Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - REPORT: Titans Looking to Extend Derrick Henry??

Episode Date: May 20, 2022

A report this week indicated the Tennessee Titans could be interested in extending star running back Derrick Henry. Is it true and does it make sense for the Titans? Tyler dives into the latest news. Next, the Titans have been in the news a lot lately in regards to potentially getting a new stadium in Nashville. What are the latest developments and what could the stadium look like? Tyler goes over what is out there currently. Finally, a Rowland's Rant on the latest fake AJ Brown controversy.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport 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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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 Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, we are going to look at some of the big news items surrounding the Tennessee Titans over the last 24 to 48 hours. First, we got a report that the Tennessee Titans may be interested in extending star running back Derrick Henry. I'm going to look at the pros and the cons of that decision. Then we are going to talk about the Tennessee Titans potential new stadium. We got some really

good information and updates on the Titans new stadium plan. I'm going to go over all the latest news with you guys and talk about a very interesting side of the story in terms of who will be building this stadium. And then finally, I'll give you guys a Rollins rant to finish off the week on the latest fake A.J. Brown controversy. So rounding up the latest 24 to 48 hours of Tennessee Titans news to cap off the week on a Friday 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 Friday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. I'm excited to dive into this latest report saying that the Tennessee Titans may extend Derrick Henry in the near future. I'm going to get into that before I do. I 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 Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell so you know when all the content goes live and throw a thumbs up on YouTube if you're watching right now. You can also find me on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter,

at Locked onTitansPod, on Facebook, remember LockedOnTitans, daily Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content, your team every day. But let's dive into this latest report we have here, and it came from Jeremy Fowler from ESPN. And he talks about the option that the Titans are considering to extend Derrick Henry in an attempt to basically lower his cap hit over the next two years. This is what Fowler had to say about the possibility of extending Derrick Henry. Quote, he has two years left on his current contract

and running backs typically don't get paid early. But I'm hearing that the Titans are at least open to a possible new deal with Henry. Henry salaries of $12 million, $15 million cap hit, and $12.5 million, $15.5 million cap hit over the next two years. The Titans could lessen those two cap hits by extending him by a year or two, and they could build in escape hatches if Henry declines in his 30s. But right now, Henry is still considered the game's top back. And that's the end of the quote there. So just to go through why the Titans would do this, as Fowler points out, Derrick Henry has

a very high cap hit in the next two seasons. This year, 15. Next year, 15 and a half million. And the reality is here, running backs do not get paid that much anymore. Teams have figured it out. The Zeke contract, the Todd Gurley contract, Christian McCaffrey's contract, all of them look terrible. A bad return on investment. Now, while Henry's deal,

the way that it was structured, made it less punitive on the Titans, we are to the point where it is as punitive as it's going to be for the Titans with those $15 million cap hits. It would make sense for the Titans and for Derrick Henry potentially to work out an extension before the season. And here's kind of what I'm thinking. You give Derrick Henry $10 million more guaranteed. So from Derrick Henry's perspective, coming off a major injury, getting closer to $30 million, Derrick Henry's like, okay, I can secure myself another $10 million of guaranteed cash. But what the Titans could do is they could extend his contract from two years to four years

and only give him $10 million more in guaranteed money. So basically then they can set up the contract to where the cap hit is lowered to around $10 million. Derrick Henry gets more guaranteed money, which in his position, as I just mentioned, coming off a major injury, getting closer to $30, with a ton of wear and tear on him. Derrick Henry can get himself some more guaranteed money, and the Titans can lower the cap hit over the next two to three seasons and still keep Derrick Henry around. Now, there are benefits here other than Derrick Henry getting more money

other than the Titans lowering the cap hit. There are more benefits here. This is good for the team, not only for the lower cap hit, but as Fowler stated, when the Titans structure a contract this way, adding in about 10 million more guaranteed dollars, but adding in two more years, then they can create lower punitive in terms of dead cap money if they have to move on from Derrick Henry. If he does experience what a lot of other running backs have and just starts to decline quicker than Titans fans want to think that he will. If that happens, the Titans have outs in the contract in year three or year four to lower the dead cap. And also, I think this has to be mentioned. The team dynamic.

