Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Robert Woods Talks Titans Trade, Byard Restructures & Dylan Cole Returns!!

Episode Date: March 23, 2022

The Tennessee Titans introduced new wide receiver Robert Woods on Wednesday. Dive into all of the interesting things Woods had to say as he was officially introduced as a Titan! Why Tennessee, how he fits in the offense & more!! Next, Kevin Byard restructured his contract to allow for the trade to be made. What does the Titans cap situation look now? Finally, the Titans re-signed Dylan Cole! What will his role be going forward!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 Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, we are going to hear from new Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Robert Woods. Woods gave his introductory press conference as a Tennessee Titan on Wednesday. Going to go over some of the more interesting comments that he made. Also, on Wednesday, the Titans made a couple of roster moves. They signed a new player and they did a contract restructure

with one of the best players on the team. I'll tell you what both those moves are and how they impact the Tennessee Titans salary cap right now. So all that and more on a Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, youred 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 Thursday edition of the Locked On NFL podcast. We're going to break down the opening press conference from Bobby Trees, go over all of the interesting comments that he made on Wednesday, also talk about a new player signing and a contract restructure. Before we get into today's show, I do got 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 everywhere and always free.

And that does include the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell. Hit that thumbs up button if you're watching on YouTube right now. Remember, I'm going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long. Make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. Also, follow me on social media, on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans, on Facebook at Locked on Titans pod. But time to dive into these Robert Woods comments. So Woods was introduced as a Tennessee Titan on Wednesday.

Officially, the trade has gone through. Everything is finalized. And he talked to Nashville media about the process of coming to the Tennessee Titans, picking a team, where he views himself on this roster, a lot of different things. So I want to get into those and where we're going to start is just talking about Woods, you know, mindset here as he comes into the Tennessee Titans and specifically the Tennessee Titans offense. This is what Woods had to say, quote, I am joining a great offense, a great team. I'm really excited to get to work with Ryan Tannehill and AJ Brown

and everyone to get this thing rolling. We have a great back in the backfield, and you have a good running back to get the passing game going, and I think Derrick Henry will complement what I do and what we'll do in the passing game, especially with Tannehill and Todd Downing calling plays. It should be an exciting group, end quote. While I agree with some of what he had to say there,

I do think that, you know, Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown, Derek Henry do complement what Robert Woods does so well. So Derek Henry, an explosive, powerful running back out of the backfield. Ryan Tannehill, of course, the quarterback, the point guard, getting the ball out to all the playmakers. A.J. Brown has the speed to go deep, the physicality to go over the middle, the explosiveness to score from wherever he is on the field. Robert Woods is a precise, savvy route runner, a smart player

who will know how to get into all the holes of the zone, know how to set up certain guys with certain routes when they're in man coverage. He's just an intelligent player. That's one of the big things that everyone who's been involved with Robert Woods has talked about throughout his career is just how smart and professional of a guy he is. So I do agree with him. He is going to compliment what the Titans do on offense very well. Now, at the end of that, he

mentioned Todd Downing calling plays and I don't know if that contributes to it being an exciting group. Now I know everybody dogpiles on to Ryan Tannehill and Todd Downing, me included. Me included, but the Titans did have a top five red zone offense last year. They were top five in scoring. I mean, this Tennessee Titans offense still was not bad last year, despite all of the reasonable complaints that we had. So good to know

that, you know, Robert Woods sees himself within that group and it makes sense. He had this to say as well, quote, we are super excited to be here. We've heard such great things about the city. Everyone that we've spoken to, friends and family, are like, you guys are going to love it there. We are excited to get into the community and share this passion. And again, the big thing that stands out from Robert Woods' press conference is just how professional he truly was. And just how intelligent, how thoughtful his responses were. I know, and I'll get into this more as the show progresses. I know that you don't win games at the press conference. But at the end of the day, there is a level of maturity.

