Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Kevin Byard DECLINES Pay Cut, Future in Doubt and Options For Titans

Episode Date: March 19, 2023

The Tennessee Titans continued a wild offseason when rumors came out that Kevin Byard demanded his release from the team. This turned out to be untrue, but the Titans did approach Byard about a pay cut and he said no. So what next? Why would the Titans consider a move and what moves could be made? Tyler dives in to all the details of this crazy situation and explains why departing from Byard would be a terrible decision.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport 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 “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Titans aren't going to cut Kevin Byard, right? We're going to talk about all that and more on today's 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. Welcome to the Locked On Titans Podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland.

Titans fans, it was a crazy weekend of Tennessee Titans news on Friday. We got news about Kevin Byard potentially demanding his release from the Titans. Turns out that wasn't exactly true, but there is some trouble in the waters in regards to Kevin Byard and his future with the Tennessee Titans. We're going to discuss every aspect of that news, what happened with Kevin Byard and the Titans on Friday, what options the Titans have going forward if they do need to part ways, which would be a major mistake.

We'll talk about the impact that could have on the team. Before we get into that, though, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed.

Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now as well. The show is free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. Today's episode is brought to you by the Ultimate Pro Football GM app. If you've ever dreamed of becoming an NFL general manager yourself

and managing your own football franchise, then this game is definitely for you. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or just look it up on the App Store. My listeners can get a 100% free boost to their franchise when you use the promo code LOCKEDON in all caps in the game. But this news caught me by surprise on Friday night. I mean, as any of you guys know who have watched the show for quite some time, I'm not going to sugarcoat it here.

I try my best to be as bias-free as possible for you guys, give you the news, give you the realities. Of course, I throw in my opinions here and there, but I try to have a level of analysis where I'm just not purely in my fandom. But I am on this one. We got the news that Kevin Byard was demanding his release from the Tennessee Titans. I mean, I was shell-shocked.

I mean, that's my favorite player maybe of all time for the team, and I just could not fathom a world where Kevin Byard didn't play for the Titans, but it didn't take long before that rumor was basically squashed by a lot of people in the national media. But the truth did come out after that. No, Kevin Byard didn't demand his release. But according to credible reports, guys like Adam Schefter, Jordan Schultz, Teron Davenport

from ESPN. These guys did report that the Titans went to Kevin Byard and said, hey, we need you to take a pay cut so we can save some money on the salary cap. And what did Kevin Byard do? He said, no, I'm not taking a pay cut, as he should. Kevin Byard had 100 tackles last year and four interceptions. Since Kevin Byard was drafted in 2016, he has played in every single game for the Titans.

He's been a pro bowler twice. If you don't care about the pro bowl, he's been first team all pro twice, including 2021. It's not like it was a long time ago. So I just, I can understand why Kevin Byard would say, no, why would I take a pay cut? How about you go to Ryan Tannehill and have him take a pay cut? How about that? Absolutely ridiculous. Couldn't believe that the Titans would do that. I'm a little bit shocked. Look, Kevin Byard's cap hit this year is over $19 million.

For a safety and the situation that the Titans are in, I get it. I get it. They need to try to shed that salary cap somehow. They need to try to manage things, and $19 million for a safety is a lot. But Kevin Byard is worth it. He consistently makes plays for the team. He turns over the ball on defense. That's the most important thing that you can do in

the secondary in the NFL on defense today is make turnovers. Get the ball back to your offense. It made no sense whatsoever to release Kevin Byard, to get rid of Kevin Byard in any way. So I just

thought that was crazy. Now the one report that did come out that we got to pay attention to here is from Adam Sheffer where he said right now the Titans and Byard are at a crossroads, but I'm here to tell you

there isn't a lot of solid options for the Titans to go with with Kevin Byard. If he doesn't want to take a pay cut, they could restructure his contract with guys. If you don't know, you don't really need the players approval to restructure their

contract. All you're doing is giving them more of their money right now. So it's not like a restructure requires a pay cut or anything. They wanted Kevin Byard to take a true pay cut on an extension so they could lower that cap hit. And I got to tell you, I don't blame Kevin Byard for saying no,

but with the Titans being at a crossroads with Kevin Byard's contract situation, does that mean they're going to trade him? Does that mean they're going to release him? Does that mean they're going to keep him? We're going to go down the different paths, talk about what it would look like, and at the end of the show, I'm going to just talk about how I think the reaction

to moving Kevin Byard would be and why I think it would be such a terrible thing for the Titans. Before we move forward in today's show and look at the routes the Titans have with Kevin Byard's contract, I do want to take a moment. I am seeing right before I went live, of course, right before I went live,

we got news on Sean Murphy Bunting, who is a defensive back, played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's having a visit with the Titans on Monday. If the visit goes well, the expectation is that Sean Murphy Bunting will sign with the Tennessee Titans. So that is obviously very interesting news. Sean Murphy Bunting is a versatile guy. He can play inside. He can play outside.

