Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Saffold Says Goodbye to Titans?? Cut Candidate Refresher & Rodgers Rumor Update!!

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

The Tennessee Titans will most likely begin making cuts this week in hopes to save salary cap space. Who are the players most likely to see themselves be released? Tyler gives a refresher of the candidates! One of them, Rodger Saffold, may have hinted at his release over the weekend on Twitter. What does the tweet say and why would it be interpreted as goodbye? Finally, the Titans have been connected to Aaron Rodgers once again in the national NFL rumor mill. What are these latest rumors and does it change the likelihood that the Titans make a move for the MVP QB? Tyler dives in.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 Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, we're going to cover all the news from over the weekend surrounding the Tennessee Titans. Number one, the second week of March is prime time to start seeing some salary cap cuts. So, we'll do a refresher. Who are the Tennessee Titans most likely to be cut for salary cap purposes?

And there's one Tennessee Titan that may have already hinted at his release on social media. I'll tell you who that is. Also, over the weekend, the Aaron Rodgers to the Titans rumors got another kickstart. I'll explain who put out these latest rumors and why, again, I do not expect Aaron Rodgers to be a Tennessee Titan. So all of that and more on a Monday 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 Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. I'm excited to go over all of the news from the weekend and look ahead at what could be coming up this week for the Tennessee Titans before we get into this Monday episode. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts. Also, 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 that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free, and that includes 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. You can follow me on social media, on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, on Facebook, at Locked on

Titans Pod. And as I said during our intro, the second week of March was when the Titans typically will start their salary cap cuts. So last year, I believe we got three major cuts on March the 9th that really kind of turned things up a bit for the Titans offseason. Well, the second week of March is upon us and with free agency less than 10 days away, my expectation now is that we will get some of those salary cap cuts and some of that news this week. So what I wanted to do is going into the week, let's just do a little bit of a refresher

of who these salary cut candidates could be. And there are seven of them, six if you're not a vengeful person like myself, but seven because of me. And heck, I've seen the Batman a few times this weekend. I am feeling the vengeance in my bones. But either way, taking a look at the guys who are most likely to be cut for the Titans. Why would they be cut? Because they can save the Titans a bunch of money right now.

The Titans are at minus $8.7 million in cap space. So they're in the negative. They have to do something to get themselves back into some cap space. They have moves that need to be made. So how can they do that? Well, there are seven guys. Let's go through them real quickly. Taylor LeJuan, left tackle, if cut, would save the Titans $12.9 million.

Roger Saffold, the Titans' starting left guard, if he is cut, could save the Titans $10.4 million. Roger Saffold, the Titans' starting left guard, if he is cut, could save the Titans $10.4 million. Linebacker Zach Cunningham, who has no guaranteed money left on his deal going forward, could be cut to save $10.5 million. Jack Rabbit Jenkins, the cornerback, could be cut to save the Titans $6.9 million. Brett Kern, I know this is making some people very sad to hear Brett Kern be mentioned here, but the reality is he was 23rd in yards per punt this year.

He has declined in yards per punt five straight years in a row. He's in his mid-30s, and he's making $3.2 million this year. So if cut, he would save the Titans that $3.2 million. And when you have a declining punter who maybe isn't the player that he used to be, it makes all the sense in the world to make that move. And then finally, Kendall Lamb, who could also save the Titans $3.2 million. Now this last one, the seventh guy, a lot of people tell me that I'm crazy for even mentioning it. And you know what?

If you feel that way, that's fine. You're entitled to think that way. But for me, Darrington Evans going into his third year as a running back has just done nothing for the Titans in his first two seasons. Cannot stay on the field. If he were cut, it would save the Titans $800,000, not $8 million, but $800,000. His salary is only $1.2 million. The dead cap is only $400,000. I know for that amount of money, some people might not think it's worth it. Give the guy another shot. Give him

another try. For me, I've seen all I need to see, so I am ready to let Darrington Evans go, save that $800,000. But either way, those are the seven guys who I think are logical possibilities to be cut by the Titans. Who do I think will be cut out of that group? Well, I think four guys are absolutely cut candidates that need to happen. Number one, Roger Saffold, $10.4 million. Yes, he has been a good player for the Titans, a good free agent signing as well.

But when you got a guy like Saffold who's banged up all the time, he's in and out of games all the time, he's going to be 34 years old by the time the season kicks off. I just don't think that it makes sense to keep him around. So you cut Saffold, save the $10.5 million, draft somebody you think could start, sign a stopgap free agent, or just go with Dylan Radins and Aaron Brewer, who I think are solid options as well.