There's a level of thoughtfulness. A level of professionalism that isn't just found on the podium. That's transferred into the locker room. into the film room, into practice. I mean, Robert Woods talked about being excited to practice. And, you know, when you think about the last wide receiver that the Titans acquired that was supposed to be wide receiver two, the view of practice, very, very different between that guy and Robert Woods. Robert Woods also talked about kind of his process of joining the Tennessee Titans,

what his thought process was, and kind of the method that he went about. And he talked about once he knew that Allen Robinson was coming to the Rams, again, Woods, very intelligent guy. He knows the business of football, and he figured that might mean that he was going to be leaving L.A. He knows the business of football and he figured that might mean that he was going to be leaving LA. And he said about 20 minutes after he had that thought, he got a call from his agent basically saying, Hey, where do you want to go? What do you want to do here? And he said that, you know, not a direct quote, but he began studying all the teams that were interested in him. That included the Titans said he talked to former guys who had played for the Titans.

Josh Reynolds, Roger Saffold, Antoine Woods. He had familiarity with Todd Downing and wide receiver coach Rob Moore from their time in Buffalo. And he's trained in past summers with former Titans cornerback Adoree Jackson. They went to the same high school even. So he's got a lot of guys that he could contact and ask about what Tennessee was all about. And luckily, all that information that he got back was good information.

And I know what you're thinking. Josh Reynolds said good things about the Titans. Kind of surprised me as well. But we don't know the details of Josh Reynolds leaving the Titans. It could have truly been a mutual decision that both parties agreed on. But good to know that that process led him to feeling good about the Tennessee Titans. It could have truly been a mutual decision that both parties agreed on, but good to know that that process led him to feeling good about the Tennessee Titans, and he had this to say about his choice.

Quote, The Titans are a top-performing team with coach of the year, talking about Mike Frabel. I think this organization, this team, is the best fit for my game. I wanted to be a part of a winning culture. I'm going to eat some crow on that.

I even said after the Titans started slow in free agency that maybe it wasn't very easy to get one of these wide receivers to come to Tennessee because of what happened with Josh Reynolds and what happened with Julio Jones and how the Titans are known as a run-first team. But it seems like all of that, and despite that, that really appealed to Robert Woods. And, you know, it's no secret here that Mike Vrabel runs a tight ship.

He has a very good culture in Tennessee. And Mike Vrabel said it this offseason, culture is what happens when bad things are happening. And the Titans, despite all the injuries, despite the struggles that they had, still ended up getting the number one seed in the AFC, a very resilient group. And that culture really has, you know has kind of the news of that culture and the word of that culture is spread throughout the NFL, and people know what they're going to get when they come to Tennessee. So it's great to hear Robert Woods actually say that

so we know that that's how people around the NFL are viewing it. But we're going to continue diving into Bobby Tree's comments in just a moment. Before we do, I do want to tell you guys about BetOnline.net. It's that time of year again. College basketball's tournament is here, and it's going to be gone quicker than you want to believe. Very similar to how the NFL season just rolls and rolls and rolls,

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for all your sports wagering information needs, including live betting and your favorite Vegas casino games. 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, let's continue this Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're breaking down Robert Woods' introductory press conference with the Tennessee Titans, some of the interesting things he had to say at the end of the show.

We are going to talk about a restructure contract-wise that the Titans did on Wednesday, and the Titans signed a player on Wednesday. So we'll talk about that as well. But let's dive back into Robert Woods' comments here. He talked about the Titans being a place that he wanted to be. He talked about, well, I talked about with you guys all the background information that he did to kind of figure out where he wants to be. He talked about the offense and how excited he is to be within the city.

All kinds of different things. But he also talked about, you know, more about what he wants to do here with the Titans and looking forward and what the team can accomplish. And this is what Woods had to say as well. Quote, I feel like this team has it all, and I feel like I can be that addition that can be a part of getting them over the hump. They have been to the playoffs,

and now we have to finish it off and win a Super Bowl here. End quote. I mean, you got to love hearing that from Robert Woods. You just absolutely have to love that. He wants to win a Super Bowl in Tennessee. That's huge. Now, of course, to do that, he's gonna have to be out on the field. And Robert Woods is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in November,

November the 12th, to be exact. But he seemed very optimistic about how he feels. He said that he was feeling good, said that he hasn't had any setbacks, and it's funny, Kevin Byard actually retweeted something about this, but they asked Robert Woods about the timetable for his return.

