Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Lewan's absence; Dez Bryant?

Episode Date: June 19, 2018

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, it's been a while. How are you? Doing well. Good to be back. Yeah, so we had a little hiatus there, but we'll be back now pretty consistently. We are entering the dead period of the NFL season, really the only dead period the NFL has anymore. But we'll continue to look through topics and find things to come up with to talk about. We've still got some career retrospectives and stuff that we're going to look back on. Be sure and check

all that out. In the meantime, Terry and I are right from UCMiracles.com, covering the Titans for SB Nation. You can check out all of our stuff there. We have consistent content going up there. Check that out all the time. Subscribe to the podcast Locked on Titans. You can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you get podcasts. You can find us there.

So check us out there. Tonight we're going to talk a little bit about the Titans wrapping up the offseason program, voluntary OTAs, the mandatory minicamp. Ted Oluwan, not being at the mandatory part, we'll talk about that. And we'll talk about a problem with the roster that we've kind of been talking about really this whole offseason, and it kind of reared its ugly head a little bit during the mandatory minicamp. So we'll get into that at the end. But before we do that, a word from our newest sponsor.

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Blue Chew is the better, cheaper, faster choice, and we thank them for sponsoring this podcast. Uchu is the better, cheaper, faster choice, and we thank them for sponsoring this podcast. All right, so Taylor LeJuan had been at all the voluntary stuff, but then when the mandatory minicamp rolled around, he was not there. Unhappy about his contract situation, in case you're unfamiliar, he is currently slated to play 2018 under the fifth-year option his rookie contract so that gives him about nine million dollars guaranteed for 2018 now um you know that's obviously good money but when you look at some of the deals that have been done on the league profits of linemen uh you know nate soldier got a bunch of money zach martin who's not it was a

guard not even a tackle just got a bunch of money so um you know i think la juan's looking around at those deals and you know thinking that he deserves more he's probably right um again kind of strange that he came to all voluntary stuff and then sat out the mandatory one but i mean i think that's the point where he has the most leverage some people are freaking out about this but terry i think you're kind of along the same lines that I am. Until he misses training camp time, it's not even anything to really even worry about at all. Yeah, no reason to panic. He's going to get his somewhere down the road.

We don't know when. He's not going to get away. You just don't see good players get inter-free agency anymore without there being some odd circumstances. So LeJuan's going to get his. He's a pillar of this team. He's really a face of this team. Nashville's really embraced him. So all the conferences in the world that they're going to get this done.

And he's going to get paid. And John Robinson has planned for it. We've talked about them keeping this cap space open because we know it's coming down the road with Luan, with Mariota. So that's what that money is for. I'm not sure what the number is currently. But, again, you haven't really spent big money anywhere outside of Malcolm Butler. So the deal is going to get done.

I don't know when, but at the worst-case scenario, I think you're looking at a franchise tag situation. Yeah, and that's the funny thing. I mean, you talk about him being a face of the franchise, and he really is. And, you know, if you remember back when he was drafted, it was a really controversial draft pick. And, you know, he had had some issues at michigan uh some off the field stuff that you know people were weren't happy about when the titans took him and then it's his first year especially his first couple years a

lot of dumb penalties and that kind of stuff uh after the whistle type stuff but you know he's really he scaled a lot of that back and um has done a good job of you know playing hard obviously between the whistles but most of the extracurricular stuff he's cut out he can still gets one every now and then but i mean offensive linemen do that they have that that nasty streak to them that's what makes them good so yeah it's just it's interesting that he has become a face of franchise there's a lot of good stuff in the community just the personality that is kind of infectious so people you know like hearing from him. He's an interesting guy and all that stuff.

So like you said, he's going to be here. He's going to be here long term. At some point, he's going to be the highest paid offensive lineman in the league. Now, I don't know how long that will last. If it will be he signs that deal and then a week later somebody else signs a deal and gets more than him, that's kind of how it seems to work these days. But there's no doubt in my mind that at some point the Titans are going to give him a long-term deal. And like I said, it's going to be for the most money.

Now, he could get franchise tag. There's all kinds of options that they have. Ultimately, Taylor LeJuan is not going to sit out this year. Guys talk about doing it, but they never end up doing it once you know training camp rolls around and actually starts costing them money to not be there that's that's when things tend to change but I don't even think it gets that far like you said every move that John Robinson has made for the last two years has been with you know the the idea in mind that he's going to have to give a bunch of money to LeJuan he's going to have to give a bunch of money to LeJuan. He's going to have to give a bunch of money to Mariota. Titans are in a weird situation just because they've been so bad for so long

that it's been a while since they've had to give multiple guys a bunch of money. I mean, if you look at the contract extensions they've done recently, I mean, Jarrell Casey is the only guy that they've drafted and have wanted to give a contract extension to before it was time for him to hit the market. Because even a guy like Derek Morgan, who's been here for a long time, they let him test the waters, and then he came back. But it's a weird thing.

