Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Shedeur Sanders WON'T THROW for Titans at NFL Combine, Free Agency Extensions & Combine Schedule

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

The Tennessee Titans are at the NFL Combine this week and hoping to get more information on top prospects like Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. However, the Titans will certainly not get to see Sanders throw and likely won't see Ward either. The thing is, none of that matters as the Titans have plenty of tape to see them throw. Free Agency is right around the corner and this is considered a weak free agency class. That fact will impact the NFL as teams look to extend their own players. Guys like Roger McCreary and Amani Hooker could be in line for changes. Finally, Tyler goes over the key dates and times for the NFL Combine's full schedule. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  

Sanders will not throw at the NFL Combine. I don't care. I'll explain why on today's edition of Locked on Titans. You are locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host Tyler Roland, Titans fans on today's edition of Locked on Titans. We're going to talk about Chideur Sanders dropping out of throwing drills at the NFL Combine and why I simply don't care.

We're going to talk about how the lack of free agents will result in some potential extensions for the Tennessee Titans. And then also I'll go over the full NFL combine schedule for you. So you know exactly what to look for and when before we dive into all of it, do want to thank you for making the locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed.

Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there, tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. And if you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. There's breaking news all the time. This time of year, we got free agency right around the corner.

And my free agency preview going over every single position is right around the corner as well. So with that being said, let's dive into today's show. Again, we got the news on Sunday night. Chedur Sanders will be dropping out of NFL throwing drills at the combine. Obviously, when this kind of news comes out, a lot of people go crazy and talk about how disappointing it is, and Chidur doesn't want to compete.

What's he scared of? But this and that. But for me, I do not care. I simply do not care that Chidur Sanders isn't doing throwing drills in Indianapolis. I don't know. Look, would it be great to see him go out there and compete? Do I want to see him throw? Yeah, of course I do. As a fan who wants to see these guys play football, I would love to see Chedur Sanders throw. Absolutely. But at the end of the day, if I believe that Chaudhry Sanders is a

franchise quarterback and that I can take him and he will elevate my team, why would I let the tape and the film that led me to that conclusion be completely wiped out by not throwing at the combine. And again, I continue to go back to the narrative that I believe is false, the false narrative that NFL teams can't know about guys until they meet with them. There are certain questions that you need to have answered. There are certain maybe specific incidences. Again, I refer back to Tavondre Sweat like with the DUI situation last year. There are certain players where the Titans have specific questions about who you are to check a box to verify,

hey, you're still on our board. You're good to go. We're not worried about whatever concern there is with you, but people act like, Hey, we need to see Chider Sanders on the board to know if he understands the progressions that he has to go through to beat this specific coverage. Well, you can see that on the film. You can watch the tape and see, oh, look, the defense is playing quarters. He lets the inside safety bite and then hits the deep

post. Like, I know that there are more complex situations and answers that are required, but at the end of the day, just because a guy can get into the meeting and tell you what to do does not mean that he can do it. You know how, you know, whether a player can do it by watching the film. So I guess to me, I don't see how Chedur Sanders not throwing at the NFL combine will hurt his draft stock in any way.

The only thing that could have hurt his draft stock would be if he went out there and had a bad day and just because he had a bad day at the combine. Doesn't mean that all of the tape that you watch is erased. So again, I come back to the Combine, the pro days, everything outside the actual football season to me is all about confirming what you saw and what you heard. Also. Like I said, I push back against this narrative that the Tennessee

Titans are finding out groundbreaking information about these prospects. I mentioned it either on Twitter, on yesterday's show or both, but it needs to be reiterated here. These area scouts, the people in the Tennessee Titan scouting department in scouting departments all over the NFL, they have seen these players before they are in those areas. They're going to all the games. They're talking to people. If one of these quarterbacks had some outrageous crazy character concern. If one of these quarterbacks was a certified dummy and couldn't read coverages and understand offenses. If

one of these quarterbacks had some significant issue behind the scenes, the Titans would know about that already. It wouldn't be news. It wouldn't be groundbreaking information that they're getting. Their scouts have said, A, we've heard that, you know, Shudder Sanders isn't great on the board. And then you confirm or deny that presumed thought. Again, it is about confirmation, not creation. Your evaluation of the player is created based on the intel and the film. You've gotten intel from your

area scouts who have been around the player and know people who have been around the player. And then you have your film. And then you go to these meetings you have your film and then you go to these meetings to check boxes. So the fact that Chedur Sanders isn't throwing, I don't care. I have the tape. Why would I prioritize the combine throwing session over the years of film of him playing an actual games in a system that he's practiced in with wide receivers that he's got chemistry with. Because that's what real NFL football is about, not throwing to wide receivers that you've never played with before.