And he said that he's not going to put any immediate, you know, timetable on. He's not going to talk about that. And he actually said, they told me not to give a timetable. Kevin He's not going to talk about that. And he actually said, they told me not to give a timetable. Kevin Byard, the exact quote, quote, they told me not to talk about timetables. Kevin Byard retweeted that quote and said, my dog is a quick study team media rules. So not only are we learning a little bit about Robert Woods, we're learning a little bit more about the Titans, uh,

kind of media culture that Mike Vrabel sets out. It's no surprise the Titans tell their players to say literally nothing. All the time. Literally nothing. So no surprise there. But again, the professionalism, the intelligence of Robert Woods, no surprise that that would be his answer.

Now, one thing that Robert Woods did talk about, though, is how to kind of bridge that gap when he's not able to be out there. He said he's not going to be available for OTAs. So when the Titans are going through those early organized team activities in May, Robert Woods is not going to be out on the field, but he said he's going to have the play script next to him, which is the plays that are being called during those organized events. He's going to be standing next to Ryan Tannehill, talking to him, working with him, discussing where he wants Robert Woods to be, how he sees certain plays, how he views certain schemes, route combinations, where exactly he needs Robert Woods to be at what time to get the timing down. So all of those discussions mean a lot for the process of getting on the same page.

But he did talk a little bit about getting back from injury and went into some details. And here's what he had to say. I'm not trying to be anything I wasn't before. I am coming here to be myself, Robert Woods. A great teammate, a great receiver. I take pride in my work at practice

every single rep. In the weight room as well. Show up to the meeting rooms. Holding guys accountable is important. He said, I feel youthful physically. I feel healthy, not having many injuries in the NFL. I train hard. I come in ready, stay in shape. I take pride in my work. I am at my midpoint in my career, and I am just trying to keep this thing going. I feel like I am just getting started. I am at my midpoint in my career and I am just trying to keep this thing going. I feel like I am just getting started. I feel like I am in my prime, in the best shape of my life. You love hearing all that from Robert Woods. And again, I don't mean to kick a guy on his way out the door, but there are plenty of people, not only in Atlanta, but around the NFL, that said that maybe Julio Jones isn't that kind of guy.

Julio Jones isn't somebody who's known to lift a lot of weights. He isn't a guy who practices a lot. Doesn't take a lot of that seriously. Now, you can't say a guy doesn't work hard when he's one of the best wide receivers to ever live. Julio Jones is a hard worker, but does he work quite as hard as Robert Woods? And a lot of people say that the hamstring issues and the injury issues that Julio Jones is having here in his early 30s are because maybe he doesn't take care of his body as well.

The attention to detail on all the little things that do matter outside of just being great on the field, maybe on as much of a focus for him. And I also do want to say this again, games aren't won at the podium. So I'm not saying that being good at interviews is going to make you a better player than someone who isn't. But every time I heard Julio Jones in an interview, he didn't seem like he was taking it very serious. He didn't really care to give very thoughtful answers to the media. Now, maybe this is my own personal bias because

technically I'm in the media or whatever you want to say. Some people say I spend media narratives and all this, and then some people say I'm just a fan. So people can't make up their minds on where I land. It doesn't really matter. But to me, the type of thoughtfulness that Robert Woods gave in his press conference the intelligent careful answers he didn't want to just say some nonsense and move on to the next one he really wanted to answer the question to the best of his ability

and give a thoughtful, considerate answer that's the type of attitude that he will take towards his body, towards the team, towards being on the field. So, I just remember a lot of Julio Jones' press conference, they'd ask him about his hamstring

and say, what do you mean? Ain't no problem with the hamstring. But it just wasn't very genuine. Kind of flippant, quite frankly. So, this is a breath of fresh air seeing Robert Woods you know be professional like this thoughtful considerate all these things that I've talked about

and you know he's a guy who you gotta root for I mean you just can't help but root for him and this was something that I didn't know the next quote that we're going to go into that makes me want to root for Robert Woods even more. So Robert Woods' sister, Olivia Woods, died in 2007. She was 17 years old. She had been diagnosed with sarcoma cancer and he still plays in her memory and he actually talked about

that at the beginning of his press conference here and he said this quote every day every game she is on my mind she is my inspiration for being tough being resilient part of my game is just because of the way she was tough when she

battled and went through what she battled and went through is nothing compared to what I am doing playing football. So I've always wanted to be a leader and wanted to lead by example. I've always wanted to make her proud. I know a lot of you guys listening. I've lost too many family members to count from cancer. I'm sure everybody listening to this has been affected by cancer at some point. So to hear a real story about real-life sadness and real-life problems for Robert Woods still kind of spurns him on today. I think everybody can relate to that.

