Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Make Major Roster Moves, Siemian Signing & Clowney Salary Update

Episode Date: August 20, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by rockauto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need, rockauto.com. The Titans may not have had practice on Wednesday, but the front office was still putting in the work We saw the Titans make a total of eight transactions on Monday to make over the back end of the roster Including one signing that I have been calling for for months So I am gonna break down the biggest move of the day in our first segment.

And then in our second segment, I am going to talk about the other six moves, the other seven moves that took place. Talk about what it means for the roster in certain position groups. Who was cut from the team, unfortunately, and what the Titans could be looking for in these players that they have signed on for the rest of training camp. So really excited to break down those moves. And then to round out today's show, another edition of Clowney Watch 2020. We had Peter King give us some pretty important information about Clowney's demands on Wednesday. So I will break all of that down for you guys as well. Make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast as I will be bringing you the most up-to-date Titans information

including my Tic Tac Titan film breakdowns Monday through Friday throughout the rest of the season. So whatever platform you're on, make sure that you're locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But we have eight Titans transactions to go over and an update on Clowny Watch 2020. Let's get it. It's typical at this time in training camp

to see NFL teams start to turn over their rosters, start to cut some guys who have been on the team, add some new signings, have some tryouts. That's something that we typically see at this time. And the reason for that is the teams have had multiple weeks to take a look at certain guys on the back end of their roster and they know A, that player is not going to make the roster at all or B, that that player isn't giving a competitive enough look to the other players in training camp who will make the roster. So you'll see teams start to bring in new guys, have tryouts, cut players at the back end of the roster and that churn is very normal but this is a COVID-19 limited season,

so because of the process and the time that it takes to get players into the building once you have a tryout with them or once you want to sign them, we're seeing a little bit less of that than we normally would in a normal season, but that didn't stop the Titans from making eight roster transactions on Wednesday. We are going to talk about those eight roster transactions right now. First, the Titans signed quarterback Trevor Simeon, and to do that, they cut seventh-round draft pick Cole McDonald at the quarterback position, and then they signed wide receiver Krishan Hogan and cut wide receiver Kyle Williams.

They signed tight end Jeff Swaim, cut tight end Parker Hesse, signed running back Marcus Marshall, and cut running back Dalen Dawkins. Obviously, out of those eight transactions, four cuts, and four signings, the most notable move is at the quarterback position where the Titans signed veteran NFL quarterback Trevor Simeon and cut seventh round draft pick Cole McDonald. And this is the most interesting news for two different reasons. One, bringing in an experienced backup quarterback like Simeon when all of the chatter has been about Logan Woodside all offseason. And then the Titans for a second time cutting a late round drafted quarterback before week one.

So we've seen that twice now with Luke Falk for the Titans where he was cut before the first game was ever played and now with Cole McDonald. And first on Cole McDonald, McDonald had athletic ability, he had good mobility, he had a very strong arm, but he had a very strange throwing motion that the Titans publicly talked about that that he was a little bit too much of a project based on the reports coming out of training camp that he was struggling mightily during the team period seven on seven and things like that. So very interesting that the Titans for a second time totally whiff on a late round quarterback. And although late round draft picks are dark throws in general, it's still a trend that the Titans can't seem to get a quarterback that is even able to

make it to week one. But getting into the Trevor Simeon signing, Simeon is a name that I have publicly been asking for for months now on the Locked On Titans podcast. Logan Woodside has no tangible NFL experience. He had up and down experience in the AAF. The alternate pro football league that has already fizzled out. So Logan Woodside has never demonstrated at any point in time. That he can be a satisfactory backup NFL quarterback.

And while people in the fan base and people in the organization were optimistic. Like Cole McDonald we have gotten reports out of training camp. That Woodside has struggled at times, and the Titans are in win-now mode in their situation in a Super Bowl or bust for the Titans, and if Tannehill were to contract COVID-19 and be out for multiple weeks, or if for some reason he was injured and was out for multiple weeks, the Titans would have to rely on Logan Woodside with no NFL experience to right the ship and steady the ship for for multiple weeks. The Titans would have to rely on Logan Woodside with no NFL experience to right the ship and steady the ship for a few weeks.