Now, if you go out there and you look good and teams are impressed, being right in front of somebody can mess with your mind. But I go back to a quote from Chad Brinker. It starts with the tape. It ends with the tape. So I just, to me, it's like bowl games. I don't care that Cam Ward sat out the second half of a bowl game. I don't care when players skip the team's bowl game, as long as it's not college football playoffs. I mean, if you're playing for the playoffs, then you should play.

But these, you know, meaningless, the Gaylord Perry hotels bowl, you know, I don't care if a number one prospect skips that to protect their future. The reality is a lot of you listening and a lot of people out there who criticize these players for skipping some of this stuff, if you were presented with a similar opportunity in your job, you would never do it. You would never do it. You would never take the chance of losing yourself money with no opportunity to gain yourself money.

None of you guys do that in your personal lives with our employment or investments or things like you would never do a zero gain all risk investment. So at the end of the day, I just don't care. I'm not saying that I want Shader Sanders number one overall. I'm just telling you that how I feel about Shader Sanders is impacted 0% by this and look, Pam Ward probably isn't going to throw. As of this recording, we don't know yet, but he's probably not going to throw. Abdul Carter is banged up and he's not participating. Ashton Genti isn't going to do on-field drills. Like Shider Sanders,

they're going to do medical, they're going to do meetings. And that, if it doesn't bother me with the running back in the pass rusher, it certainly doesn't bother me with the quarterbacks. I don't think the Titans should take a quarterback number one overall. I'm not fully against it, but I don't think it's the preferred situation. But regardless of that, my opinion of the quarterbacks again, is not affected at all by them not throwing at the combine. I it's just a smart business decision as a professional athlete.

But with that being said, free agency, not that great this year and it could impact the Tennessee Titans roster decisions in house. I'll tell you how and give you the full NFL combine schedule. Titans fans. Let's continue today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Chedur Sanders not thrown at the combine. Abdul Carter is a little banged up. Abdul Carter hurt his shoulder and the college football playoff played through it and was dominant as well. But he's not going to be participating because he's still recovering from that

injury. It is a different Chedur Sanders is just not doing it. Ashton Genti is just not doing it because they think it's not recovering from that injury. It is a different, Shudder Sanders is just not doing it. Ashton Gentey is just not doing it because they think it's not smart for their career. Abdul Carter is still has a shoulder injury. So it's a little different for him, but either way, again, none of those guys gonna be participating. But I do wanna talk about something outside the realm

of the NFL combine, but it is combine adjacent. And I will explain how before I do thanks again for making locked on Titan Jordan first listen each and every day Do you want to let you guys know that tomorrow the show might sound a little different? I might I might be on location Somewhere tomorrow that's relevant to our discussions today I might be somewhere might be asking some people some questions and things like that tomorrow. And the background and my location may just be a little bit different. So I wanted to let you guys know that early on, but we got a tweet from Daniel Jeremiah at move the sticks on Twitter, NFL network, former scout for the

Baltimore Ravens, one of the main draft gurus in the draft media complex these days, but he said, quote, I'll be shocked if we don't see a flurry of extensions done over the next seven to 10 days, teams have money slash space and the free agent group isn't very exciting. Good time to lock up your key young guys. So the point that Daniel's making is teams won't want to spend a lot of money very exciting, good time to lock up your key young guys. So the point that Daniel's making is teams won't want to spend a lot of money in free agency this year. So since they have a surplus of cash compared to normal years where they would

maybe spend a little bit more in free agency, they would then use that money to get some stuff done with their expected free agents early on. Now you may ask yourself, how does this affect the Tennessee Titans? And why is this associated with the combine? Well, number one, how does this affect the Tennessee Titans? The Tennessee Titans have multiple players who I think could make sense to do an extension and they're all at very different circumstances. But number one on that list for me is Imani Hooker.

