Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Brown saga continues, Jags slash contracts, other NFL news

Episode Date: March 8, 2019

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing good. What's going on, man? Quite a bit, actually. We've got a lot of news that's been happening over the last, really today, but even the last week or so. A lot of stuff to talk about, so we are going to get into that. Before we do that, I want to remind you that we write for BCMiracles.com, where we cover the Titans for SB Nation, so you can check us out there. You can also follow us on Twitter. I am at jmorrismcm. Terry is at tlamberttn.

You can get the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Search out Locked on Titans. We also have a voicemail line. You can leave us a voicemail. We've got a couple, but we'll save them for next week. If we get a couple more, we can do a show next week. 615-787-8762. Call in, leave a long message, and we'll get you on the show next week.

You can also play us on your smart speaker, whether it be in your house, your car, whatever. Just say play podcast Locked on Titans. All right, so while we wait for the Titans to do something, I mean, not that they need to do something, but, I mean, usually teams are moving people around, cutting, resigning, whatever. They did resign Brett Kern yesterday, gave him a contract extension, which, you know, a punter. But Kern has been really good for this team for quite a few years now. It's kind of a – did they sign him in the middle of the year whenever he came here? And he's been really good on the pro ball the last couple years and i mean deservedly so um so you know i guess it's it's it's good that

he'll be around for a little bit um but you know there was the report that they're they're gonna cut john and cyprian it was supposed to be this week it hasn't it hasn't been done officially yet uh so we anticipate that uh we talked about it last time but still kind of waiting on that but other than that it's been kind of quiet on the Titans news front. Terry McCormick had a report that they're expected to offer tenders to David Flewellen and Ty Smith. But, I mean, he's the only one that said anything about that. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised to see that happening.

But as far as Titans news officially goes, we're just kind of still sitting around and waiting. Yeah, they love David Flewellen. We were talking about this before. What exactly has Flewellen done to earn all this love? I'm sure he's a great guy, but it's just kind of odd to me. It might be one of those behind-the-scenes type deals where he's just a great locker room presence,

and I'm sure he has a presence on special teams. But just kind of odd. He just seems like your run-of-the-mill third running back on the roster in the NFL. It just seems like the Titans might be able to do a little better there. But he keeps hanging around. So good for him. But we'll see if he does get that tender offer and if he does stick around on this roster.

He plays teams. Teams, yeah. You know, he plays teams. Coaches love teams. Yeah, they do. We're looking at it. I went to David Flohan's Wikipedia page before we started the show here. 21, that he was traded.

The Eagles were the team that initially signed him back in 2014, was traded for Cody Parkey to the Colts before that season. He ended up getting cut and then came here in 2015. So he's been through Rustin Webster. He's been through now John Robinson, Mike Malarkey, Mike Vrabel. I mean, obviously he's doing something, right, to hang around. Him and Arthur Smith seem to be guys that are hanging around. So hopefully he'll pay off big for both those guys this year.

So, yeah, so we'll see. I expect their news to pick up a little bit over the next few days. Of course, I've been saying that for a week now. There's been a lot of NFL news, just not very much Titans-specific stuff, but free agency less than a week away from starting. So we'll see some movement there. We also had a Todd McShay mock draft this week earlier on, and surprisingly he did not give the Titans a tight end.

So that was a refreshing difference to see. Now, of course, Hawkinson at this point has moved way up in the draft that he's not going to be there when the Titans pick. But this time he gave the Titans Garrett Bradbury. And I was very anti-interior offensive lineman earlier on in the process. And I'm not really sure exactly what has made me change that stance. Part of it, I think, is just because there's been so much talk about tight end. And at least interior offensive lineman is a need.

So I get it from that perspective. But Bradbury's a guy that, by all accounts, you know, the best center in this draft uh best interior offensive lineman in this draft went to the combine tested really well all that kind of stuff so you know run the different scenarios of the way things are playing out even if you look at this mock draft from from mcshay i mean with when if it shakes out that way you don't have you know one of those edge guys that you that you really like well with the exception of brian burns i guess that would maybe be something to look into there. But I wouldn't hate the Bradbury pick at 19 at this point. If you think he's a guy that's going to come in and solidify that,

we know about all the issues that they had there up front last year. So like I said, I'm coming around a little bit to that pick. Yeah, just looking around elsewhere in the mock. Montez Sweat goes all the way up to fifth to Tampa Bay. Had a great combine. We talked about that the other day. DK Metcalf all the way up to nine to Buffalo. Again, a great combine.

