Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Team for sale? Evans signs. Who is Nick Williams?

Episode Date: May 16, 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, how are you today? Doing pretty good. What's going on, man? Not too much. We've got actually a little bit of news to talk about today, so we'll do that and push our 53-man roster talk slash projection back to tomorrow. So, looking forward to that to come out tomorrow. Before we get started today, I remind you to type BlueRite for NewCityMiracles.com, covering the Titans for SB Nation, so you can check out our work there. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. Podcast account at LockedOnTitans. All right, so today we're going to talk about a report or something like that from yesterday from Darren Revell, both Titans possibly being for sale. The Titans added a receiver on Wednesday,

and we'll also get into Rashawn Evans signing. So just a few things to hit today. Starting off with the tweet from Darren Revell, and basically he kind of threw in a thing, you know, in a tweet about the Panthers, about how the Panthers went for less than, you know, what people thought they would sell for. I guess that was like $2.2 billion, I guess, is what the Panthers sold for. And Revell said that the teams that are going to be next to come on the market

might get less than they anticipated or whatever. I mean, through the Titans end is the next team to come on the market. Well, obviously the report of the Titans being for sale is nothing new. That's been floating around out there really since Bud Adams died. It quieted down a little bit over the last year or so as Amy Adams-Strunk has taken a much more active role, at least in front of people. We don't really know what she was doing behind the scenes before.

But she's been out there for the media to see. She was obviously very involved in the uniform redesign. They redesigned the locker room. I mean, just a bunch of different stuff they did last offseason and the uniform stuff this offseason. So, to me, I mean, it seems pretty clear at this point that she's bought in. But the fact that these things keep coming out, I don't know if there's something there.

The one thing that we should mention is a third of the team that Susie Adam Smith owns, which is obviously amy's sister um you know the wife to tommy smith who tried to run the franchise in the ground a few years ago her third is for sale but and if i understand this correctly she is selling of her ownership in ksa industries is what it's called so So that was all of Bud Adams' business stuff. So there's oil companies, and there's a bunch of different stuff in there, as well as a third of the Titans. So from what I understand, it's not just that her piece of the Titans is for sale.

It's that her piece of the business is for sale. And if somebody bought that, then they would also own a third of the Titans. So anyway, that's just it. It's obviously a complicated thing that they have set up after Byam's passed. But what do you think, Terry? I mean, we keep hearing this stuff. Do you think there could be something there? Well, I think you've got to look at how Revelle

kind of presented it. It wasn't an actual report. Nothing was written on it. It was just kind of thrown into a tweet. So that part of it was strange to me. And that kind of tells me that, hey, this is maybe a known thing in NFL circles. So maybe there's not any new information here. Maybe he's just going off of, you know, we've heard the rumors for years now,

going back to Jason Lock and Fora and the Bon Jovi stuff, who, you know, I don't think we can put any stock into that. But this has kind of been circling for, what, three, four years now. It seems like every Sunday there for a little bit we had a new Lock and Forer report out about Titans being sold. So maybe that hasn't gone away. But like you were saying, she's been a public presence. She's been all over the Titans' website, all over the Titans' social media, totally revamped the locker room, all in on the uniform.

She seems all in on the franchise. So for this to keep coming out is really strange, and I'm not sure why the Titans won't come out and just squash it. And maybe they've tried, but clearly it hasn't worked. So I'm kind of thinking that there's something to this, maybe not anything new, but maybe privately the Titans have made it known that, hey, for the right price, we would consider it. Yeah, and like I said, there's a whole lot more that goes into this

because I don't know with the way everything's set up, and I'm obviously not an estate lawyer. But with it being tied up in the rest of the business interests, when you have basically what five people, I think is my understanding, that own that right now. Between Amy Adams-Strunk, Susie Adams-Smith, and you've got Kenneth Adams, who I think owns a third of a third. His mom also owns a third of a third, and then I think he's got a brother, too. They were from Byam's son, who passed away before Bud did. Anyway, it's kind of a complicated setup

and everything that's been going on there, but Revell came back today and said basically that he reached out to somebody and there's nothing new there, is what he said, that the third of the team is for sale. So anyway, like you said, this stuff keeps popping up, which is kind of weird. But at the same time, I don't know.