There are some people in that locker room who were not happy when A.J. Brown was traded. There's no way around it. They expressed that displeasure on draft night on Twitter. Now, a lot of those tweets have been deleted from Jeffrey Simmons and Kevin Byard. Ryan Tannehill was public about how, you know, he didn't like the move. It was a shock to him. He lost sleep over it, he said.

So I think giving Derrick Henry more guaranteed money, helping the team out salary cap-wise with the cap hit, while also rewarding a guy coming off a major injury and saying, hey, we still believe in you. You're still our guy. I think that could maybe, you know, create some goodwill with it. Not saying that there's going to be this big locker room problem, but hey, there's no way around it.

The guys in the locker room weren't happy about the AJ trade, whether they could have prevented it or not. And giving Derrick Henry some money after an injury and showing that you still trust him and believe in him and all that, I think that could maybe help turn the tide back the other way a little bit. Just positive vibes with the vets in the locker room. I think that's all good for the Titans. For Derrick Henry, again, adding that guaranteed money. I think that's all good for the Titans.

For Derrick Henry, again, and that guaranteed money. He's in his late 20s, coming off an injury with all of those reps and that wear and tear on him. Could, you know, go off a cliff in the next few years. It's not out of the realm of possibility. I don't want it to be true, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. So it would make sense from his perspective to lock in $10 million more guaranteed dollars, and it helps out the team as well. So I think it would be sense from his perspective to lock in 10 million more guaranteed dollars and it helps out the team as well so I think it would be a good idea it would be a little risky

for the Titans to commit more guaranteed money to a running back in the situation that I've explained throughout but as we all know Derrick Henry is a different type of specimen so I think that it would be a smart move to help yourself out cap wise it would basically be like a restructure but done as an extension to give the Titans more maneuverability. But that's going to do it for the Derrick Henry conversation and that recent report from Jeremy Fowler. Will Derrick Henry get an extension before training camp? That's something that we will monitor going forward.

But now I want to get into a conversation about the Titans potentially getting a new stadium. And we got some very interesting details on that front here in the last 24 or so hours. So I'm excited to dive into that. Before we do, though, got to tell you guys about BetOnline.net. BetOnline is your number one source for all your betting needs and sports info for all the latest odds, news, and sports developments, including all the information you need on this year's basketball playoffs, the Major League Baseball season,

all the fights, even NFL futures for next year. Make sure that you head to BetOnline. BetOnline is your continued source for all your sporting wagering information from live betting to playoffs to esports and more. Head to their website today or use your mobile device to learn more about all the trends and all the action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, we are going to continue this Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

We're doing some news. The Titans have had a couple of different news stories pop up in the last 24 to 48 hours. So we're going to cap off the week going over all of the latest info. We just talked about that recent report about the Titans potentially extending Derrick Henry. Went over the pros and the cons, why it makes sense for both parties, why there is some risk for the Titans. But either way, that is the latest on that. We're going to get into the news about the Titans' new stadium. Before we do, I got to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day. Make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. I am going to be putting out daily Monday through, Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year round, again, free and available on all platforms. Going into this Titans story about the stadium. So we got some interesting tidbits today. Basically, what it's coming down to is the stadium is going to be about $1.9 to $2.1 million. The Titans are going to be about 1.9 to 2.1 million dollars.

The Titans are going to have to put in about 7 million of their own contribution to get that done. That's all included in these recent tweets from Teresa Walker, the goat, the mom of Titans media. Shout out Teresa.

But she's Associated Press pro football writer, Hall of Famer as a Tennessee sports writer. So I just want to take a big moment here. Shout out Teresa. Truly a goat in the industry. But she put a big thread together today about the Titans new stadium and some details. And I just

want to go through the thread with you guys. Quote, Titans president and CEO Berkna Hill detailing the financing for the financing committee of Nashville And I just want to go through the thread with you guys. Quote, Titans president and CEO, Burke Nahill, detailing for the financing committee of Nashville Sports Authority issues that they have at Nissan Stadium. He notes, concrete steps are crumbling

and the team has been working since 2015 to repair expansion joints and ongoing issues for the life of the stadium. That sounds dangerous to me. I'm not, I tell you guys, I'm not a doctor. And I'm going to tell you, I'm not an engineer. I don't know, but that sounds dangerous. Teresa continues, quote,