And like I said, I think there was a little bit of panic around the city when it was announced that he wasn't there. And I think really it's just because it's been so long since the Titans have had a guy hold out. And that's just really a testament to how bad the draft classes have been. But we were talking before we jumped on, and I think this is right. Nobody's held out, at least not like a rookie that hasn't signed his contract yet. The last player that was under contract that held out was Chris Johnson. So that's how long it's been since the Titans have had him like this.

So, again, not the greatest thing in the world that he's not here, but hey, it's good that they have players that are good enough, that have leverage that can hold out, and the team actually wants them to be there. Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. He's going to get paid. You mentioned Nate Solder, that contract. I think he's averaging out around $17 million per year.

I think you're going to see LeJuan in that neighborhood. Obviously, he's not going to hit the open market. There's not going to be any bidding wars there. But I think that's a guy that deserves money like that. He deserves to be paid like a top five offensive lineman in the league, which I think he's right there on the cusp of being. So, interested to see the numbers coming out, but a guy that certainly deserves it.

You know, like we said, a guy that's a face of this franchise and a guy that every Titans fan wants around for the next seven, eight, nine years. Yeah, absolutely. So, if you're worried about it, don't lose sleep over this between now and then. The deal's going to get done. And even if it's not a long-term deal, which I think it will be, I think they end up paying him before camp starts. But even if it's not, he's going to be here.

It's not anything that's going to extend it at this season by any means. And, you know, listen, LaJuan has a little bit of leverage. You know, Jack Conklin is still recovering from the ACL. Don't know what his timetable is. They haven't given us us anything on that so we don't know if he'll be ready for the for week one or not so yeah the idea of going into week one without either of your starting tackles is you know a little bit scary but it's not going to get to that point um like i said there's no reason for them not to pay him at this point and so they're going to do it it's just a matter of the timing and when so um you know, no reason to lose sleep over that.

All right, coming up, we'll talk about the position group that we've been talking about for, it seems like, a lot of years. But, you know, a thing that we've had an eye on since the beginning of the offseason, the Titans didn't really address, and apparently it's looking more and more like they should have. dress and apparently it's looking more and more like they should have so uh you know richard matthews has been limited to out for most of the off-season program had some type of injury i guess some type of procedure they're not telling us what it is um but it's it's been you know called minor so not anything i don't think we need to worry about long term cory davis had some kind of

injury come up in these workouts and so he was out there in individual periods but did not take part in team periods so you know that's a problem right any team right any team that loses their top two receivers is going to have issues but with the lack of depth that we've been you know harping on this whole offseason the titans have when you're're looking at then Tajay Sharp and I guess Taewon Taylor being your one and two, that's a problem. We know that. That comes as no surprise. But the fact that they went through some workouts with that being the case just, again, kind of brings to the forefront of this team needs depth at receiver, and they don't currently have it. So with that in mind, the Titans are, I guess, the new favorite, is that right, in Vegas to sign Dez Bryant?

Yeah, according to Sportsline.com, which is in association with CBS Sports, Titans are the favorite, and they're a big favorite, minus 200. So you'd have to put up $200 to win $100 if you wanted to take that bet. And that's really interesting considering where all this started. You know, the Titans were way down on the list, and now the Ravens have sniffed around, the Redskins have sniffed around. You've seen the Packers' reports out there, and now it's back to the Titans. And I think that's just because of these injuries that you're seeing reported now.

So I don't know. The fit is odd. It seems like it wouldn't be the John Robinson move to bring him in. But I think Des Bryant can bring something to this team. I'm just not sure it's what John Robinson wants. We've talked a lot about this locker room, how far it's come, how much work has been put into that, and how many bad eggs have left since the Wizenhunt days.

So I'm not sure bringing Des Bryant into that mix, who may or may not be past those days in his career. But he's got to rep around the league clearly uh i think it says something that he's still on the market uh i don't know i i don't really know how to feel about it i could probably talk myself into it and get excited for it but i think we have to ask ourselves how much des bryant has left in the tank. Yeah, that's the whole key to me. I mean, I think that they have a locker room now that, you know, the culture is good enough that you could withstand a guy like that. If they did sign him, it would be on, you know,

a one-year deal that wouldn't cost them anything if they were to try to – if they needed to get out of it for a personality conflict or if he couldn't play or whatever. So, I mean, you know, with all that in mind, it's, you know, I don't see how he necessarily helps them. Yes, if Rashard Matthews and Corey Davis are out and, you know, you have the option of Dez Bryant over Tajay Sharp, absolutely, I mean, yes, that's an upgrade. But I still think they need more speed in the offense,