Struggled a little with the agility drills. But 6'3", 225, running 4'3", that's going to get taken top 15 at least. So, yeah, the board shapes out differently Christian Wilkins goes 14 to the Falcons so Bradbury I'm totally cool with it I've been pro offensive

line this whole time I really think if you maximize out this offensive line it will have just a similar effect to maxing out the receiver room. I really do. I just don't think Marcus Mariota has had the pass protection that he needs. We talk a lot about the receivers, but I think the offensive line has been almost equally

a problem, at least in terms of pass protection. So you saw them get the run game going. If they can get this pass protection fixed for Mariota, that's going to go a long way. So you talk about signing some of these free agent receivers. You do that. You draft Bradbury. You move some things around on the offensive line. Those are two really big steps.

And you know what? That's probably Marcus Mariota's best shot at proving himself, and that's our best shot at seeing what he really is. Yeah, it's his best shot at, like I said, proving himself, his best shot at staying healthy. You know, you minimize the hits on him, that type of stuff. So, yeah, like I said, we're still a week away from free agency or so. So we're going to have a lot more information on what the Titans will still be needing, what they'll be looking for once we see that first waiver to a free agency

because they'll obviously fill a couple of those holes there and then kind of move on in the conversation. So, anyway, that's really the biggest stuff Titans-wise that has happened so far. They were mentioned in the Antonio Brown thing. Coming up, we're going to talk about where that stands and just that whole situation in general. All right, so Ian Rappaport told 3HL earlier this week the Titans have moved into the monitoring phase of Antonio Brown. This whole saga has turned into something crazy with the thing last night where Rappaport said that he was going to the Bills,

and then this morning he's not going to the Bills because basically apparently Drew Rosenhaus told them that Antonio Brown wouldn't show up if he was traded there. Teams like to act like this guy's going to be traded. I mean, power where he goes. You know, he can he can shut things down pretty quickly if he tells the team that's trying to acquire him that he won't come there. So that's kind of thing. What was it to me, too?

If you listen to Rob on 3HL, he basically said that, you know, you're going to hear the Titans involved in these types of things because John Robinson has always wanted to call and check in. That's what he said about Demarius Thomas and Golden Tate at the trade deadline last year. Basically, he called to check in, and then once the price got to a place where he wasn't comfortable, they were out. You've got to respect that. He's at least looking into it. He's got a number, a price, whether it be

you're talking about free agency, you're talking about dollar amount, you're talking about trade, you're talking about draft capital or whatever. So at least all these things, when they become available, Robinson's looking into them, and he has a number, and if it's way higher than that number, he's going to pass. But with the Antonio Brown thing, rumor was, I guess initially, like way back when, that they wanted two ones for him.

Well, then it was that they wanted a first-round pick for him. Well, now something was supposed to be done by today, Friday. So now as we sit here and there's still not a deal done, you have to assume the price is dropping. So if John Robinson has checked in, I'm assuming there's a point at which he would jump back in if the price gets down low enough. I just don't know what that point is. Yeah, you've made the point. I've made the point. Just take a look around and see who's involved. You've got the Bills. You've got the Raiders. You've got the Redskins.

I mean, that's not exactly the NFL's elite coming after Antonio Brown. Maybe you see some new faces, some new teams coming in as this price starts to go down, like you mentioned. But I just don't want to be in the same group as the Bills, Raiders, and the Redskins, you know? That should tell you something. So these people that wanted to give up a first-round pick for Antonio Brown, it's just crazy. It's just insane.

All I have to do is look at the picture of Antonio Brown with his bleach mustache and his crazy hair. There's some loose wires there with him right now that I don't want any part of for a first-round pick. Now, like Jimmy said, if this price starts to go down, maybe they get desperate. Maybe they realize what the market is for him. You want to flip a third for Antonio Brown?

I'm for it. That's a risk you can take. It's much less risk than giving up a first-round pick. I'm glad John Robinson stood his ground. I think it's pretty funny that Antonio Brown thought he was going to be free and then he was going to get shipped off to Buffalo only to veto it. Antonio Brown has plenty of power in this process. I think the Steelers are starting to realize what their market is. Yeah, and we said this at the time, like back in week 17.