He is a physical guy willing to get in the box and make plays in the run game as well. He's played 53 games in his career, six interceptions. He's a guy, like I said, who's willing to tackle. He's had 18 played 53 games in his career, six interceptions. He's a guy, like I said, who's willing to tackle. He's had 188 tackles in his career. He only played 12 games last year. The year before that, he only played nine. So there are some injury issues, but the Titans needed a veteran cornerback to add into their group. They needed another cornerback no matter what, but I thought it was risky to try to add that player in the draft with how young the cornerback group is already. So you get a guy with four years of experience,

a Super Bowl ring from Tampa Bay who's been around some great defensive players, been around some great defensive coaching. So I really like the fit of Sean Murphy bunting, but the Titans are set to have a visit with him. That's all we know right now. There is the expectation that he could sign with the team, and maybe it's pretty likely that he will sign with the team.

But at the end of the day, I'm going to cover that on tomorrow's show in detail once we get news that Sean Murphy bunting is actually signing with the Titans. So, Daniel, this is wrong. David, this is wrong. This is not true. Restructuring a contract does not require a renegotiation. All you do is you take salary money that's set to be yearly salary

and you change it to bonus money, and then that bonus money is spread out throughout the rest of the contract. It's a win-win because the Titans get cap space when they do a restructure. The player gets their salary money that was supposed to come to them in the future, and they get it right now as an upfront payment. The money that the player will actually make on the contract does not change. So I'm sorry, David, that that's not correct. You don't need the player's approval to do a restructuring of their contract.

And why would you when the player is just getting more of their money up front right now rather than waiting on it? So just wanted to clear that up for anybody. If you were wondering about the comment that I made that they don't need the player's approval, the player would approve it every time. You're going to give me more of my money right now? Oh, great. Absolutely. So just wanted to clear that up for everybody before we move forward and look at the options

that the Titans have with Kevin Bayard and his contract. Before we get into that though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by the Ultimate Pro Football GM app. Guys, look, I talked about it at the beginning of the show. This game is so much fun. I'm telling you, it's the off season and we're seeing free agency. We're seeing the draft. We're seeing trades and cuts and moves. You can do all of that on the ultimate pro football GM app. It's a mobile game on your phone.

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Make sure that you check it out. Download the game today. You can go to ultimate-gm.com or just look it up in the app store. That's ultimate-gm.com Ultimate Pro Football GM. Start your dynasty today. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about all the news with Kevin Byard,

everything that came out over the weekend. We even talked a little bit about a potential signing for the Titans and Sean Murphy bunting, but we'll know more about that tomorrow after he has a visit with the Titans. We're going to move forward here and look at some of the routes that the Titans would have with Kevin Byard. And at the end of the day, it makes zero sense for the Titans to part ways with Kevin Byard.

It makes zero sense. If he's not going to take a pay cut, then he's going to be on the team. And there's not much that the Titans can do, and it wouldn't make sense for them to do a lot. Really. I mean, looking at the options that they have. Before we get into that, though,

I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. So, I said it on Friday's show. That's some big personal news this weekend. And if you guys follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, whatever you probably saw, but I got engaged this weekend. She said, yes, she said yes. So thank God on that, right? Uh, things could have gone sideways. No, just kidding. I had a good inkling of what was going to happen all the time, but I just wanted to say thank you

to any of you guys who reached out, told me congratulations, any of that. There was so much response to the news. I tried to make sure that I liked every tweet or said thank you as much as I could, but just wanted to take an opportunity on the actual podcast and say thank you to all you guys as well. But so the rumor began on Friday that the Titans are, or Kevin Byard demanded his release from the Titans. That turned out to be incorrect. That was not true.