Titans president points out the current lease for Nissan Stadium has Metro Nashville Sports Authority obligated for $945 million to update the stadium. So basically the terms of the Titans lease with Nashville Sports Association means that Nashville is already obligated to pay $945 million to update the Titans stadium. So that's already there. If the Titans just wanted to update their current stadium, they would get nearly a billion dollars from Metro Nashville Sports Authority. So if the city is going to have to throw in that much money already. Also, Teresa continues, quote, Titans also have option to extend their lease to 2039.

Nashville taxpayers on the hook via lease potentially for another $894 million in maintenance and upgrades under current lease. So again, to put the last two tweets from Teresa together, right now the Titans could get $945 million out of Nashville because of their lease terms. They could get another additional nearly $900 million if they extend their lease to 2039, which they all have the ability to do. they extend their lease to 2039,

which they all have the ability to do. So the Titans could get potentially $1.8 billion from taxpayers in Nashville based on their current lease. So basically, my interpretation of those tweets is the Titans have the city by the horns.

If they want to go the route of renovating the stadium, they're going to be able to legally get nearly $2 billion out of the city anyways. So the Titans might as well help the city out, get a little less from the city, and just build a brand new stadium. Teresa ends her thread with this tweet. Quote, Nahil says that the obligation is not a sustainable solution.

Says Titans Nashville officials trying to take taxpayers out of the risk position. Want to switch risk from taxpayers to Titans. Again, my interpretation of the tweet. The Titans could hit the city of Nashville over the head for nearly $2 billion based on the obligations in their current lease. But instead, the Titans are trying to create a better solution with a new stadium instead of a renovated stadium

and significantly lower the amount that the taxpayers would have to pay and put, like he says, more of the risk on the Titans. So I think all of that is great news, quite frankly. There's no other way around it. That's all great news. I also want to note here, there were a couple other tweets that I saw that I think make a lot of sense. Burke-Nahill also related to the Titans renewing their vows to the city of Nashville.

There were tweets out there that said the Titans never considered moving. They want to be in Nashville and they consider this proposal, as I've outlined it, where they take the risk away from the taxpayers and instead of legally making the city give them $2 billion to renovate, they want to put up more of their money, take money off the taxpayers' plate, and just create a better stadium and a new stadium that fits Nashville. So, love all that.

Also want to mention here, another thing that came out today, Miss Amy, the team mom who saved this franchise, Amy Adams Strunk, is currently in the process of liquidating assets that her father owned for 50 to 60 years to put up the $700 million required for the Titans to build this stadium. Amy Adams Strunk is taking things that her father owned for half of a century

and selling them away to get money so that they can put up money to build this stadium and take that risk away from the taxpayer even though they legally have them by the horns. What else do you want from the organization? If that doesn't make you love the Titans organization even more,

I don't know what will. Amy is taking a personal financial risk, selling off assets her family has owned for half a century to put up more money to take money off the taxpayer's plate when she doesn't even legally have to. When they could legally hit the city over the head for $2 billion. They're not going to do that.

To renew their vows with the city and Nashville to stay here and build a stadium that matches the city that Nashville has become. I am hyped for it. Now I want to get into this. This is great. This is great. This is great. The company, and shout out to Mike Miracles, he put this or noted this, the company that has been charged and tasked with building the Titan Stadium, designing the stadium, is Manika Architecture. They're out of Kansas City. What are some other stadiums in American, not even American pro sports,

in big-time global pro sports that this company, Manika, has built? Let's go over them. There's four right here. And again, shout out to Mike for doing this research. Number one, Wembley Stadium in London. A gorgeous stadium. I'm not 100% certain if they have a retractable roof in Wembley. It does look like it.