And then the Steelers, I guess Monday after press conference, when Mike Tomlin kind of talked about everything that went down, they were tanking his value at that point. And then he, like you said, he's done shows and all this stuff. I don't know. Like I said, if he were happy, if it were a you say he's done shows and all this stuff so i mean i don't

know like i said if he were happy if there were a situation where he's one out of pittsburgh because because of ben roethlisberger you know whatever whatever the case may be and he was happy with his contract he wanted to come and prove himself or whatever that'd be a that'd be a conversation but you know again you're talking about a new contract he wants new money he said that um that was part of the deal, you know, the conversations the Bills were having, all that kind of stuff. So I just, I don't know. And, I mean, you know, there are these, we have this segment,

section of the fan base that's like, you know, the Titans aren't trying. If they're not willing to give a first-round pick for him, they're committed to mediocrity, all that kind of stuff. But, I mean, you just think about, you know, this is a guy that, you know, week 17 last year, he walked out on the Steelers. And the Steelers were still in the mix for a playoff spot. Now, they needed, you know, two or three things to happen. They needed the Ravens to lose, and they had to win.

They had a shot at the wild card. Because I remember there was a scenario where, like, you know, the Colts-Titans game was the play-in game. But if the Colts and Titans tied in that game, the Steelers would have gone to the playoff. So, again, I mean, all these things are really long shots. But there was still a chance, and he wasn't there. And to me, that's just a thing that, like, you know, you can go to all these other guys. I mean, we've talked a lot about, or a lot has been talked about,

you know, Randy Moss, the Patriots, Mike Bramble was there, and all that kind of stuff. But, I mean, I don't recall him walking out on his team like that. And I've seen, you know, a few guys that have played in the league that basically said you know once you lose that trust in the locker room it's really really hard to come back from that and so that's where i think they are and again that's why i think you're seeing this price drop you've got a few teams that really want to make a splash whether it be the bills you know reportedly the raiders the redskins i mean these teams that are that are known for making these kind of deals that ultimately don't work out

the jets i mean it seems like those are the teams that are in the mix these kind of deals that ultimately don't work out, the Jets, I mean, it seems like those are the teams that are in the mix, and you're not hearing anything about the Rams. You're not hearing the Saints. You're not hearing the Patriots. I mean, I know they wouldn't want to turn to the Patriots. I get that. But even these AFC teams, I mean these NFC teams that are well-run, you're not hearing

those teams in the mix, like you said. So there's just red flags over this thing. And again, once you get down to a late day two, a day three pick, sure, let's get back in the conversation and we can talk then. But, I don't know, it's so bizarre, and I'm good with the Titans sitting out until it gets down to that place. Yeah, and one other point I'll have. He turned down the Bills.

I mean, people aren't going to want to hear this, but Titans and Bills are, you know, they're somewhat similar offensively. We still think a lot of Marcus Mariota, and we think if he's healthy and in the right system he could be good. I still think he's a good quarterback. But look at the outside perception of Marcus Mariota. I mean, what is that? How much better is it than Josh Allen?

You know, it might be purely location with Buffalo. Look at the outside perception of Marcus Mariota. I mean, what is that? How much better is it than Josh Allen? You know, it might be purely location with Buffalo. Nashville's obviously a more attractive destination there. But I just go back to what I've said all along. What happens when Antonio Brown has 900 yards entering the final week of the season? It's just not going to go well. It's not going to go well throughout the entire season. He's going to kick. He's going to scream. um you know again and for the right price sure but i'm not doing it for anything uh any better than a third round pick no that's that's a great point

uh like you said we have some different feelings on that uh josh allen versus marcus mariotta but national perception i don't think is that much So, yeah, I'm with you on that. All right, we will wrap up with a couple of NFL notes, including the Jaguars cutting like half of their team. So, you know, we've kind of talked for a long time about how just amazing it was the Jaguars were able to just continually sign all these guys to these huge deals and wondered, you know, how they were doing it. Well, they finally run into a point where they have issues with the salary cap. I think before the moves they made today, they had something like $2 million,

$3 million or something in cap room. And, of course, the rumor that's been out there is that they're going to sign Nick Foles. I do think they're going to end up getting Nick Foles for a little bit cheaper than was originally expected because I don't think the market is going to end up getting Nick Foles for a little bit cheaper than was originally expected because I don't think the market is going to be that big for him. But they are going to need some money to sign him. So they've had to make some moves today.

Started out Malik Jackson was the first guy that came up. They were cutting. Then Carlos Hyde and Tayshaun Gibson. I mean, there have been a handful of others since then that have come up they were going to cut. The biggest savings they get, the Malik Jackson move saves them like $11 million against the cap.

So again, just freeing up space. They traded for Carlos Hyde in season when they were having issues with Leonard Fournette, whether it be attitude, conditioning, injury, whatever it was. He didn't end up, nothing really ended up panning out there, but I guess if you're confident in Fournette, TJ Yeldon, whoever going forward,

you don't need Hyde anymore. But just interesting that they finally come to the point where they have to cut some of these guys after it seemed like year after year after year they were signing the number one free agent on the market or making trades in a season for guys like Marcel Darius. So I guess their day of reckoning has finally come. and season for guys like Marcel Darius. So I guess their day of reckoning has finally come. Yeah, they go from, what was it, $2 million to almost $30 million, now free.

