Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Should The Titans Sign....Veteran Edge, Titans Spurn Raymond & Re-Sign Blasingame

Episode Date: March 9, 2021

Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show in Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yo, Titans fans, it's your host Tyler Rowland here. So something that I've never really had to do before, but I had today's show completely entirely recorded. And then after I was done, Isaiah Wilson was traded to the Miami Dolphins. So just my quick thoughts here before I spend all of the beginning of Wednesday's show talking about the trade. But quick thoughts. Isaiah Wilson traded to the Miami Dolphins.

For a 7th round pick swap. The Titans get the Dolphins 2021 7th rounder. And the Titans give the Dolphins their 2022 7th rounder. So basically we're borrowing a 7th round pick from the Dolphins for this year. Having to give it back to them next offseason. And first and foremost, the Isaiah Wilson experience, 100% a complete disaster. No way around it. One of the worst first round picks in recent memory.

Definitely one of the worst first round picks in Tennessee Titans history. But the fact that John Robinson was able to take that disaster and get anything whatsoever is something to celebrate. The fact that the Dolphins would give up a seventh round pick this year for Isaiah Wilson? I mean, although it was a disaster, this way is much better than cutting Isaiah Wilson. And I quickly touch on it. So the pick swap is the pick swap. That's something. An extra draft pick this year when the Titans need it most. But also, because it's a trade, now the Titans don't have to cut Isaiah Wilson,

which means they don't have to eat any dead cap. If the Titans cut Isaiah Wilson right now, they'd be looking at about $6 million on the salary cap, just dead money, can't use it. So the fact that the Titans were able to get a trade and get someone else to take that man's money, that is the win right there. So we're going to dive into this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, business as usual going forward after this, but I wanted to give you my quick reaction here and we

will spend the beginning of Wednesday's podcast talking everything about this Isaiah Wilson trade. Enjoy the show guys. Peace out. 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 Rowland, Titans fans. It is a Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, and we are going to have discussions

centered around three names on today's show. So number one, we are going to play a little game of should the Titans sign as we have another big name veteran hitting the free agent market at a position of need for the Titans. I'm going to tell you who that player is, talk about how productive that player has been recently, and discuss whether or not they would be a fit for the Tennessee Titans this offseason. And then the second name that we are going to discuss is a Tennessee Titan who will no longer be with the team It was announced on Monday that this player would not be back in Tennessee and that the Titans would not be looking To bring this player back

I'll explain how we know that who this player is and whether or not I agree or disagree With the decision to part ways with this player And then finally we will discuss a player who over the weekend was officially brought back to the Tennessee Titans. And there was some concern or at least some confusion as to what the Titans' options were with this player. And I like the route that the Titans ultimately went here. So we'll discuss that player, him coming back to Tennessee,

and why it was a smart move. So three names will dominate the discussion on this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! Titans fans, let's kick off this Tuesday podcast with another episode of everyone's favorite off-season game show, Should the Titans Sign? We have a veteran being released by his team at a position of need for the Titans, and we will discuss whether or not that player

would be a good fit. Before we do, I want to remind you guys, Monday through Friday, daily Tennessee Titans content can be found here on the Locked on Titans podcast, and you're not going to find that anywhere else. So make sure that you subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. But let's dive straight into the first name of today's show, and that is Carlos Dunlap. So Carlos Dunlap was released by the Seattle Seahawks, not because he performed poorly.

He actually performed fantastically once he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks last year, but that move will save the Seahawks $14 million on the salary cap. And as I have discussed for multiple days now, we're going to see players like Kyle Vannoy last week who lived up to their contract and played very well, but simply because of the depressed cap from the cap implications from COVID-19, we're going to see a lot of good players get cut. And Dunlap is one of those guys. And while I will say that Dunlap probably doesn't justify a $14 million payday, he certainly was a productive player last year,

especially, like I mentioned, after the trade to Seattle. He had six sacks last year in the 2020 campaign. Five of those sacks came once he was traded to Seattle. He also had 32 tackles on the year, eight tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, and 22 pressures. So he was a productive edge rusher last year. He had a rough beginning of the season, but he was in Cincinnati. There was a question about his role. He was only being used as a situational pass rusher rather than an every down player.