Imani Hooker at five interceptions last year, he had one of his best years of his career. And look, Imani Hooker right now is a guy who probably isn't worth the 11 to $13 million cap hit that we're gonna see for him this year. But he's still a very good safety. He's still a playmaker in the back end. So if the Titans are

looking at a Monty Hooker and they're saying, hey, we don't really want you at 13 million dollars on the cap. You also only have one more year on your contract. What if we do an extension where we bring your, you know, your average value down to about 10 or $9 million, but we extend you and give you some more guaranteed money for a couple of years. And essentially it works out to, you know, a three year, 24, you can, you take this year's money with two additional years and it's three years, $24 million for a money hooker that saves the Titans money on the cap this

year because they can lower his cap it. And it also provides some long-term. Security for a money hooker, but also for the Titans to where they know they have this starting safety who is getting older, but it's still a quality player. He's another guy who, like Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry, was drafted, developed, and paid by the Tennessee Titans who has loyalty to the organization. I think it would make sense to potentially extend a Monty Hooker. Now, a Monty Hooker isn't a young, a key young guy, but still would be a guy that you would want to keep around. I think a money hooker will age gracefully. He's obviously going to decline and play over the next few years.

It's his athleticism dips as he gets closer to 30. But I think a money hooker has two or three good years of football left. So if you give him a little bit more guaranteed money and you lower the cap hit, it's a win-win for everybody. A guy who. It has not gotten his second contract yet, who I also think could be an extension option for the Titans is Roger McCreary. Roger McCreary is a, a complicated case. I have stopped for Roger McCreary or as the kids would say, I have caked

for Roger McCreary or as the kids would say, I have caped for Roger McCreary McCreary throughout his career. I think Titans fans now at this point through three seasons, understand how good Roger McCreary truly is. Uh, he is one of the top, in my opinion, five to eight slot cornerbacks in the NFL. So it would make sense for the Titans to extend him now rather than next year and get that wrapped up. The question is, do they want to?

And you may be thinking, what do you mean, Tyler? Do they want to? Of course they would want to bring Roger McCreary back. You just said he was one of the top five to eight slots in the NFL. But let me just say this. As a roster building question, is slot cornerback important enough to give a big time extension, especially when Especially when. Legerious need could be on this team for two more seasons. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. who wants to play in the slot.

He said it himself and is built like a nickel cornerback. You have him on the roster. Also, maybe you take a cornerback number one over on the draft and Travis Hunter. I'm just saying I think there's a real possibility that in 2026 you have Travis Hunter, Ligeria Snead, and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. on the inside as your top three cornerbacks. I just think that is, there is a real possibility that we get to there. So with where the Titans are at as a team, do you really want to shell out a close to top of market slot cornerback contract?

I don't know. I don't know. So anyways, moving right along, Roger McCreary could be an option. But Dylan Radens, and see again, the situations are different. Amani Hooker isn't a young player. He's already got a second contract and is looking for a third. Roger McCreary looking to get his second contract, but still on his rookie contract. And Dylan Radens is set to be a free agent this all season.

His rookie contract is over. If the Titans do not want to sign a high priced guard, if they don't want Trey Smith, you know, if they don't want to make a big splash at the position, like a Patrick McCarrie or, you know, think I'm trying to think of free agent guards to bring it back. But the point is there's a set of guards. Tevin Jenkins is another name in there. There's a set of guards. Trey Smith is probably 20 million. The next set of guards is probably 15. If the Titans don't want to get in either of those groups or either of those discussions with those high price guards, because guard is a position where it's generally not smart to pay big time money to you want to pay

your premium positions, your tackles, your wide receivers, your quarterback, your cornerbacks, your pass rushers, the premium positions are where you pay big money and you could go with cheaper options everywhere else. Mid round picks in the draft cycling through, you know, mid tier cost veterans and who would be a mid tier cost veteran? Dylan Radens. I think Dylan Radens probably only going to get five to six to seven million dollars per year, maybe $8 million per year at maximum.