It just doesn't seem like a logical move for the Titans being in win-now mode. So they bring in someone like Trevor Simeon. Simeon has thrown for over 5,000 yards in his career. He's played for three different teams prior to the Titans, the Broncos, the Jets, the Vikings. He has a career record as a starter of 13 and 12, so a winning record. He's thrown for 30 touchdowns, and while Trevor Simeon was a run-of-the-mill average NFL starter, he's still a fantastic backup option for the Titans compared to what they had on the table. So a very busy day for the Tennessee Titans, despite the fact that there were no players

practicing on the field. And I'm going to keep breaking down the Titans busy day as we go over the other six transactions that took place in more detail, including why I think one of the signings that the Titans made on Wednesday has an excellent chance to make the Titans final roster. But before we talk about that, I want to tell you guys about rockauto.com. And first, I want to thank everyone who sent in their order confirmations from rockauto.com using the promo code LOCKEDON in the how did you hear about us box to stamp your official entry into the first ever Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League.

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And when you do, make sure that you write locked on in the in the HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US box so they know that we sent you. Once again, go to rockauto.com, write LOCKEDON in the HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US box, which is right under the shipping information, to make sure that they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all of the parts your car will ever need rockauto.com we went in depth on the quarterback moves that the titans made on wednesday for obvious reasons i have been screaming for trevor simeon for so long, and it really, really made my heart full to see that finally take place. And all of you guys that tagged me on Twitter, at TicTacTitans,

to be excited about Trevor Simeon, that made my day as well. I'm very excited to have Trevor Simeon on the roster for all the reasons I've been talking about for months now. It was surprising to see them cut Cole McDonald. I'd rather have McDonald as a project than Woodside, but you guys know how I feel about Woodside. But we've talked about the quarterback transactions enough. Let's dive into some of the other transactions that we saw.

There were six of them. I'm going to start at the tight end position. And first off, the Titans cut Parker Hesse. Also at the tight end position, he was battling with Tommy Hudson for that fourth tight end role. Obviously, the Titans have Michael Pruitt, Jonu Smith, Anthony Ferkser, but Parker Hesse, awesome name, by the way, Parker Hesse, but Parker Hesse and Tommy Hudson were kind of battling it out there. And I think that ultimately, one of them were trying to push Michael Pruitt, and I'm going to get into that a little bit when we talk about it through the lens of

who the Titans signed. So first things first, the Titans signed Jeff Swaim. So Swaim played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2018. He was a 7th round pick for the Cowboys in 2015. He played for the Jaguars last year in 2019. He has 48 catches and 401 yards in his career. Last year for the Jags, he had 13 catches for 65 yards, played in six games and had two starts. None of that matters with the point that I'm about to say other than he has NFL experience. Swaim is 6'4",

about 250 to 260. He's a big in-line blocking tight end. That's what he is. And the Titans might want that right now. Obviously, you have Jonu Smith, but Jonu isn't an expert blocker. He's improving and can get better, but he's much more of a receiving tight end, speed tight end, vertical threat. And then Ferkser, as we know, is 100% a receiving tight end. That is his role. He's a pass-catching tight end. He's not a blocker whatsoever. And while Michael Pruitt is a decent blocking tight end, his value to the Titans in 2019 was his roster versatility. He was playing fullback early on before Kari Blossom game came around. He played that third tight end role, played special

teams as well. So when you have a guy like that, you're going to keep them around, especially when you didn't enter the season with a fullback. The Titans have Kari Blossom game now. And I think Kari played pretty dang well for the Titans, especially in those heavy packages that they went to in the postseason. And I think that having Kari Blossom game kind of limits the value of Michael Pruitt. Rather than having a Michael Pruitt who has speed to him as a tight end, he's not a huge big blocking tight end, he's a versatile hybrid type. He has enough athleticism not be a total minus in the passing game, but also has enough size to be able to block.

But he's not awesome at one or the other. Well, the Titans have their all-around starting tight end in Jonu Smith. The Titans have their pass-catching, third-down down extra tight end in Anthony Ferkser. So why do they need another hybrid tight end in Michael Pruitt? And even if they want to keep Pruitt on the roster, having a big bodied inline blocking tight end like Swaim is probably a good idea. So I think Swaim has a great opportunity to make this roster as the fourth tight end. And I also think that he has the ability to push Michael Pruitt off the roster possibly, which goes back to exactly what I talked about at the beginning of the show, the two reasons

you bring somebody in. Maybe they can make the 53, or maybe they're just extra competition and better competition than, for example, Parker Hesse. So I think Swaim has a really good opportunity to help the Titans in three tight end sets, two tight end sets, if they want to focus on the run. And because they might be looking for someone who's a little bit more of an exact type as an inline blocking tight end

rather than someone who gives you versatility like Michael Pruitt because the versatility that he offered as a fullback is taken away by keeping Kari Blossom game, it would make sense that the Titans would go with Swaim over Michael Pruitt if they only keep three tight ends. If they keep four, then of course Swaim, in my opinion, has much more of a chance to make the tight end than the remaining guy left over in Tommy Hudson. So Swaim, I think, other than Simeon is the most notable signing. The other two signings and the other four moves that the Titans made, I'm going to be 100% honest. I think that they're