He was disgruntled. Let his feelings be known on Twitter as well. And ultimately, it led to him getting moved to a new team, going to Seattle and again, helping out their defense later in the year. So a productive player in Carlos Dunlap, who's been in the NFL for 11 seasons, and nine of those 11 seasons, he's played 14 games or more. So he's been very durable in his career as well. 163 games total in his career, 87.5 sacks, 20 forced fumbles, 335 tackles.

forced fumbles, 335 tackles. So again, a productive player who just wasn't quite there in terms of $14 million, but probably isn't too far away from that. You would look at a guy like Carlos Dunlap in that same range of, let's say, a Melvin Ingram, Marcus Golden, even a Jadavian Clowney, a Justin Houston as well would probably be in that mix. Maybe even Ryan Kerrigan. Although I would imagine Dunlap may get a little bit more than those last few names I mentioned. But the reality here is his price range is going to be anywhere from $7 to $10 million. And for a guy like Carlos Dunlap, while I have been preaching that the Titans do need

to find a couple one-trick ponies who can get to the quarterback, I would much rather pay a Hassan Redick. I would much rather pay a Trey Hendrickson, somebody like that, a little bit more money than pay for somebody like Carlos Dunlap, who did have his issues in Cincinnati that I can't blame him for, but he is a guy who's a little bit longer in the tooth. We're looking at about 32 years old for Carlos Dunlap. So I would rather take my chances on Melvin Ingram. I would probably rather go a little bit cheaper and go for a Ryan Kerrigan closer to the seven, $6 million range than I would want to pay for Dunlap. And the reality is in the

Titans scheme, like I was talking about that one trick pony situation in the Titans scheme the pass rushers are going to be asked to drop back into coverage a little bit they're going to be asked to hold up against the run at this moment in time in his career Carlos Dunlap is a situational pass rusher he's not going to be an every down outside linebacker for sure he's much more of a 4-3 defensive end with his hand in the dirt so he would be that situational pass rusher in like the Cameron Wake role from 2019 and at the price tag that Dunlap is going to command I just don't see it making a lot of sense for the Titans like I mentioned some other options both a little more expensive than Dunlap like a Hassan Reddick and cheaper than Dunlap like like a Hassan Reddick, and cheaper than Dunlap, like a Ryan Kerrigan, would make more sense for me and for the Tennessee Titans.

So that's how I see that, but wanted to address that name that did pop up on the open market. Obviously, a pass rusher is something that the Titans desperately need, so it made sense to go ahead and take a swing there and have another episode of Should the Titans Sign? I say no to Carlos Dunlap, but we are going to get into a name that the Titans personally said, we don't want your back, we're good, you can hit the open market. So we're going to talk about who that player is and whether or not that was the right decision for the Titans. Before we do, I want to remind you guys about betonline.ag, the fastest and easiest way to place any bet on all your sports action. Yeah, football might be over, but the NBA is in

full swing. College basketball, March Madness, right around the corner. NHL is in full swing. MLB's right around the corner. The Masters is right around the corner. BetOnline has you covered for award shows, TV shows, and reality TV as well. Basically, real-time updated odds and props on anything that you could imagine. So head to their website or use your mobile device. Sign up for free today at BetOnline.ag. Use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. Once again, go to BetOnline.ag. Sign up for free today,

use promo code LOCKEDON, that's one word, LOCKEDON, and you'll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. Bet online, you're online sportsbook experts. We kicked off today's show with a little should the Titans sign, talking about Carlos Dunlap. But now it is time to get into a discussion about a former Tennessee Titan who, as of Monday morning, will be exactly that, a former Tennessee Titan. So according to NFL Network's Ian Rappaport, the Tennessee Titans will not put out a tender on wide receiver Kalief Raymond,

making him an unrestricted free agent. So based on where Kalief Raymond was in his career, he's over that three-year threshold. So since he was an undrafted free agent, Kalief Raymond was set up to be a restricted free agent this offseason, which gives the Tennessee Titans the ability to put a draft pick tender on Kalief Raymond. And then if another team were to sign Kalief Raymond Raymond the Titans would have the option to match that contract or The other team would be able to sign him and then it would result in the Titans getting a draft pick back But let's be real here There's not a team in the NFL that would give up a draft pick to sign

