurt practically the whole year. Money lit on fire practically. Hopefully he can come back and give the Titans something

and be there for that final push. But either way, he's a guy who's had a ton of injuries. He's not the youngest guy. I believe he's going to be 29 next year. And Harold Landry's going to be a free agent. Outside of Harold Landry, Derek Roberson hasn't panned out in any way. Rashad Weaver's going to be coming back.

But he's coming off a broken leg and was a rookie anyways. The Titans have to find a way. Whether it be, you know, the bargain veteran who I was hoping for all this year like a Melvin Ingram, a Justin Houston, a Ryan Kerrigan whether they go get another guy like that to add in which is what I wanted all along

or whether they get another guy early in the draft. Either way, the Titans have to stock the edge rusher position because they don't have enough depth there and we've seen just how important that edge rusher pressure can be. The Titans need depth there. So that's number three on my list after offensive line and pass catcher. Number four, inside linebacker depth. The Titans could be losing Jayon Brown and Rashawn Evans this offseason.

They'll have Monty Rice and David Long, but that's not quite good enough. I think you need to add some more talent in there, and I would hope that it would be a veteran guy over a rookie since you have two young guys there already, but that will be a big need for the Titans. Number five, running back. Okay, I get that Hilliard has looked good, and Foreman has looked okay, and McNichols has looked okay, but there's a reason that the Titans wanted to get Darrington Evans and they used a third round pick, an important pick, expected starter level pick, a third round pick on Darrington Evans. They needed a lot more out of the number two running back spot than what they had gotten out of McNichols or the practice squad guys

and I think that need still exists. It still exists. So that's where I'm on that. Six, safety. I think that the safety position could use an infusion of youth, especially if they lose Dane Cruikshank. It would be imperative that the Titans get some more safety help. And then lastly, the backup quarterback spot. I'm never going to be happy with Logan Woodside.

I think he's the worst backup quarterback in the NFL. If he ever had to play substantial snaps, even if just for a half, even if for two weeks, the Titans would be screwed. They're going cheap at that position to try to help other places on the roster. I get that, but if you can get a rookie, and I just don't understand how you can't find somebody better than Logan Woodside, unless he's Mike Vrabel's illegitimate son and the mother of the child. Logan Woodside said, you know what? If you don't keep him on the roster, we're going to release your affair to the world.

I mean, it has to be like a Taysom Hill situation where my theory is Sean Payton had an illegitimate marriage or an illegitimate child, and it turned out to be Taysom Hill. He's got to start him at quarterback and pay him a bunch of money or the mother is going to expose his affair to the world. All jokes. These are all jokes and all just making fun of the situation, but

the whole point is I think Logan Woodside has some blackmail on John Robinson and Mike Vrabel and hopefully they're able to get a real backup quarterback at some point in time soon because eventually there will come a time where you'll need them. And Logan Woodside is going to be a big, big problem for the Titans if he has to play any substantial snaps. So offensive line depth, offensive pass catcher,

edge rusher, inside linebacker, backup running back, safety and backup quarterback are my top seven needs ranked. That is going to do it for today's show, though. We went over the roster moves. We went over the financial situation. We went over the future free agents. We went over the team needs. Hope you guys enjoyed the show.

That's going to do it for me today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.