So you wonder how much is going to go to Foles there. I would assume a real good chunk of it. But, you know, they're shedding talent to go after their quarterback. So they've done it with Blake Bortles. They tried and failed. You know, we've talked about it before. We don't know why they tried for so long with Blake Portals. It seemed like the rest of the league knew what was going on and they just kept giving him money.

And we've talked about Foles. You know, what happens when he gets out of Philadelphia? I think he's going to be terrible. I just think there's such a structure up there in Philly with that coaching staff they have with the roster that they've got. I don't have high hopes for Nick Foles in Jacksonville,

but at the same time, I don't blame them. They've got to do something differently. You've heard some rumors of Teddy Bridgewater now as a potential option to Nick Foles, so we'll see what comes of that. I don't think I've heard any other team out there even relatively interested

in Nick Foles. Yeah, and the interesting thing at this point is now, what do they do with Bortles? Because if you sign Foles, can you keep – I don't know. Do you keep Bortles around? And the thing is, if you cut him, they've got $16 million in dead money against their cap, which, I mean, I guess it's spent money either way as far as the cap's concerned.

But I don't know. What did that contract, man? Terrible. They get out of it this year. They save $4.5 million, but they've got $16.5 million in dead money against the cap. And they were praised for that contract. I remember that. I remember all the think pieces.

Oh, this is such a good deal for this quarterback market. You lock up Blake Bortles and you get him for such a deal. Ridiculous. Yeah, and again, Bortles is just that guy. He's shown every now and then he looks good. It seems like he has two good weeks

and people forget the six weeks before that where he's bouncing the ball off people's feet and getting intercepted. Just the dumb stuff that before that where he's bouncing the ball off people's feet and getting it intercepted or just the dumb stuff that you see that he's done. So I don't know. That'll be an interesting thing to watch there. And like I said, they finally got some moves they have to make, and they've got contract decisions coming down the road.

I mean, they've got Jalen Ramsey coming up and all that kind of stuff. So it'll be after what seems like years of just them being able to do whatever they wanted to do, they've actually had to make some probably tough decisions this year. Like I said, we expect it to be Foles that goes there. Really, the other interesting thing today, TJ Lang

was cut. He's a guy that's an older guy. I'm not sure what the market would be for him, but I think he's absolutely a guy the Titans should be interested in. We talked about the issues and then drafting Bradbury and all that, but if you can get a guy like that that can come in and play for you for a year or two, you probably don't have to break the bank to get him.

I think that's another one of these places that John Robinson would absolutely be interested in, at least checking in and monitoring. Yeah, 31 years old. We've talked about the need up front. We don't really know where the Titans are going to have a need. They're going to move some pieces around. We've talked about Ben Jones, and we've talked about how we don't know about Quentin Spain.

We don't think Josh Klein is all that great, but the team seems to think a lot of him. So I think you're going to see some movement there. We talked about Bradbury in the draft. If they want to go ahead and get this fixed, get a Band-Aid, if you will, you know, a two-, three-year Band-Aid, TJ Lang, you know, he was the captain of the team up there, wasn't he? Yeah, I think so, absolutely.

So, yeah. Yeah, veteran leadership bringing to that offensive line. I just, I really like a potential move like that. You know, again, it's all about maximizing this year for Marcus Mariota. So if you don't want to wait on another rookie on the offensive line, this is certainly an option to take. Yeah, and he would certainly be a guy that you could work a contract where all the money is paid this year and if you needed to cut him next year for whatever reason you'd be able to do that so um anyway that's an interesting name to keep an eye on and like i said we'll see a few

more things happening a couple of trades went down uh the browns and the giants made a trade uh trading zeitler for Olivier Vernon. So you got Passers were going to the Browns, a guard going to the Giants. Steelers traded one of their offensive linemen for a six-round pick. There's just a lot of stuff going on there. And like I said, I think we'll see more of that movement as we get into next week when free agency opens. So we'll be monitoring all of that.

Check us out, museummiracles.com. We'll have all that breaking news, at least as it pertains to the Titans. We'll have all that up there, and you can get our reaction to that. You can also follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlanbergfb. Again, if you're riding around in your car, it's a great place to fire us up. If you've got a smart speaker in there, just say,

Play Podcast Locked on Titans and you'll get us. Voicemail line 615-787-8762. It was a minute long voicemail. We'll get to one of those shows next week. Thanks so much for listening to Locked on Titans and we'll talk to you again next week.