I wouldn't cut Taylor LeJuan. You need a left tackle going forward. Then Zach Cunningham, $10.5 million. I'd restructure him. I wouldn't cut him. The Titans need him inside linebacker. But Jackrabbit Jenkins, $10.5 million. I'd restructure him. I wouldn't cut him. The Titans need him inside linebacker. But Jackrabbit Jenkins, $6.9 million. I expect him to be cut.

Brett Kern, like I said, I expect him to be cut for the reasons I laid out. Kendall Lamb, no reason to keep Kendall Lamb around whatsoever. Way too expensive for a backup tackle. $3.2 million. We'll take that. That's a cut. And then I do think Darrington Evans sticks around on the roster, but again, I wouldn't be surprised.

So, Roger Saffold, Jackrabbit Jenkins, Brett Kern, Kendall Lamb. Those are the four guys I am expecting to be cut this week. When the cuts do come down, when they start to happen, I'll be here to break it down for you guys, but I wanted to give you a quick refresher on what you could expect, the names that you could hear going forward throughout the rest of this week as the Titans try to get ready for free agency, which is just around the corner and, like I said, about 10 days away.

So there was a Tennessee Titan, though, that tweeted something out over the weekend that was very peculiar, very suspicious, and looked like it was him giving a message to the fan base in the thought that he may be cut. He may be one of these players that is cut out of the group that I just mentioned. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about the best-tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. They got a ton of different flavors, a ton of different textures to choose from, and

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You're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at built.com. Titans fans, let's continue this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about some cut candidates for the Titans. A little bit of a refresher as we go into a week where I suspect there will be some salary cap cuts. But now I want to talk about a potential cut for the Titans. One of the players we just talked about who actually tweeted something out over the weekend

that seemed like a goodbye to Tennessee Titans fans and to the team itself. So we're going to get into that before we do. I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. I do want to tell you guys about the Locked on NFL podcast. I am the host of the Thursday show, but all the other days are covered by other Locked on hosts.

You get your Tennessee Titans news with me here on the Locked on Titans podcast, but get that national NFL news in under 30 minutes Monday through Friday with the Locked on NFL podcast. It's free and available wherever you get your podcast. And again, your boy is the Thursday host. So I would appreciate all the support. Check out the Locked on NFL podcast on whatever platform you do stream. But diving into this cryptic tweet that we got over the weekend, I am going to go ahead and pop it up on my screen for the video crowd. I want to show you guys what I am seeing and kind of go over what we think this means. So number one, taking a look at this tweet right here.

You can see it up on the screen. From Roger Saffold. It says, I don't regret one moment with you. Now, I know that I got my tinfoil hat on right now, proverbially anyway it's figurative folks but the whole point here is that looks like

a goodbye tweet that looks like a goodbye tweet to me I don't know about you guys you can tell me down in the comments or tweet me at tic tac titans if you think that I'm being ridiculous here

but I'm not the only person on social media that took a look at that tweet from Roger Saffold and decided, huh, maybe that is exactly what's going on. And again, guys, like I mentioned, Roger Saffold's going to be 34 years old in June. That's old for an offensive lineman. No way around it. He's been constantly banged up throughout the year. And we got to give credit where credit is due to Roger Saffold,

though. What a warrior. I mean, we talk about his injuries and leaving games and being in and out. But at the end of the day, he played 16 games in 2019, 15 games in 2020 and 15 games last year. Yeah, he missed a couple of games. He was in and out of a lot of games, but whenever he was available to actually go out there, he would do everything he could to be on the field and help the Titans. And we got to talk about the general success that the Titans have had in the run game

since Roger Saffold came to the Titans as a free agent in 2019. He was blocking for Derrick Henry in his 2,000-yard season. He was blocking for the Tennessee Titans when they made that incredible run to the AFC Championship game in 2019. He was blocking last year for the Titans when Deontay Foreman all of a sudden looked like an absolute stud. So much of Derrick Henry's success and so much of what we saw from the Titans run game last year

is because of the stud run blocking offensive line that included Roger Saffold. He's been one of the best free agent signings in the history of the franchise. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021. Finally, after 12 seasons, got him a Pro Bowl, which, as we discussed on the show, wasn't his best year, maybe not the banner season to point to in terms of him getting postseason accolades, but it's more of a lifetime achievement award, quite frankly,

something that he's deserved throughout his career. So to see him finally get that reward in a Pro Bowl spot, can't be mad about it, even if he didn't have his best season with the Titans. But again, here's where the reality comes to. The Titans are going to have to make some changes on the offensive line. I don't expect David Questenberry to be the starting right tackle for the Titans next year. Taylor LeJuan, he could be cut. He could be restructured. I'm expecting a restructure. And then Ben Jones is a free agent. Now, my expectation is that the Titans will find a way to bring him back. But, you know,

some changes have to be made. You can't have Ben Jones making $7 million, Taylor LeJuan making $14, $13, $15 million, Roger Saffold making $12, $13, $14 million all on the offensive line when you're starting to have to pay some of these guys like Harold Landry, Jeffrey Simmons, and A.J. Brown are coming up here soon. Nate Davis even on the offensive line. Everybody talks about Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry and paying A.J. Brown, but what about Nate Davis, who's been a very solid guard for the Titans and deserves his money as well?