Khalif Raymond and as a matter of fact according to Ian Rappaport The report did indicate that the Titans would not be tendering any draft pick on Kalief Raymond either, making him, as I said, an unrestricted free agent. Now we have to talk about, now we know what happened. Kalief Raymond will not be back with the Titans this year. Now we have to talk about why that happened. And in my mind, it's pretty obvious why that happened. The Titans needed to upgrade on Kalief Raymond in both the spots that he filled. He was a depth wide receiver

who was really a one trick pony, could run deep routes, but anything outside of that, he did not have an advanced route tree. He couldn't even run a basic route tree. The only routes that Kalief Raymond could run efficiently, successfully, were those double move, those deep routes.

And I have to admit, he did serve his role for the Titans in that way. But I have been harping for the Titans to improve that spot since last offseason. The Titans can find a wide receiver who can go deep and run double moves, but also run other routes and have a normal route tree. And then likewise, Kalief Raymond also returned kicks for the Titans, kick returner and punt returner. But he was average at best in those spots and left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. So at both spots, returner and that depth wide receiver, the Titans need to upgrade upon Kalief Raymond, not bring him back. In the 23

games he played with the Titans in two seasons, he had 18 catches, nine each year, 357 yards, and one touchdown. He had two drops in 27 targets. He had 23 punt returns in 2020 for 208 yards. That's nine yards per return. That would make him 15th best in the NFL. And then for kick returns, he had 15 kick returns in 2020 for 275 yards. That's 18.3 yards per kick return. That would put him at 31st in the NFL. The Titans had no explosiveness when it came to kick returns,

punt returns. Yeah, Kalief Raymond didn't fumble. Yeah, that's great. But at some point in time, the Titans have to look for, oh, he doesn't mess up and look for, oh, he can win a game. Oh, he can swing a possession.

The Titans weren't getting any of that from Kalief Raymond. And then you add in his limitations as a wide receiver. It's just two spots within the overall scheme of the team that the Titans have to improve upon. They have to. They must. It'll take them to that next level. Now, what I do want to do is, before we move on, we do have to take a moment and appreciate Kalief Raymond's greatest moment as a Tennessee

Titan. Let's hop in the time machine go back to 2019 the Titans are on the road in the playoffs as major underdogs to the Baltimore Ravens. They have the ball just cross the 50 yard line

and are trying to go up two scores and take a major not only lead on the scoreboard, but a psychological lead over the Baltimore Ravens as well. Let's hop in the time machine and go back to one of the greatest moments in recent Tennessee Titans history. Audio courtesy of NFL.com. ...could not squeeze in between the center and the guard. About as good a start as you could have for Tennessee.

Tannehill looks for the home run ball. Separation. Kalief Raymond hauls it in. Touchdown, Titans. Wow. A deep one, 45 yards. Kalief Raymond is 5'8", and extremely fast. Great move there on Humphrey.

Watch him lay out and catch the ball with his fingertips for the score. Another spectacular touchdown reception for the Tennessee Titans. I mean, if you guys don't remember that play, just hearing that audio and thinking about that moment doesn't get you hyped up. I don't really know what to tell you. So forever, forever, I am going to have some gratitude, have some positive feelings for Kalief Raymond for that. Also, if you remember the big touchdown catch against the Colts in 2019,

that was an awesome play to put them up 31-17 and end that game. Also, Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, Kalief Raymond had a pretty good game, his best game of the year, and that helped the Titans in that very close game against the Vikings. So overall, just want to give some love, give some shout-outs to Kalief Raymond, but I do have to kind of couch those positive feelings with the fact that I agree with this move for the Titans. We need to improve in both the fact that I agree with this move for the Titans.