a little bit less consequential. I don't see either of these players making the Titans final roster, but it's possible that they're going to give them a more competitive look than the players that they will be replacing. So let's start at the wide receiver position with Krishan Hogan. Hogan has spent three seasons in the NFL, although only two of them did he spend time on an active roster. In 2017, he played two games with the Indianapolis Colts, then spent 2018 on the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals before spending most of 2019 on the practice squad with the New Orleans Saints. But he did play in eight games for the Saints, including a one-catch, four-yard performance against, drumroll,

the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. So thought it was interesting that he had the most productive day of his career, his only day of production in his career against the Titans, and now the Titans are the team that are bringing him into camp. But Krishan is a big-bodied wide receiver, 6'3", 217 pounds. So, Hogan is a big guy, and I've talked about the fact that outside of the Titans' big three, and then Kalief Raymond at wide receiver, they probably need another big-bodied boundary-type wide receiver. Kalief Raymond can play slot in the event that Adam Humphreys goes down. Let's expand our thought. What if the Titans keep six wide receivers?

I could see them keeping Rashad Davis, who's a small, speedy guy who has helped in the return game, along with Kalief Raymond, Adam Humphreys, Corey Davis, and A.J. Brown. And then if they're going to keep a sixth wide receiver and you have Humphreys, Raymond, and Davis, who aren't very big guys, you're going to want a sixth wide receiver and you have Humphreys, Raymond and Davis who are, aren't very big guys, you're going to want to have somebody who can simulate that boundary wide receiver position for you. So you're going to need a big bodied guy, a physical receiver to do that. Somebody like a Cody Hollister, for example,

someone the Titans flirted with last year at times during the season to have that extra big bodied guy. So now that Tajay Sharp is gone, you're going to want to have somebody over six foot who's a physical guy who can be on the roster. And I would imagine that Krishan Hogan is going to fight with some of the undrafted free agents like a Christian Wilkerson to compete for that spot, along with Cody Hollister, the aforementioned wide receiver who the Titans have carried over. So they're just adding more competition at that back-end wide receiver

with size and physicality. But Krishan Hogan has actual experience in the NFL, and that may give him a leg up on some of the undrafted free agents that he'll be competing against. Moving into the last move that, oh, I'm sorry, I gotta mention it. To bring in Krishan Hogan, the Titans cut Kyle Williams, so of course there's gotta be a move opposite of every move that we're talking about, the Titans only have those 80 spots to contend with, so there's

gonna be a cut for every signing, and that's the case for the last position that we are gonna look at, and that is Marcus Marshall, who the Titans signed at the running back position. They cut Dalen Dawkins, and that's a little bit of a surprise there. Dawkins was with the Titans for quite a bit last year and gave them a supplementary piece to the speed running back. Last year, it was Deion Lewis. Dalen Dawkins is a smaller, quick guy who can simulate what Deion Lewis gave to the Titans. I a smaller, quick guy who can simulate what Deion

Lewis gave to the Titans. I've talked about how the Titans like to typecast at running back, have one guy who can simulate Derrick Henry, have one guy who can simulate Deion Lewis. Well, this year that's Darrington Evans and maybe Daylon Dawkins could have been the guy who was simulating for Darrington Evans, but apparently the Titans have seen enough from Dawkins in the time that they have had him. They bring in Marcus Marshall, who, like I said, the Titans like to typecast. Same thing as I said with the wide receiver. They brought in another small wide receiver, 5'10", 200 pounds, and Marcus Marshall has good speed.

He was an undrafted free agent signing with the Chiefs in 2019, spent time on their practice squad last year, was cut by the Chiefs in April and will now have an opportunity with the Titans to simulate that Darrington Evans role to compete in that Dalen Dawkins spot and see if the Titans will keep four running backs or if they'll only keep three and it'll be someone like a centerized Perry who can give you some size and can compete and help on special teams so what the Titans decide to do with their running back position this year, we are going to see, but they have added Marcus Marshall. They have gotten rid of Dalen Dawkins.

So that's eight moves that the Titans have made. John Robinson is known, as most NFL GMs are, for turning that back end of the roster in the middle of training camp, trying to get another look at some of these guys before the final cut down to 53, before they make the decision on who they want to keep around for the practice squad. The expanded practice squad this season. In 2020 up to 16 spots from the 10 that they had last year. So we have to watch the back end of the roster more closely than we had to before. And that's why all of these moves are very interesting.