Quite simply put, you can't pay that many big money contracts on the offensive line and continue to lock down all of your better players that are better players than Roger Saffold. So all the credit in the world to Roger Saffold. He deserves all the love and adulation from the Titans fan base.

He was fantastic while he was here, but hard choices have to get made. John Robinson said it at the combine when we went over his comments during his press conference. And he even said tough decisions, difficult decisions are going to have to be made. And in my opinion, on the offensive line, you can't lose Ben Jones and Taylor LeJuan and Roger Saffold. You can't lose all three, so you have to make choices here. And if you want to upgrade it right tackle, it's just simply impossible to do it. So the way you do that is you cut Saffold, you bring back Ben Jones, you restructure Taylor LeJuan, and then you upgrade right tackle.

You install Aaron Brewer or Dylan Radins or a drafted interior offensive lineman if you take one early, like a Tyler Linderbaum, Zion Johnson, Kenyon Green. You go that route. Either way, that's kind of how the puzzle has to be put together. Unfortunately, it makes the most sense to cut bait with Roger Saffold. Again, according to this tweet, I may have my tinfoil hat on, but it kind of looks that's what he's hinting at. So we should get that news coming down the pike here soon.

Speaking of some news that we got over the weekend, that Aaron Rodgers' rumor mill has kick-started again. And of course, the Tennessee Titans are innocent bystanders who are catching some of the shrapnel coming off of that insane all-season story that every media person is trying to sink their teeth into, write an article about it, talk about it, so that they can get their clicks. And I'm going to go over the latest rumors that had all you guys yelling at me on Twitter again. People living in fantasy land.

So we'll cover the latest here in just a moment. Before we get into that though, do want to tell you guys about betonline.net. Football season might be over, but basketball season is in full swing, not only in pro hoops, but also in college as well. And March Madness is about to kick off on St. Patrick's Day. Cannot wait for that. For all the latest odds, totals, player performance props, make sure you go to betonline.net, the number one spot for all your sports

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to see all the new trends and all of the action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, let's cap off this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast by taking a look at the latest Aaron Rodgers rumors and how they affect the Titans. Before I dive into that, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen.

Remember, I am going to be putting out daily Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year long. And that includes going over all of this all season news and rumors. And my God, we can't get away from this story. So the first thing that I want to address here, a lot of you guys are saying, hey, if you think the story is so stupid, why are you giving it life? And quite frankly, the only real reason that I continue to kind of take a look at every new twist and turn here is

because a lot of Titans fans still think this is going to happen. Or a lot of Titans fans still think it's possible. I mean, I had so many people call me an idiot, call me a bozo over the weekend when I said not to pay attention to these rumors and it's not going to happen. So many people

just think it's insanity that I would say that and think that the Titans are actively working to get Aaron Rodgers. And these reports, people dive into them. They really believe them. And what can you do? So let's dive in. Pro football talks, Mike Florio, who has gotten just absolutely destroyed in previous times by players, by, you know, organizational staff saying that the rumors that he floats out there and some of the stuff that he says are completely untrue. Like any media person, though, he's had his fair share of hits, of course, and stories that he reported that did go that way.

But for my money, I see Florio be wrong more than he's been right about some of these stories. But either way, my trust in his reporting is not important. The report is what's important. So what did Florio have to say over the weekend about Aaron Rodgers and what does it have to do with the Titans? Well, this is what he said. Quote, the destinations are believed to be exclusively in the AFC.

To little surprise, the Broncos are one of them. Other viable possibilities are, we're told, the Titans and Steelers. So, of course, Titans Twitter goes abuzz right away. Florio continued here, quote, Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Rodgers has specific deals lined up with other teams, and those teams have trade compensation lined up with the Packers. The potential moves have been arranged

essentially with the permission of the Packers. To be clear, if Rodgers chooses Denver or Tennessee or Pittsburgh, the deals will fall into place quickly, both as to the trade terms and as to the contract Rodgers would sign. Let me say this. Let me say this. Okay, so I have said and I have been vocal and kept it 100 here with you guys. I do not think this is a possibility because why would Green Bay do this?