I know some of you guys are like, what in the world? Do you, but just trust me on this one. Dylan Radens is going to get about five to $7 million a year in free agency, probably about a three year deal. All right. The Titans could get an extension done with Dylan Raden's early before he ever hits free agency so that they have that position figured out. And then they can go into free agency and really attack the

offensive tackle position. So I think those three players, a Monty Hooker, Roger McCreary, and Dylan Radens at three different stages of their contract careers could all make sense as extensions for the Tennessee Titans based on Daniel Jeremiah and why it means something to the combo. Well, for the next week, where is every agent, every coach, every general manager, every cap guy going to be? At the combine. So, with the free agent impact that Daniel Jeremiah mentions and the fact that the entire NFL is in a

conference area for the next week, I would imagine that those two things allow a lot of extensions to get done. And of course it may include the Tennessee Titans, Chigga Conqua, just a bonus name. I don't think the Titans would extend chig, but it's it would at least make a little bit of sense as well. But with that being said, the NFL combine again, it's here. What days are certain positions playing, when are the meetings? I'm going to go over all of that with you guys right now. Titans fans. Let's cap off today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast.

We talked about Shinder Sanders not throwing some other guys not participating and why I don't really care. We also talked about the free agency impact on extensions that can happen for the Titans. But now I just want to go through the NFL combines schedule because that has been released not only the Titans portion of it, but also looking at the drills and the meetings for the players and things like that for the Titans relevant information on Tuesday, Brian

Callahan is going to do his combine press conference at 10, 15 a.m. Eastern standard time. All right. And then Mike Borganzi is going to go directly after Brian Callahan approximately 10 30 a.m. Eastern standard time on Tuesday. So we're going to get Callahan and we 10 30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday. So we're going to get Callahan and we're going to get Borganzi back to back. I would imagine on tomorrow's show.

That's what we will be discussing. But interesting enough, the only other coach that has an interview during Brian Callahan's interview time. Is Mike Frable. Isn't that interesting? It actually looks like they're the only two coaches that are speaking on Tuesday at the combine. So interesting, interesting, interesting indeed. But outside of the Tennessee Titans interviews, what is the rest of the schedule for the NFL combine? Well, on Monday, you're going to get some players arriving.

Um, and you're going to start to see some team interviews happen. And then on Tuesday, some things really take off. So on Tuesday, the defensive line and the linebackers do their medicals and their interviews. All right? And then the next day, it's more interviews, more medicals. And then on Thursday, the on-field workouts actually begin. So it's staggered here where Tuesday the D-line and linebackers do their medical and interviews, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Wednesday and Thursday, it's the

defensive backs and tight ends. And then Thursday and Friday, it's the running backs and the quarterbacks and the wide receivers. And then Friday and Saturday, it's the offensive line. And then for the on-field drills, Thursday starts the defensive line in the linebackers. Friday is the defensive backs and the tight ends. Saturday is the running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers.

And then Sunday is the offensive line. So there you go. There's the the measurements, the workouts, the 40-yard dash all that's basically Thursday Through Sunday is when that stuff but again, I continue to reiterate to you that the most important part of the combine is The meetings to confirm what you know from your Intel and your tape you have your tape you have your Intel on the player from your scouts and

then you go into the meetings with them and you Confirm that or player looks really really fast on tape, but he plays at a low level of college football So it's hard to know just how fast he is You need to confirm the speed that you see on tape is real He goes out he runs a four six and you're like, oh, he's not fast He was just playing against this bunch of slow guys at a low level of college football Stuff like that or hey this defensive lineman Abdul Carter, for example has incredible explosion off the line of scrimmage and Then they have a great broad jump, you know where you jump off and you land in the sand

broad jump, you know, where you jump off and you land in the sand, broad jump and vertical jump correlate directly to explosiveness. Cause it's about, you know, literally firing off the ground and exploding with all of your muscles forward. So, you know, stuff like that, the three cone, uh, and some of the agility drills for the offensive lineman have a lot to, uh, very predictive on success with their ability to move and the times and stuff like that. So it's not about this player does this, they're not, but it's about confirming what you already know and finding out whether it's true or it's false.

And that's why the beginning parts of the week are actually more important than the on-field workouts. But at the same time, you are actually more important than the on-field workouts. But at the same time, you need all the results from the on-field workouts like the 40 yard dash, the broad jump, the vertical jump, and all that to compare your historical data. So just keep all that in mind as the process unfolds. Again, might be somewhere else tomorrow. Maybe you guys can guess, but that'll do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Roland, and this was locked on tight.