Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans NOT Trading Derrick Henry, Free Agent Tackles & QB Domino Impact

Episode Date: March 7, 2023

The Tennessee Titans were in the news this week after having reportedly shopped Derrick Henry at the 2023 NFL Combine, but a new report contradicts that. What should we believe? Also, two of the top tackles were not given the franchise tag and will become a free agent. Should the Titans go after names like Orlando Brown Jr and Kaleb McGary? Finally, Derek Carr picked the New Orleans Saints and this has a big impact on the Tennessee Titans offseason. Tyler explains why.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.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL 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

Wait, so the Tennessee Titans aren't trading Derrick Henry? We're going to discuss 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. Apparently, according to a new report, the Titans are not shopping.

Derrick Henry, what should we believe? I'm going to discuss that with you guys. Also, two of the top offensive tackles in the league were not franchise tagged by the deadline. And that is great news for the Tennessee Titans. We'll talk about that. And then the quarterback dominoes keep on falling, and what we've seen so far is good for the Tennessee Titans, depending on how you feel about what the Titans should do with

their future, of course. So we're going to dive into all of that on today's show. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year long and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. You're not going to beat that anywhere else.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic, a certified film junkie, and a staff writer over at alltitans.com, the Sports Illustrated Tennessee Titans site. Make sure you check out my work over there. But we got a counter report on Tuesday from Jonathan Jones from CBS Sports.

And Jonathan Jones is a guy I wasn't super familiar with going into the 2022 season, but consistently throughout the last few months, Jones has had some scoops on the Tennessee Titans. So he seems to have some sort of source in the organization. And Jones came out in his report from the combine and said this, quote, I know there's talk that the Tennessee Titans are shopping running back Derrick Henry, but my sources tell me they are not.

I had been told general manager Rand Carthon would be methodical in his approach to free agency and changes to the team. in his approach to free agency and changes to the team. The releases of tackle Taylor LeJuan and receiver Robert Woods weren't surprising and cutting loose edge rusher Bud Dupree also makes sense. I don't believe the Titans see any tangible free agent upgraded quarterback over Ryan Tannehill and taking away the most essential part of the offense in Henry would indicate Tennessee is tanking more than anything. The Titans can very much contend in the AFC South

and they'll have to do that with Henry. End quote there. So really what we need to pay attention to is the beginning of the quote where he says, My sources are telling me that the Titans are not shopping Derrick Henry. And that brings us to this. We got the report from Michael Silver that the Titans were shopping Derrick Henry at the NFL Scouting Combine. We get the report from Jonathan Jones that his sources are telling him

the Titans are not shopping Derrick Henry. Who should we believe? My answer is both. We should believe both of those reports because I think that they both have the ability to be true at the same time. Like I said, Jonathan Jones from CBS Sports clearly has a source within the Titans organization. I bet that Jonathan Jones reached out to his source in the Titans organization and said, hey, are you guys shopping Derrick Henry?

And what did the source say back knowing that this would be reported publicly? No, we're not. We're not shopping Derrick Henry. No. And I believe that. I don't think that the Titans are calling. The Titans didn't post Derrick Henry on Marketplace and say, hey, I got to slightly use Derrick Henry for sale.

Who's interested? It wasn't a bidding war where the Titans said to the entire NFL, hey, he's available. Come get him if you want him. That's not what happened. So by that definition of shopping Derrick Henry and calling different teams and getting their offers or saying he's available, that may be what Jonathan Jones' source thinks of when he thinks of shopping Derrick Henry. Michael Silver says that the Titans are shopping Derrick Henry,

but he may be using that term a little more aggressively than what actually happened. Here's what I think happened, guys. I think you're at the NFL scouting combine, every general manager for all 32 teams, somebody's at dinner with Rand Carthon, maybe not at the table, but in the same restaurant. They all go to St. Elmo's or Prime 47.

So they're all in the same place. Someone goes up to Rand Carthon and says, hey, what would it take for you to get rid of Derrick Henry? Rand Carthon takes a sip of his drink, looks at Mike Rabel. I don't know.