And hearing about that and knowing what he's been through and what his family's been through, it just makes you want to root for him even that much harder and want him to succeed here with the Titans even that much more. I know we did two full segments on Robert Woods quotes and press conference stuff, but I was just really impressed by what he had to say. And all of it gets me really excited for what he can be when he gets back on the field, not only as a player, but as a teammate and as a member of the Nashville community. He just seems like the ideal kind of guy that you want on your team in the NFL.

But we're going to move forward, talk about some of the roster moves that the Titans made on Wednesday. Got a player signing, got a contract restructure. We'll go over all of that. Before we do, I want to thank you guys again. I'm struggling right now. Take a deep breath. I want to thank you guys again. I'm struggling right now. Take a deep breath.

I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you guys are also checking out the Locked On NFL podcast. Okay, Tyreek Hill got traded. What? That was crazy.

Well, guess who's on the Locked On NFL national show breaking it down? Me. So go's on the Locked On NFL National Show breaking it down? Me. So go check out the Locked On NFL Podcast National Show, National NFL News, under 30 minutes, Monday through Friday. I host the Thursday show. We're talking Tyreek Hill. We're talking Dolphins.

We're talking Chiefs. All that stuff. Me and my co-host, Alex Clancy. I would appreciate the support if you guys would go check that out, especially subscribing to the Locked On NFL YouTube channel. It's free and available wherever you get your podcast. But we are going to talk about those roster moves

in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off this Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about all of Bobby Tree's comments from his opening press conference with the Titans. Now I want to talk about some moves that the Titans made on Wednesday. Some roster moves, and I kind of put it here at the end. I know typically roster moves would be a top of the show topic,

but with what the roster moves were, I couldn't possibly put it ahead of the Robert Woods news. So we are going to get into that before we do. I'm going to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the Locked On NFL Draft podcast. Ryan Tracy, Aaron Crocker is a

former NFL cornerback breaking down the draft from two different angles. You get the front office perspective, but also all the prospect analysis that you could ever want. So check out the Locked On NFL Draft podcast, free and available on whatever platform that you do stream. As for these moves, so number one,

the Titans did a salary cap restructure with Kevin Byard. It is a salary restructure that I have been projecting throughout the offseason. It made a ton of sense. It took Kevin Byard's cap down from about $15 million to about $7 million. So what they do is they take his salary, which is not bonus money, his salary,

which is paid out per game. They convert salary to signing bonus. Kevin Byard gets all that money up front. And then, instead of having his salary all in one year, that now bonus money is spread out throughout the life of his contract. So you get a lower cap hit in 2022, but if you want to move on from Kevin Byard in the future, that bonus money that gets spread out throughout the rest of his contract is going to be dead cap money. But let's

all look each other in the eye and say, Kevin Byard ain't going nowhere. Okay. I'm not worried about dead cap. If you cut Kevin Byard in a couple of years, Kevin Byard is going to be on the Tennessee Titans his entire career. and if he's not, I'm going to throw a hissy fit on the show. For real, I'm going to have a breakdown, alright? I love Kevin Byard, okay? He's the only Tennessee Titan

I have in his jersey. I knew he was going to be a freaking stud from the moment that he was drafted. My brother still remembers me calling him to tell him who he was. He is the perfect Tennessee Titan. The perfect. And he's going to go down as one of the top five best Tennessee Titans of all time

when he is done. I already think that he's the best defensive back in team history. So, I know Samari. I know. I see you. I hear you out there. But give me Kevin Byard.

So, anyways, I'm not worried about dead cap penalties in the future from Kevin Byard. He's going to be on the team. Whatever. No big deal. But what that does is it clears out $8 million for the Tennessee Titans. I believe it's about $8.2 million to be exact. And pretty simple, Robert Woods, $10 million contract. Kevin Byard clearing out that space is basically for each other.

Now there's a little bit of layover there about 1.8 or whatever, but it's all kind of in the soup right now. But one thing I do want to mention here is because of the timing of the Robert Woods trade, Robert Woods was set to make $13.5 million. But because the trade didn't happen officially until yesterday, the Rams had to pay a $3.5 million roster bonus to Robert Woods.