and they need guys that can create separation. That was the biggest thing people were saying was that the receivers at Rother couldn't get separation. You know, Dez can't do that anymore. Now, Dez doesn't necessarily need a bunch of separation. You know, knows how to use his body. Obviously a big dude, catches the ball. I mean, all that kind of stuff that he has going for him him but i just don't know that if they're going to add if there's something they needed to add i'm

not sure he necessarily fits the bill but again if we get to the point where you know that's you know they're down to they need a body then he's obviously the best one that's available on the market so it makes sense from that standpoint and And just kind of looking at the offense overall, the Titans, I guess, were – I can't remember exactly where they ranked in three wide receiver sets last year, but I want to say they were last in the league. For sure. They're definitely toward the bottom.

And we're near the top of using three tight ends. Now, we have a whole different system here, obviously, matt lafleur being here instead of terry biskey mike malarkey but you know they're still going to use delaney walker delaney walker is you know can can function as a wide receiver you know in certain situations they have johnny smith who's a lot like delaney walker so i mean you've got some flexibility there where you could have two tight ends on the field and it's not the you know the two tight So, I mean, you've got some flexibility there where you could have two tight ends on the field, and it's not the two tight end heavy set that you're used to when you hear two tight ends.

So they've got some stuff there. They've got some weapons there. But they still just need some more stuff on the outside. And they've got other stuff they can do. I mean, Deion Lewis, they can use him in the slot. He can obviously catch the ball in the backfield. So, I mean, they have some weapons. But I think it is still a concern the lack of depth

that they have at receiver and again if everybody says healthy i don't think it'd be i don't think it's a problem i think they're fine everybody says healthy but it's just that's a that that's kind of a a huge gamble to take with just the way injuries go in the nfl and the fact that you know richard maxis has something we don't know what it is, the fact that Corey Davis missed the majority of the year last year, you just have to have a little bit of reservation going into it only with what they have now. Yeah, I really didn't think we'd be talking about this in June,

but it's already come true. What we talked about so much in the weeks leading up towards the draft and the weeks after the draft after they didn't address it, it's already showing. And now they're relying on undrafted guys. You're relying on camp bodies. You're not getting that chemistry there. You don't have the depth. So I don't want to go back to a situation where the Titans have Tajay Sharp

as their number two option, you know, or even a potential number one if both Davis and Matthews are out. So a bit of a head scratcher. You know, John Robinson's done great things, but I just can't believe he didn't bring in another veteran. And not that he can't. You know, we've said all along that he's probably going to bring in somebody that gets cut that we don't see coming during training camp.

But right now the options are pretty bleak out there. There's not really a fix right now. But you can just hope for Corey Davis and Rashard Matthews to get healthy. By all reports out there, they will. But it's just kind of being prepared, and I don't feel like the Titans are all that prepared at receiver. Yeah, that's just the biggest concern at this point is what happens if those guys aren't ready. So we'll continue tomorrow to the situation.

I would still be surprised if they signed Dez Bryant, but not as surprised as maybe i would have been a few weeks ago i mean you kind of in the same camp there yeah yeah i'd still i'd still be pretty surprised honestly yeah so i mean again we'll just we'll keep an eye on it um but interesting that the the line has moved that way like you said when the titans weren't even necessarily i mean i think they were on the board early on when those things came out but they were way down the list so um you know but i was just a fact and that's what des brian is waiting for i mean you know at this point he's waiting for a situation where somebody gets hurt or somebody has a need you know because of an injury so um

it could crop up here who knows anyway all right so that'll do it for tonight's episode like i said we you know we're entering a period where the only news that comes out about an NFL team is bad news, somebody getting arrested or something like that. So hopefully the Titans will stay quiet from now until training camp starts. But we'll still have plenty of stuff to look into. And like I said, we're going to do some career stuff. We've got some Jeff Fisher stuff queued up. So that'll be an interesting episode, and we'll talk a little bit about him.

And then we'll get into some guys from that era, you know, from the early Titans era, and then some from, you know, just the last few years, like I did with Chris Johnson and Kenny Barrett. So, again, if you have any ideas for any of that kind of stuff, send them to us on Twitter. I don't think I said that at the beginning. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorksmcm.

Terry's at tlembertfb. Podcast account at LockedOnTitans. So that'll do it for tonight's episode. We'll have a couple more episodes this week, so be sure and check that out. Thanks for listening. And like I said, we'll try our best to get you through this downtime before training camp ramps up in a few weeks. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to LockedOnTitans,

and we will talk to you again later this week.