We need to improve in both the areas that Kalief Raymond filled those roles. The Titans need to find a speed wide receiver who can do more than just run deep double moves. The Titans need to find a returner that is better than average and doesn't just catch the ball and not fumble, but finds a way to make winning plays for you in the return game. So those are my thoughts on Khalif Raymond. I agree with the Tennessee Titans' decision to not bring him back into the fold, to not tender him out on a draft pick as a restricted free agent. I agree with those moves. Now, before we get into a player that the Titans did bring back to the team and got a deal done over the weekend,

I want to tell you about the Locked on Bets podcast. Betting on sports doesn't have to be a guessing game if you listen to the new Locked on Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. Get daily picks, blowout specials, wrong team, favorite picks, and Lee Sterling's lock of the day. Subscribe to Locked on Bets podcast brought to you by betonline.ag wherever you get podcasts. Also want to remind you guys about rockauto.com.

Rockauto.com is a family business serving auto parts customers online for 20 years. They have everything from edge of control modules to brake parts to tail lamps, motor oil, even brand new carpet. Whether it's your classic or your daily driver, you can get everything you need in a few easy clicks delivered directly to your door. Their catalog is unique. It's remarkably easy to navigate. You can quickly see all the parts available for your vehicle and choose the brands, specifications, and prices that you prefer. Best of all, prices at rockauto.com are always reliably low and the same for professionals and do-it-yourselfers. One thing that I didn't know is if you go to a chain store,

sometimes they have different prices, whether you are a professional mechanic or just a regular everyday do-it-yourselfer. And recently, I replaced the front brakes on my Kia Sportage. Shout out to my buddy Kyle Keaton, who helped me out during the process. But I got my brake pads from rockauto.com. It was incredibly efficient and I got the best price available. So make sure that you go to rockauto.com right now, see all the parts available for your car or truck and write locked on in the how did you hear about us box right underneath your shipping information so they know that i sent you amazing selection reliably low prices all the parts your car will ever need rockauto.com

We started off today's Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast talking about a Carlos. Then we talked about a Khalif. And now it is time to talk about a Kari. And that is Kari Blossom Game. And the Titans officially brought is Kari Blossom Game. And the Titans officially brought back Kari Blossom Game over the weekend, giving him a one-year deal worth about $850,000. But what this does is it gives Kari Blossom Game some security, although it's kind of a formality.

So Kari Blossom Game has not reached the three-year threshold that I talked about with Kalief Raymond. So, that means that he would be an exclusive rights-free agent. Essentially, he has to play for the Tennessee Titans if the Titans want him back. The Titans would just tender him as an exclusive rights-free agent. And no other team would be even allowed to bid for his services. rights free agent and no other team would be even allowed to bid for his services but the Titans did have the option to just let Kari Blossom game walk in free agency and just let him go but they didn't do that they did bring him back on a one-year deal and like Kali Freeman I agree with this decision and I agree with this move so Kari Blossom game is on the bottom end of importance on the roster.

He's probably anywhere from 40 to 53, but Corey Blossom game knows the system. He also was a pretty versatile guy in college. He ran the ball a little bit, so he does give you an emergency runner if you absolutely need that, but I'm pretty impressed with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Not something that the Titans asked him to do a lot. But, you know, in his time with the Titans, he played a couple of games in 2019 with the team the full season, 15 games in 2020. He had four catches in each season. In 2019, in his six games, four catches for 39 yards.

In 2020, 15 games, four catches for 39 yards. In 2020, 15 games, four catches for 54 yards. So he plays his role. He has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield if they have to throw to him. He can run the ball if the Titans get in a tough spot. He will play special teams as well. But Corey Blossom game just allows you to have a chess piece that you need when trying to establish dominance in the run game. I discussed throughout the season at length, especially in the late weeks of the season, how Arthur Smith was utilizing the fullback when the numbers game would get a little dicey. So against the Green Bay Packers, for example, they kept the five-man front and then they would have four second-level defenders.

So they're stacking the box with nine. have four second level defenders. So they're stacking the box with none. Well, when that happens, whether the Titans stack two tight ends to one side or stack three tight ends to one side, what would happen is the Packers wouldn't adjust and overload one side or the other. They would stay balanced. So no matter what, if the Titans put two tight ends to the left, because they were trying to get an advantage on the right, the Packers would eliminate that. So what the Titans would do is they would bring in a fullback. So now if you don't overload to a side with two tight ends, well, now we're going to have a fullback coming at you as well, and now the numbers advantage is going to get overwhelming.