If they get rid of Aaron Rodgers, it's because they're ready to roll with Jordan Love. That's the whole point of all of this in the first place. And not to mention, as I pointed out, the financials don't make any sense. Aaron Rodgers has a dead cap hit of $26 million, so the Packers would have to pay that if they trade him. And Tannehill has a salary of $29 million. That's $55 million that the Packers would have to pay

to acquire Ryan Tannehill in a trade. All the while, they have to pay to acquire Ryan Tannehill in a trade. All the while, they want to play Jordan Love, their young quarterback on a rookie contract. So why would you pay $55 million to downgrade and quarterback from Rodgers to Tannehill while your plan is to play Jordan Love all along? It really doesn't make any sense.

So, some other tweets that came out over the weekend. Ian Rappaport from the NFL said, with all eyes on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his future, here is the latest. Sources say Rodgers is truly torn on where he wants to play in 2022, while many in the NFL expect him to return. There's a lot of positivity in Green Bay. He is going back and forth on what he wants.

Packers, give me more money. Green Bay, pay me more money. Come on, everybody. Don't you see the negotiation that's happening through the media here? Not only that that but Adam Schefter weighed in and he said if Aaron Rodgers decides he wants to be traded it will be easy enough to get it done no need for the Packers to engage in trade talks before then if Rodgers wants the trade he will get the trade quickly so this is really everything that we heard from last offseason

that Aaron Rodgers was coming back, but Green Bay basically agreed that he comes back for one more year and if he wants to be traded next year, they'll do it for him and they'll get it done. Plus, teams want to be able to go into free agency knowing what the heck is going on with their team. So if Rodgers wants to be traded, it makes sense for the Packers to get it done as quickly as possible so they can go into their free agency and into their draft knowing exactly what their

situation is. So that makes sense. Want to note here as well, Diana Russini chimed in and those teams interested are ready to go with their offers. Now that does corroborate what we heard in Mike Florio's report where he said that basically trade packages have already been worked out and contracts have already been worked out because as soon as Aaron Rodgers gets traded, he's going to want a new contract. Now I will say, you guys know how I feel. This is not going to happen.

Ryan Tannehill is going to be the quarterback in 2022. We've heard Mike Vrabel and John Robinson basically say those things. I mean, John Robinson has been very forward, saying Ryan Tannehill is our quarterback in 2022. So I'm not breaking any news by saying that I don't think this is very likely. But in the interest of being fair, in the interest of giving a voice to the contrarians out there, a couple things that could happen,

could be a three-team trade. A lot of people say Washington is very interested with Ryan Tannehill. In my opinion, that's exactly what would have to happen. The Packers are not taking back Ryan Tannehill. So if a trade were to happen, that means Ryan Tannehill would be going elsewhere. Washington would make a lot of sense. Somewhere like Carolina could make a lot of sense as well.

Tampa Bay. But again, I don't see that happening. I think a three-team trade is more unlikely than just Tannehill being traded to the Packers. This isn't the NBA, folks. Three-team trades and all these complicated salary dumps and things like that. It's just not something that happens in the NFL. So, a three-team trade or dumping Tannehill to somebody else,

okay, maybe that makes sense. The other thing is, we talked about the financials. Well, Ryan Tannehill could just restructure his deal as soon as he got to Green Bay to make his salary less. And on the flip side, Aaron Rodgers could do the same thing. Once Aaron Rodgers goes to a new team, he's probably going to do a new contract, and then you can keep the cap hit low and reasonable in 2022.

So there are possibilities for this to happen, but again, it's my duty and my responsibility to tell you guys, don't psych yourself up for Aaron Rodgers. Ryan Tannehill will be the Titans quarterback in 2022. And we just need to move on with that thought and, and, and move forward into 2022. Get ready for free agency. Get ready for the draft. Tannehill is the quarterback. I felt it necessary to cover the rumors. I felt it necessary to go over that information.

Wanted to make sure you guys were up to date with all the scuttlebutt surrounding the Titans over the weekend, but either way, I still think that it's all media nonsense and it's just Aaron Rodgers negotiating for a better contract in Green Bay. They brought back his favorite quarterback coach already.

You don't do that if your expectation isn't that Rodgers is coming back, and they're just trying to work out his contract, and this is some last-minute negotiations from his side. That's my view of these latest rumors. But that's going to do it for me today, though, folks. We got a couple more installments of the 2022 Locked on Titans Free Agency Preview coming up this week,

as Free Agency is just next week. And also, we got to talk about all of the stuff coming out of the Combine, who the Titans have met with, all that. So I have an episode on that ready to go for you guys later this week. 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.