But either way, just a beautifully designed stadium. A beautiful look to it. With all the glass on the outside. The opening in the roof. Kind of the arch over top of it. I mean, a gorgeous stadium. They also designed NRG Stadium in Houston. A beautiful stadium as well,

with a gorgeous ceiling over top of it. Gorgeous. Allegiant Stadium in Vegas, which, my God, if the Titans get Allegiant Stadium 2.0, whoo, man, that stadium is slick. God, I can't wait for the Titans to have one of these awesome stadiums. And outside of football or football, another one is the Chase Center,

the Golden State Warriors' new stadium in San Francisco, which is just incredible. I mean, go look at pictures of these places. Chase Center, Allegiant Stadium, NRG Stadium, Wembley. The Titans are going to have one of the most state-of-the-art stadiums in the world.

You can't tell me that you aren't hyped for that. You can't tell me. Joshua Wilson said, I missed it. What about a new stadium? Yeah, the Titans are getting a new stadium, guys. I just went over a bunch of information about it. Basically, the Titans stadium, to be renovated up to the standard it needs to be at,

would cost the Titans more than to just tear it down and build a new stadium. And the city wants to develop the land by the Titans Stadium, the East Bank, to a big business center and more shops and restaurants and all that. So doing all that together at the same time, building the new stadium, doing all that,

that's the Titans' goal. Titans to California, what? No, literally I just went over how the Titans organization is taking money off the taxpayers' plate and reaffirming their commitment to the city of Nashville. Nashville is one of the most booming cities in America. You would never leave Nashville with your pro sports team to go to California right now with their taxes

in a state with no state taxes. You're going to leave and go to California, take your team there. Nobody's moving their business to California right now. Nah. So, sorry. Yeah, Josh, get excited. New stadium.

Anyways, we're going to move forward, guys. That's the two biggest news stories of the end of the week here. There's a Roland's rant in your near future about a fake AJ Brown controversy that I just have to speak my piece on. Before we get into that, though, I got to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. You get the best of both worlds. When you try out Built Bars, you get all the health benefits of a protein bar. They're low calorie, low sugar, high protein,

high fiber, great as a healthy meal substitute or just a guilt-free snack. But you also get just incredible taste. I've had Built Bars that are far better tasting than some candy bars that I've had. All the Built Bars are covered in 100% real chocolate. My favorite flavors are the salted caramel, the peanut butter brownie, the white chocolate cheesecake. You can't go wrong with any of the flavors. I would get a variety pack so you could try as many as possible. But make sure you guys go to Bilt.com

Use promo code LOCKED15 You're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at built.com. Titans fans, we're going to cap off not only this Friday edition of the Locked on Titans fans, we're going to cap off not only this Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, but this week of the Locked on Titans podcast. Man, it's been a good one. Had the Malik Willis deep dive.

We talked about some tight schedule stuff. I mean, just an excellent week of shows if I do say so myself. I want to thank you guys again for all the tremendous support at all times. Feeling the love on the Malik Willis video. So I thank you guys very much for checking that out. If you haven't seen that, I did an interview with Malik Willis' quarterback trainer and quarterback coach, Sean McAvoy. I did an interview with Locked On Auburn's Zach Blackerby, where Malik Willis spent two

years of his college career kind of getting a deep dive into the background on Malik Willis. And boy, it was just excellent. So I hope you guys will go check that out if you have not. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. But as for your second listen, you need you guys to check out the Locked on NFL podcast. Get all your Titans news here with me. Get all your national NFL news with the Locked on NFL podcast. It's free and available on all platforms, including the Locked On NFL YouTube page.

I actually host the Thursday Locked On NFL show with my buddy Alex Clancy from Locked On Cardinals. So if you would subscribe over there, check that out. Pair that with Locked On Titans. You'll be good to go every single day. But impromptu Roland's rant. And I got to tell you, I'm not going to spend a lot of time here, guys. It's going to be a quick one.

But I just have to say my piece. A.J. Brown had a football camp scheduled in the Nashville area. It was in Tennessee. Okay. Anthony Ferkser has a football camp scheduled in the Nashville

area. These are kids come, they get to see NFL players, get to learn from their favorite players, blah, blah, blah, have a fun day, promote exercise, teach are kids come, they get to see NFL players, get to learn from their favorite players, blah, blah, blah, have a fun day, promote exercise, teach your kids skills, all, it's great stuff. It's all great stuff. But here's where the fake controversy lies.