It just seems like that it would go away if there – I don't know. Anyway, it would be nice if she'd come out and say – and she has said a little bit basically that her plan is to, you know, be involved and own it for now and then eventually pass it on to Kenneth. And Kenneth Adams, Bud's grandson, has been very involved in the organization for a long time, kind of started at the bottom, was working his way up. While Bud's still on the team, I think that's kind of what he wanted him to do.

So anyway, I think at the end of the day there's nothing to this. I think that the Adams family, in some shape or form, is going to own this franchise for the foreseeable future. But anyway, this is weird. These things keep popping up. Also on Tuesday, it was announced that Titans signed Rashawn Evans. So good news there. We talked a little bit last week about basically no first-round picks hold out anymore.

There's always one or two that seem to drag on close to when camp starts. Generally, that offset language was again we talked about last week, so you can go back and listen to that. anymore there's always one or two that seem to drag on close to when camp starts uh you know generally over that offset language which is again we talked about last week so you can go back and listen to that but obviously the titans were able to get that done so that's good now you've got three of the four signed it's just waiting on harold landry landry being a second round pick i wouldn't think that the deal would be too complicated with him and they'd have that done well before camp starts. Yeah, and I think Corey Davis didn't sign until, like, July last year. So this is a step in the right direction. You know, it seemed like they were heading towards a holdout with Corey Davis,

and the same thing happened with Marcus Mariota. So a step in the right direction here. No nonsense. Got the deal done. with Marcus Mariota. So a step in the right direction here. No nonsense. Got the deal done. Not sure what changed. You know, only the Titans know what changed. So glad it's May. We're done talking about this, and we can just go play some football.

Yeah, and the Harold Leonard thing I think will be a little bit interesting because I wonder, you know, he fell further than he thought he would. So I wonder if that kind of stuff enters into negotiations at all. But really, this stuff's so standard now that, you know, I don't think they'll have any trouble getting that one done. All right, coming up, we'll talk about the newest receiver acquisition for the Titans and kind of what our feelings are currently on the receiver room. All right, so it was announced on Wednesday

that the Titans agreed to turn Williams, a guy that's been in the league since, I think, 2013. He's played in a couple different spots, but he was with the Redskins back in 13 when Matt LaFleur was, I think, the quarterback's coach there. So a guy that has ties to the floor makes sense on that standpoint. You know, he's caught a few passes. I mean, I think, I'm trying to find the numbers.

You know those off the top of your head? Just over 200 yards and two touchdowns for his career. Yeah. Yeah, 28 catches, 223 yards, two touchdowns. Best season was in Atlanta, 2015. 17 passes for 159 yards and both of his touchdowns. Best season was in Atlanta 2015, 17 passes for 159 yards, both of his touchdowns in that season. You know, obviously not a guy that's going to come in here and set the world on fire.

Gives them, I guess, what you can call a veteran depth guy, but, you know, not nearly as prolific of a guy as Eric Decker was even when they signed him last year. You know, we spent a lot of time talking kind of free agency draft about the need to add a veteran receiver. And, you know, we never thought really that they were going to be in on like a Sammy Watkins or any of those big names. I mean, you know, you had a tie there with Watkins obviously before last year.

But, you know, Allen Robinson, some of those guys that were on the market. But we thought they would bring in somebody, somebody that has, you know, some experience in that room. Because when you look around what they've got right now, you've got Rashard Matthews, who's obviously the veteran of the group. And then after that, you've got Corey Davis, who we all think is really, really talented. He's going to be really good.

But he's a rookie and missed a lot of time in his rookie year. You've got Tajay Sharp, who actually has more catches and stuff than what Corey Davis does, but he's in his third year after missing his entire second year. You've got Taewon Taylor, who's coming off a rookie season where he didn't see a whole lot of time on the field. They added Michael Campanaro, but he's more of a special teams guy, you would think. They added Michael Campanaro, but he's more of a special teams guy, you would think. So what is your level of confidence slash concern on the receivers that the Titans currently have on the roster? Well, you look at the first two, and it's really high.