And of course, that was probably negotiated when the trade was done, the timing of it all. The Titans needed to do the restructure with Bayard to fit Woods' contract in. But they did that after that 3.5 went to the Rams instead of it all. The Titans needed to do the restructure with Bayard to fit Woods' contract in, but they did that after that 3.5 went to the Rams instead of the Titans. So Bobby Trees, only $10 million. Kevin Bayard's restructure basically takes care of that.

So right now, right now, SpotTrack has the Titans at about $5.5 million in cap space. That includes Kevin Bayard's restructure. That includes Robert Woods' $10 million. What it does not include is Trenton Cannon's deal, Dontrell

Hilliard's deal, Austin Hooper's deal, which I think will be about $3.5 million a cap hit, and then A.J. Moore's deal. So, with Cannon, Hilliard, and Moore, those guys are all going to be like a million dollars. And then Austin Hooper will be about three, three and a half million dollars. And that's about your $6 million that you need to sign them all. So it all works out pretty well there. The last player that I didn't mention

whose salary isn't accounted for is the player who was signed on Wednesday. It is linebacker Dylan Cole. Cole world, baby. So Dylan Cole signed with the Titans as a practice squad player. During the season last year, he's elevated to the roster. He appeared in nine games for the Titans. He had 16 tackles and had that forced fumble on that kickoff. Ooh, I will never forget that against

Jacksonville. Just smacked the returner. Oh wait, it was the Saints. It was the Saints. Going back. Yeah, so in the Saints game, coming down on kickoff, lays out Harris, knocks the ball free, gives the Titans the ball, and that turned out to be a very, very big play in that game.

Special teams is the name of the game for Dylan Cole. He only played 54 snaps on defense last year, 177 snaps on special teams, 76% of the special team snaps that he was available for, he played. So, as I've said with Cannon, as I've said with Moore, Dylan Cole is a special teams only player, and he's taking over the Nick DeZubnar role. Okay? That's where Dylan Cole will be doing the Nick DeZubnar role,

playing special teams, maybe some goal line linebacker snaps. He did play a little bit of linebacker in a couple of games, but the reality here is Dylan Cole is a special teams guy. Now, I like this instead of Nick DeZumnar because Cole is a guy who still potentially has some defensive upside as a fourth inside linebacker. So, a little bit more upside as a linebacker than Nick DeZubnar. Just as good, if not better, on special teams.

I mean, this makes a ton of sense. So Dylan Cole back with the Titans. Kevin Byard's contract restructure. We're waiting on a few more contract details from about five guys. But the Titans have about $5.5 million of cap cap space and they should be able to fit them all in. Might I say, Titans didn't have to restructure Taylor LeJuan, which keeps zero guaranteed money on his deal next year for an easy cut. They didn't have to restructure Ryan Tannehill, who they'll probably want to get away from after 2023. They didn't restructure Bud Dupree,

who's going to be cut after next season. I've been saying this since last season. Just wait for it to happen. Disagree with me all you want. People get my comments. Why would Bud Dupree be cut? Just wait. Just wait.

Come back next year when I'm right and we'll talk about it. And they didn't have to restructure Danico Autry. And they ultimately cut Julio Jones, who I didn't want them to restructure Danico Autry, and they ultimately cut Julio Jones, who I didn't want them to restructure anyway. So they didn't restructure a lot of the guys that I didn't want them to. They only had to restructure a couple of the guys who I thought that they would, was Zach Cunningham and Kevin Byard.

So, I mean, this is just a solid offseason for the Titans so far. Are they Super Bowl contenders after all this? I got to see what happens in the draft and what other moves get made. But either way, just a very solid all season so far from John Robinson. Have to just, once again, solid moves by J-Rob to go. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I have been promising we're going to go through the offensive depth chart,

but all this news keeps happening. I swear, unless something crazy happens tomorrow, we will go through the offensive depth chart. Monday, we're going to have a mock draft. Monday, after all the things that we've seen in free agency. Tuesday, we'll probably do a Twitter Tuesday and have a mailbag.

There's just been so much news going on, not only for the Titans, but in the NFL. I want to make sure I get to all the pressing matters with you guys first. But that's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you