But the Titans did approach Byard for the pay cut. So if Byard said no and the Titans are at a crossroads with what to do with Kevin Bayard, well, there's only two options that they have here. They could trade Kevin Bayard, or they could release Kevin Bayard. And I'm here to tell you, neither of those make any freaking sense at all,

and the Titans cannot do that. Number one, if they release Kevin Byard, they'll have a dead cap hit, just dead money of $13 million. You know how much money they would save if they released Kevin Byard? 5.9 million. So you're telling me that you are going to release the heart and soul of your team, the best safety in the NFL, who's played every game possible since he was drafted. You're going to release him

to eat 13 million in dead money and only save 6 million in cap space? Come on now. That doesn't make any sense at all. Yes, Byron has the $19 million salary cap hit. That's a lot for a safety. But the Titans have the lowest payroll in the NFL right now. The lowest amount of money being spent on players, the Titans,

with all their moves that they made are at the bottom. There is no way that you can justify releasing Kevin Byard to save $6 million. Not a chance. Okay. All right. Well, what about a post-June 1st cut? What about a post-June 1st cut? What about designating Bayard as a post-June 1st cut? Okay. They'd only have $5 million in dead money in 2023, but then they'd have $8 million in dead money in 2024. They'd save $14 million. Okay.

So that's probably what would be the impetus for doing that. You save $14 million. But probably what would be the impetus for doing that. You save $14 million. But you're going to pay $8 million in dead money next year to cut the best safety in the NFL. And that $14 million that they save, they don't even get access to that money until after June the 1st. So it's not like it can help them sign free agents right now. It's not like they can help him or it'll help them trade for somebody right now. So yeah, you may get $14 million in savings.

You may only have $5 million in dead money in 2023. But you got $8 million in dead money in 2024, and what are you going to do with safety? And you don't get that savings until June 1st. So again, it doesn't help you right now accomplish anything and make moves right now anyways. It does not make sense. Now, I'm sure some of you guys are thinking,

well, what about a trade? What if we did a trade? Well, the financial situations are the same for a trade. If the Titans trade Kevin Byard right now, $13 million in dead money, $5.9 million in savings. If the Titans trade Kevin Byard after June 1st, $14 million in savings, $5 million in dead money this year, $8 million in dead money next year. But who is going to play safety if you cut the best safety or you trade the best safety in the NFL in June? Who is playing safety? So to me,

if the Titans get rid of Kevin Bayard, they're waving the white flag on the season. And I better see Ryan Tannehill get traded. And I better see Derrick Henry get traded too because there is no justification. The Titans simply could not trade or release Kevin Byer and then look their fans in the face and say that they're trying to win football games this year. And I saw a good comment on here. It's gone now. Well, not gone, but I can't screw up and find it. But basically, what I'm saying,

the best friend for a young quarterback is a great veteran safety. And the Titans have only young cornerbacks. They need Kevin Byard in the defensive backfield. There's no way around it. There's no way around it. There's no way around it. It just, the Titans could choose to extend Kevin Bayard

and find a way to lower his cap hit there. But at this point, I'm a little worried about the relationship between Bayard and the team after them asking for a pay cut. The dude had 100 tackles and four interceptions last year. Absolutely not taking a pay cut. The year before 100 tackles and 4 interceptions last year. Absolutely not taking a pay cut.

The year before that, he was first team All-Pro. So, they better extend Kevin Byard before they consider any move with Byard, in my opinion. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. He's probably the favorite player of mine, of the Titans, ever. I will be sad.

I will be a true sad boy if Kevin Bayard is released or traded. I don't think it's happening. I don't think. The crossroads is they trade or release Kevin Bayard or they do nothing and he's on the team.

And I think that's what happens. And I'll tell you why. It's not just the financial aspects. This would be an absolute mistake to get rid of Kevin Byard in the locker room is where this would really matter. So going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do, I want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Fandle. Fandle is the number one sports book in America. And look, it may not be NFL season anymore, but we are in the best part of the NBA season,

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Talking about this Kevin Byard situation. We also talked a little bit about Sean Murphy bunting, but right now that is just an expectation, not a reality. So we're going to get into all of that on tomorrow's show. On tomorrow's show, we have a lot to talk about. Maybe a Sean Murphy bunting signing with the Titans.

We also have to discuss these Lamar Jackson rumors with the Titans. They're not going away. So we're going to have to discuss that as well. But we talked about Kevin Bayard declining a pay cut from the Titans. We talked about how it financially doesn't make any sense for the Titans to part ways with Kevin Bayard.

Now, I'm going to talk about why it doesn't make any sense to part ways with Kevin Bayard. But from a locker room standpoint, not from a financial standpoint, before we do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day, but as for your second listen, guys,

Locked On NFL Scouting. They're talking about free agency. They're talking about the draft, salary cap management, and much more. You get NFL experts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino. They take you through what building a successful NFL franchise looks like every Monday through Friday.