Essentially, A.J. Brown isn't going to do his camp, at least he's not going to host. The rumor is that he's trying to get Derrick Henry to run the camp for him or some other Titans player, a big name player,

to run the camp for him. And everybody is kind of comparing that to Anthony Ferkser, who is still running his camp as intended, as it was scheduled. Anthony Ferkser is going to still running his camp as intended, as it was scheduled. Anthony Ferkser is going to be at that camp in Tennessee, despite the fact that Anthony Ferkser is now signed to the Atlanta Falcons. Okay.

Guys, this is stupid. Anybody who's mad at A.J. Brown about this, it's stupid. It's so dumb, okay? Look, it's different. How can you compare those two situations and say that Ferkser did the right thing and A.J. did the wrong thing?

Ferkser, number one, was an overachieving, undrafted free agent who played a limited role for the Titans. He then became an underachieving player when offered an increased role. He left as a free agent. The Titans didn't sign him. And he went to Atlanta with Art. Which makes sense for him.

A.J. Brown. Bamboozled the Titans. Cut off communication with his coaches in the organization. And requested a trade. And in my opinion. Had his agent organize a backdoor deal with Philadelphia. and in my opinion, had his agent organize a backdoor deal with Philadelphia. So, how are fans, if you saw Anthony Ferkser right now compared to seeing A.J. Brown, what would you have to say?

It's different. It is different. There is vitriol just the fact that people are making this a fake controversy proves my point there is vitriol and true anger at AJ Brown quite honestly I think it's even just slightly deserved but none of that should be about him not running that camp

I wouldn't run it either. There's no way that all these Titans fans are going to be happy to go out there and hear from A.J. Brown. The way it went down, the way it worked out, there's going to be animosity towards him from this fan base forever. Now, maybe not you personally listening, but the reality is a large chunk of the fan base is going to throw their nose up at AJ Brown anytime they hear about him now because of the way that it looks like he did the Titans on his

way out the door. So no, I wouldn't do that camp if I was AJ and I think that it's kind of nice of him to try to find another Titan to do it so that the kids can get that experience and still be happy and have a good time and be excited to see one of their favorite Titans who didn't cheat out on the organization and leave at the altar. Duh, man. Come on, man. You can't be mad at AJ about that. I actually think it's a smart thing and a good thing that he's not just canceling the camp outright. So that's my piece on that. I actually think it's a smart thing and a good thing that he's not just canceling the camp outright. So that's my piece on that. No one's going to be mad at Anthony Ferg, sir. That's the point.

Nobody's going to be like, Ferg, you ditched out on the Titans. The Titans didn't offer him the deal. He went and got another deal and he's just a lower level player. There's going to be, the difference is when people, when Titans fans hear about A.J. Brown for the rest of eternity, There's going to be, the difference is when people, when Titans fans hear about A.J. Brown for the rest of eternity, there's going to be some shake in my head to it. When you hear about Anthony Ferkser, you're going to be like,

oh, Ferk, oh yeah, Ferk daddy. Oh yeah, that was a nice little, nice little role player. So that's the difference, man. And we just have to be honest with ourselves here. Can't be mad at AJ for not running that camp. You can't. Yeah, I mean, even if he cancels it

because he can't get somebody to run it. Of all the things you can be mad at AJ Brown for and take legitimate issue with AJ Brown for, that camp and Anthony Ferkser still running his as a comparison is absolutely not one of them. So that's my little impromptu Roland's rant for the end of the day. Those are the three biggest news stories

surrounding the Titans here at the end of the week. I'm going to be back with you guys next week. I'm going to do some draft superlatives next week that got bumped. A mailbag is coming for the Twitter and podcast crowd. So send those mailbag is coming for the Twitter and podcast crowd. So send those mailbag questions.

And now, guys, I'll stalk them, whether it be Monday's mailbag, whether it be a Twitter Tuesday. We're going to do a mailbag early next week. So get those questions into me at TicTacTitans on Twitter, or you can put them as a five-star review on Apple iTunes. Appreciate the support there. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. you on Apple iTunes. Appreciate the support there, but that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.