Likewise, if the Titans have two tight ends to one side and then a team does overload that way, but the Titans have a fullback in the backfield well now the Titans can go the opposite direction of the two tight ends and still have an extra blocker outside just the offensive line with Kari Blossom game as a fullback so he knows the system he allows the Titans versatility within their scheme and specifically within the run game he also gives you a break in case of emergency runner, and he's shown that when the Titans do throw him the ball, he has the athleticism in the hands to be able to make catches.

So I really like what Kari Blossom game adds to the Tennessee Titans roster, and at $850,000 on a one-year deal, it's not like the Titans are making some sort of huge commitment to Corey Blossom game. He could be cut during the season and it wouldn't be that big of a deal if the Titans found an upgrade or needed to use that roster spot in a different way based on how Todd Downing changes the offense a little bit. Of course, the offense is going to be what the offense is. I don't expect a huge schematic change, but Todd Downing is most certainly going to use a lot of wrinkles, and he's not a guy who loves to use the fullback, so it'll be interesting to see how he uses Kari Blossom game going forward. But for my money, I really like having Kari Blossom game out there, and not only because of his blocking in the run game, but he was a very accomplished pass blocker from the fullback position as well. So per Pro Football Focus, out of fullbacks that took 100 snaps last year, Kari Blossom

Game had the third best pass blocking grade with a 78.8. Now I'm going to give you full transparency here. Only 11 fullbacks qualified. But that shows Kari Blossom Game, even though there's not a lot of fullbacks getting a lot of snaps in the NFL nowadays, he is definitely somebody who can help out in pass protection and that's important when the Titans run those max protection deep shots where they only have two or three guys out in a route and they want to make sure everything is blocked up now I would expect the Titans to do less of that when they have Taylor LeJuan back in the lineup but with

the way that the Titans run the ball their rel reliance on play action, it's good to know that you have a fullback who's very versatile, who you can trust, like I said, to play special teams, to catch the ball out of the backfield, to be a break glass in case of emergency running back, to be a pass blocker, to be a run blocker. I mean, Corey Blossom game just gives you everything you need from an end of the roster type guy. So I am in full support of the Titans decision to bring him back. Now that's kind of the conversation that I had plotted out for you today. Had a Carlos, had a Kalief, had a Kari. So we went over the three names, went over should the Titans sign

with Carlos Dunlap. I'm going to give that a thumbs down no. Talked about Khalif Raymond not being brought back to the Titans. I agree with that move. And then, of course, Kari Blossom game being re-signed over the weekend. And I agree with that move as well. Before we get out of here, I do want to remind you guys that for some NFL teams, the game may be over. But the work is just beginning.

All NFL teams at this point. So make sure that you join Trevor Sykema and Benjamin Solak on the Locked On NFL Draft podcast every Tuesday as they start their Team Takeover Tuesdays offseason series. Each week, they pick a new team, take a deep dive into potential front office or head coaching moves, a roster review, free agent strategies, and go through a team-centric mock draft. And that's every Tuesday at the Locked On NFL Draft Podcast. Make sure that you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. But that's going to do it for me today, folks.

I sure hope you enjoyed today's show. What I'm going to do the next few days is I'm going to go through the offense. I'm going to go through the defense and identify the ideal Tennessee Titans signing for that position. So I'm going to go through offense first, then defense on Thursday. Now I'm leaving myself a little wiggle room here, guys. We're hearing all these different moves that could be taking place and that are taking place in the NFL all season. A lot of cuts could be happening this week. So I don't want to pin myself in on one particular topic when there's huge news. So I'm going to get to the ideal free agent at each position for the Tennessee Titans. But I also think I'm going

to leave that opening segment open possibly to cover any big news from the day. So make sure that you don't miss any of those podcasts that will be coming up in the next few days. Remember, this is a Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans podcast all year long. So make sure you subscribe and never miss an episode. 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.