Find Locked On NFL Scouting with the Draft Dudes wherever you get your podcasts. It's on YouTube as well. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network where it's your team every day. But the Titans would be fools to part ways with Kevin Byard and they would absolutely lose the locker room. Kevin Byard is the heart and the soul of the team. If you want to look at Jeffrey Simmons and Derrick Henry as the engines to the team, then great. But Kevin Byard is the captain of the team. He is the leader of the team.

When the Titans, when there was a lot going on during the pandemic, and the team was coming out and making certain statements and things like that, certain social issues and things like that, who was out front doing the talking? It was Kevin Byard. Jose Bustos.

I got engaged, my man. It was I. It was I. Thank you, Joan. I see it. There's a lot of people have been saying congrats in the chat. I see you guys. Thank you.

Don't want to spend too much time just talking and saying thank you, but I definitely do appreciate it. Of course, once again, thank you to anybody who said congratulations to me over the weekend. I definitely do appreciate it. All the podcast listeners everywhere on YouTube, thank you guys so much. But Kevin Byard is the leader of this team. How pissed off would the players in the locker room be

if Kevin Byard was traded because he didn't want to take a pay cut after the year that he had last year. Everything that he does. I mean, Mike Rabel has talked about Kevin Byard being a perfect tight. He does everything.

He shows up on time. He puts in the work mentally on the field. He plays every game. Every game. So, I just can't imagine that anybody in the locker room would feel good about this team and about the situation

if Kevin Byard was released. If Kevin Byard was traded. How do you go to Jeffrey Simmons? How do you go to Jeffrey Simmons? How do you go to any player and have them have faith in the organization? This guy, Kevin Byard, does everything that you could ask of from a player. Off the field.

Absolute stud. Taking care of the field. Absolute stud. Taking care of the community. Taking care of unfortunate kids. I mean, Kevin Byard is the perfect Tennessee Titan. Produces on the field. Plays every game.

Leader in the locker room. Leader off the field. Like, what more could you want from a guy? So how could you look Jeffrey Simmons or Armani Hooker or a young player like Traylon Burks in the eye and have them have any confidence whatsoever in the team after you do something like that? Bayard is a guy who you treat like royalty

for the rest of eternity. If not, it will be a stain on your franchise that you treated a guy like Kevin Byard the way you did. This will have a major impact, not only in the Titans locker room, but in locker rooms all over the NFL. These guys know Kevin Byard. Damn, the Titans did Kevin Bayard like that? After 100 tackles and four interceptions and playing in every game?

Do you guys remember when the Titans sat everybody for the Cowboys game? Who played? Kevin Bayard. Who had two interceptions to try to keep the team in the game? Kevin Bayard. You cannot. You cannot trade A.J. Brown. Good point, Jonah. You cannot trade A.J. Brown and then get rid of Kevin Byard.

I mean, you're just, you're ruining your reputation within the NFL with other players who you may eventually want on your team. Will guys getting drafted truly want to play for the Titans or will they do their four years and then leave because they don't trust the organization? You just simply cannot. We talked about the financial situation making no sense. The interpersonal relationship

and your reputation around the league, from that point, it makes no sense either. Not to mention, if the Titans get rid of Kevin Byard, like I said earlier, they are tanking. And the players will know it. So,

you know, like I said at the beginning of the show, I do my best to not be biased. I try to not be too much of a fan. Try to keep things in perspective. Give you guys, you know, detailed information not be too much of a fan, trying to keep things in perspective, give you guys, you know, detailed information without being too much of a homer. But I can't do it with this Kevin Byard stuff, man.

This is just absolutely ridiculous. Adam Thielen to the Panthers? That's interesting. That's interesting. Yep. It's that time of year, guys. I come on, I do a live show, and literally there's news breaking while I'm doing it.

But, yeah, I mean, another big week. Week two of free agency. The Titans are set to have a visit tomorrow. Could be signing Sean Murphy bunting. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow, hopefully to break down that signing. Also talk about these Lamar Jackson rumors that continue to heat up,

and the Titans apparently looking at Lamar. The Vikings are a team that has reportedly been sniffing around. So, will be very very interesting to see and yeah Brise, I would take McCall Hardman at this point. Dear God, the Titans need any wide receiver with any talent at all

because they are in trouble as things stand right now. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Again, I'll be back with you guys tomorrow with the Sean Murphy Bunting News and talking a little Lamar Jackson, but I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you