We'll give you a call back. You give me a second and I'll do it right now. Those conversations are probably what happened. People asking about Derrick Henry's availability. And look, it is Rand Carthon's job as the general manager of the team to explore every avenue, to field every call, to understand every offer, to get a general sense of what players value is around the NFL. So to me, both of these reports are probably right. The Titans aren't calling a bunch of teams in the NFL shopping

Derrick Henry. I believe Jonathan Jones when he says that his sources say that's not happening. I don't believe that's happening either. And then two, I do believe that Rand Carthon had a conversation with at least a couple of teams about a Derek Henry trade at the combine too. Would you call that shopping Derek Henry? I don't think so. So I think the difference between these two reports, the Titans are shopping Derrick Henry and the Titans aren't shopping Derrick Henry. I think the difference between the two reports is semantics. It's just the way that you define shopping. Do I think Rand Carthon had trade conversations about Derrick Henry at the combine? Yes, I do. Do I think that Rand Carthon is calling a bunch of teams in the NFL and putting Derrick Henry on the trade block? No, I don't. Do I think that Rand Carthon is calling a bunch of teams in the NFL and putting Derrick Henry on the trade block?

No, I don't. So, I think that both of these reports are true and we can believe both of them. What it may come down to is a divide in the organization. Rand Carthon could be entertaining the idea of trading

Derrick Henry, while Mike Vrabel is like, no, we're not doing that. And that could be where the two reports are coming from. That would be a more concerning way to view this situation, but it's definitely a possibility. At the end of the day, there are only a small handful of teams that would even be interested in a guy like Derrick Henry. There's a small handful of teams who are contending teams who think they can win the Super Bowl next year that would even be willing to consider taking on a running handful of teams who are contending teams who think they can win the Super Bowl next year that would even be willing to consider

taking on a running back of Derrick Henry's age, the wear and tear that he's had at his contract number, and giving up draft picks to do that. There's a small handful of teams that would even consider trading for Derrick Henry. So it makes it really easy for Rand Carthon to have those conversations with those small groups of teams that would even consider it. So do I think the Titans are shopping Derrick Henry? No.

Do I think they had trade conversations about Derrick Henry at the combine? Absolutely, I do. So to me, both of these reports can be true at the same time. And I think that they are. But with that in mind, we're going to continue today's episode. Two offensive tackles we thought might get the franchise tag are not getting the franchise tag. And there's also one quarterback who got the franchise tag

and didn't get a long-term deal the Titans fans may be interested in as well. So we're going to discuss all of that and more on today's show. Before we continue, though, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Look, guys, the NFL season is over, but the NBA season is in its best part of the schedule, and there's no better place to bet the NBA than FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

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but I really don't think that the two reports of him being talked about as a trade candidate over the weekend and him not being shopped by the Titans, I honestly think that both of those reports are true. But we just talked about that. Now, we got to talk about some franchise tag news because there are two players who didn't get the franchise tag who make a lot of sense for the Titans and one player who did get the franchise tag who could make some sense for the Titans as well.

Let's start with the big news. Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson got the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Ravens. So that means it's a one-year deal, $32 million. What a discount for Lamar Jackson when Derek Carr just got $35 million a year. Geno Smith got $35 million a year. Daniel Jones, Danny making dimes at this point, got $40 million a season.

So Lamar Jackson at $32 million a year is quite the discount. But the reality is here, Lamar Jackson is not going to be playing on a one-year $32 million franchise tag. He's simply not because the Ravens put him on a non-exclusive franchise tag, which means that Lamar can go out, negotiate contracts with other teams, and if he gets a contract from a team and the Ravens don't want to match it, then Lamar Jackson will be on a new team and that team has to give the Ravens two first round picks while signing Lamar Jackson.

Now, I'll ask all you guys watching the show right now, put down in the comments, would you pay $50 million a season and give up two first round draft picks for Lamar Jackson? Would you do that? $50 million a year plus two first round draft picks for a guy who over the last few years has been injury prone

for a guy who has never really gotten it done in the playoffs I mean to me if I had to sign Lamar Jackson outright in free agency I would consider it but given that man $50 million, and here's the thing, Lamar wants a fully guaranteed contract like what Deshaun Watson got from the Browns.

That's what he wants. Fully guaranteed. There is not a chance in the world that I am giving Lamar Jackson $50 million guaranteed for four or five years and giving up two first round picks on top of that. I'm sorry, I'm just not. Titans fans told me, I don't want a quarterback that struggles in the playoffs. Well, then why do you want Lamar? I don't want a quarterback that gets hurt. I'm tired of injured players. then why do you want Lamar? I don't want a quarterback that gets hurt.