But the Titans will be back on the practice field tomorrow. Will that lead to more roster transactions? Who knows, but I will be here to break them down. Now, to break down the next thing, we got a major update from Peter King speaking on the midday 180 in Clowny Watch 2020. So I will give you that most recent update from Clowny Watch 2020 and break down what it means for the Titans from a salary cap perspective.

And that's what everyone is worried about when it comes to Clowney. So we are going to talk about that and announce the official 11 participants in the Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League next. Let's get into the most recent update in Clowney Watch 2020. Famous NFL national reporter Peter King went on the midday 180 in Nashville today and talked about some of the contract information surrounding Clowney's situation. Peter King basically said Clowney wants $15 million on a one-year deal or he's not going to play in 2020. The Titans currently, based on where you look, have anywhere from $20 to $22

million in salary cap space. So if they were to pay Jadavian Clowney the $15 million, that would definitely cut into what they have left, and it would really limit what they would be able to roll over to the 2021 season. So basically the NFL has a mechanism in the cap where any unused cap, almost like when you have unused data, a lot of cellular phone plans are based around rolling over your unused data each month so you never run out the the league basically has that for salary cap now here's the only thing the NFL sets their own

salary cap every single year going into 2020 it's looking like it is 198 million dollars million this year. So every NFL team is required to spend 89% of $98 million. That's $176 million. So the Titans are good there, but the question becomes, do they hold that $15 million for Clowney and try to use that as rollover cash for next year with the uncertainty surrounding the cap and what COVID-19 could do to 2021 or do they go all in for 2020 and try to sign Clowney well I'm going to say that at 15 million dollars the Titans should just go all in give Clowney that money the Titans gave Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry big time contracts. They pushed all their chips in for the next couple of years. You might as well, instead of rolling over cap space, go ahead and push all in for this year. With the restrictions that are taking place right now, it puts a premium on continuity.

Like we've talked about all season. And it puts a premium on what the Titans have which is continuity so by that measure if the Titans have that continuity they're going to be ahead of the competition already they brought back all their players on decent sized deals so they're all in for this window in the next few years you might as well bring in somebody who's going to have a bigger impact and acclimate quicker to your team than any other team around the league for that free agent. Go ahead and pay Clowney the $15 million and let's roll and go for a championship.

That's how I'm feeling right now, despite the debate that can take place on salary cap rollover or going all in this season. I don't know how any Titans fan could look at what's taken place over this offseason and last year and not be on the side of going all in for a championship. So that's what I have to say about that recent update in Clowney Watch 2020. I'm going to finish off today's show reading off the names, the official participants,

and the first ever Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League, and I'm going to announce the draft date as well. So I've announced some of these names already, but I want to just go through the list again. And some of you, I don't know your actual name. I just have your Twitter name. So if I refer to you as that, you know who you are. I have all you guys in my DMs who qualified here. Kasej, Keenan Jones.

I announced you guys in the most recent update on the Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League. Adioso Baboso from Argentina. Welcome to the Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League. I have Jack. It's JWICourt on Twitter from the UK. Welcome to the league. Sean Salvatore from New Zealand. Welcome to the league. Matthias Moller from Denmark. Welcome to the league. Kyle Robb, you are in. Robert Parker from Scotland, you are in. Colin Light, Jeff McCullough, and of course, random sports fan on Twitter.

So I've announced some of you guys before, but I just wanted to make it official. Those are the 11 participants that will be going against me in the first ever Locked On Titans Fantasy Football League. Remember, the requirement was to send me a confirmation using LockedOn on rockauto.com, so I made sure to prioritize the people who actually did that and got them in the league first, so congratulations to all of you guys the league draft will be not this upcoming Saturday but next Saturday August the 29th it'll be at 8 p.m. Eastern

Standard Time I'm gonna get all of you guys in a DM on Twitter so we can discuss everything if we have to change the time of the draft we can definitely take a look at that for you know how things work for the international listeners. But right now, that is what I'm banking on is doing the draft on Saturday the 29th. We're going to do it on ESPN, so everyone should be able to do it from their phone just in case there's scheduling problems. But welcome! I'm excited to do this with you guys. I'm excited for the first ever Locked on Titans Fantasy Football League.

I'm going to send out that DM later on this week. Get everybody set up probably this weekend and get ready for a fun season. So remember, the winner of the league is going to be my co-host for a day sometime next offseason. So really excited

to have that as an opportunity for you guys as well. But that is going to do it for today's show. A lot of exciting news even on a day when the Titans didn't practice. You got to love that as an opportunity for you guys as well. But that is going to do it for today's show. A lot of exciting news, even on a day when the Titans didn't practice. You've got to love that. They are back to practice on Thursday, today, when you guys are hearing this. So I will break everything down on Thursday night for our Friday show. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.