You know what you're getting in Rashard Matthews. Possession guy, not overly athletic, but a good solid number two. You look at Corey Davis, and you know that I believe he's got all the tools to be a number one receiver. It's behind them where things get interesting. You know, Rashard Matthews goes down, Corey Davis goes down, things get really interesting. So there's a real lack of depth here to me. I'm absolutely shocked that they didn't do more. And like you said, we never thought they were going to be in on Allen Robinson

or Sammy Watkins, but we identified pretty quickly Jordan Matthews, guys like that, guys in that second, third round of free agency that could come in and provide depth. Still had some good years ahead of them. And all they do is add Campanaro and now Nick Williams, who really hasn't done anything in his NFL career. So they're pretty confident, and that's fine. They invested a lot in the position.

I get it. But Taewon Taylor couldn't find the field last year. Tajay Sharp coming off of injury. They're putting a lot of faith in guys who haven't really shown it yet, and it's a pretty risky move to me. Yeah, I mean, I think that's the thing is it's not that we don't think that the top two guys especially are going to be good. And, you know, we had high hopes for Taewon Taylor,

and we've said constantly we're not going to hold anything against those guys from the offense last year. Taewon Taylor, Corey Davis, Johnnie Smith, I mean, all those guys that maybe didn't perform to the expectations that we had coming into the season because the system was so bad. Everybody was confused. I mean, Marcus Mariota looked, you know, just lost at times. So, I mean, it's hard to make any snap judgments off of what those guys did last year. But, again, you would just think they would want somebody in there that had

some experience that gave them depth even. Because what happens if Corey Davis gets hurt again? Then what are you going to do? I mean, I know they're not in a much different situation than they were last year. They had Eric Decker, sure, but it didn't turn out to be what they wanted, I think, on or off the field from him. So I just wonder, you know, if Corey Davis goes down again,

then you're looking at Rashard Matthews and Tajay Sharp as your one and two. I mean, I think that's a big problem, in my opinion, and would limit what they're going to be able to do because you just don't have – I mean, who are you scared of in that scenario? Like I said, we have a lot of respect for Richard Matthews, a very, very good player. But he's a really good number two. He's not a number one.

He's not somebody that, you know, defensive coordinators, you know, stay up at night wondering how they're going to cover. So I'm just, I don't know. And not that, again, they would have had to assign like a Sammy Watkins or an Allen Robinson or somebody like that to really have that dynamic potential guy. But it just seems like they need more depth overall in the position. Like I said, they're thrilled with those top two if they're healthy, but there's a lot of concern with just going into the season

with the group that they have now. Yeah, I remain convinced that they're going to snag one when training camp cuts come along. I don't know who that is, but I don't think they're going to be in on a guy like Des Bryant or anything like that. But with some of these guys that the numbers just don't add up,

I think the Titans are going to find one. And they've got a need for one. Honestly, we just said what happens if Corey Davis goes down again. I love the guy, but he missed virtually half the season last year. I don't know how you can put that much faith that he's going to put a full 16 games together. So I'm really looking at that bargain bin type. You know, John Robinson's been very good in that area, getting guys that can contribute.

You've got Eric Walden last year. You got Eric Decker last year. Obviously, it didn't work out like we planned, but I think he's going to go back to that. Yeah, and I think that's the thing. That'll be probably the number one position that we're looking at. You know, just as we sit here today, not knowing what kind of injuries are going to happen in the preseason

or anything like that. But, you know, as the roster sits today, receivers will be the biggest thing that we'll be watching when those roster cuts start happening in August. Because I just, like you said, I just can't see a scenario where they enter with this group as it is. And, again, you're not, you know, there's not going to be the huge name that's going to come available that's really going to, you know,

change the shape of your offense or anything like that. But you could find a guy or two that could come in, be a reliable veteran guy that's able to step in if somebody goes down or at least give you some contributions even just in three and four wide receiver sets. So anyway, that'll be something to keep an eye on as we go along. All right, that's everything for today, right? I think we hit it all, yeah. All right.

So that will do it for today's episode. Again, we'll have a 53-man roster projection coming tomorrow. And then just kind of where it sits right now, and obviously like we talked about just with the receivers, I mean things are going to change between now and September. But just kind of looking at what they have right now. But in the meantime, check out museummiracles.com. I have a lot of stuff going on there.

And subscribe to the podcast, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify. Leave us a review, write the podcast. We'd really appreciate that. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans, and we'll talk to you again tomorrow.