I'm tired of injured players. Then why do you want Lamar? I get that the talent is there. Lamar Jackson is incredible. He's a top 10 quarterback in the NFL, former MVP, excellent player. No question about it. But 50 million guaranteed a season

and two first round picks? I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to be able to do that. So I know that some Titans fans out there would love to do that and would love to pay all that to get Lamar. I'm out on that. I'm out on that. Now, moving forward into offensive tackles, Orlando Brown did not get the franchise tag

from the Kansas City Chiefs. That's crazy to me. That's crazy that they didn't do that. They traded for Orlando Brown and maybe they feel like, hey, we just won a Super Bowl. We can't afford to pay Orlando Brown $20 to $25 million a season. Okay, that's fine. Better for the Titans.

Two different reasons why it's better for the Titans. Number one, Orlando Brown's on the market. That's a top-tier offensive tackle in the NFL who's still only 26 years old. And you don't have to pay picks. You could just sign him. So, one, he's an option for the Titans. Two, it's supply and demand. If Orlando Brown got franchise tagged and stayed with Kansas City,

let's say there are five teams that really want an offensive tackle. Well, now, one of those five teams can take Orlando Brown. And that's going to make the third or the fourth offensive tackle in less demand and then ultimately cheaper on the market. So more options at offensive tackle for offensive tackle needy teams can only help the Titans from a supply and demand standpoint. Okay? Because if Orlando Brown was off the market,

then that means that the number two offensive tackle is now the number one and the number three is now the number two and the number four is now the number three and they're going to get paid more than they would have if Orlando Brown wasn't on the market so whether the Titans go out and get Orlando Brown or whether the Titans get an offensive tackle that gets less money than Orlando Brown. Either way, having Orlando Brown on the market is good for the Titans. Now, let's talk about Orlando Brown as a player. He's been fantastic. He's incredibly durable as well.

The guy does not miss time. And there are going to be people who come into the chat and say, or come into my comments tomorrow and say, the Titans can't afford Orlando Brown. They don't have enough cap. You guys don't understand how contracts are structured in the NFL. Derek Carr

just got $100 million from the Saints. You know what his cap hit is this year? $6 million. How is that possible? Derek Carr got $30 million a year. How is his cap hit only $6 million? Because of the way you structure contracts. Look at Harold Landry's contract. Look at Bud Dupree's contract. Their cap hits in year one of their new contract

were incredibly low. I think both of them were under $10 million on the salary cap. Because in your first year, that's when your bonus money comes in. You give players a good chunk of bonus money up front, and you keep their salary really low in year one. What that does is that keeps their cap hit low on your salary cap in year one, but it still gives the player a good chunk of money in year one so they feel they're being paid adequately that is how contracts are structured in the NFL so a guy like Orlando Brown may make $25 million on average

but his cap hit in year one is going to be less than $10 million that is how contract structure works in the NFL. So don't come in the comments or don't on Twitter or on YouTube and tell me the Titans can't afford, the Titans can't afford Lamar Jackson if they want. The Titans can't afford Orlando Brown. All they have to do is structure the contract in a way that they get their bonus money up front,

which is how most contracts are anyway, and then their salary in year one is really low. Deshaun Watson just got over $200 million guaranteed from the Browns, and his salary cap or his salary in year one was $1 million. How is that possible? Bonus money. So, the Titans could go out and get Orlando Brown, but a guy I think that makes even more sense for the Titans could go out and get Orlando Brown, but a guy I think that makes even more sense for the Titans

is Caleb McGarry, who played for the Falcons last year, who's a younger player. I think McGarry has a great chance to join the Titans, be there at right tackle. Him and Mike McGlinchey are the two names that really make the most sense. Caleb McGarry did not get franchise tag by the Falcons. So he's on the market.

And again, I go back to what I mentioned at the beginning. If Caleb McGarry and Orlando Brown are on the free agent market, that means two tackle needy teams have them as options. If those two were not on the free agent market, that means the Titans would have to compete harder and give better deals to lesser offensive tackles because of simple supply and demand. It's that easy. So Orlando Brown, Caleb McGarry not getting franchise tagged by their teams is great news for the Tennessee Titans. Speaking of great news for the Tennessee

Titans, Derek Carr going to the New Orleans Saints is great news for the Tennessee Titans. Speaking of great news for the Tennessee Titans, Derek Carr going to the New Orleans Saints is great news for the Titans. As quarterback dominoes begin to fall, things are going well for the Titans right now. So we'll discuss everything that's going on from a quarterback market standpoint and how it affects the Titans in just a moment. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

We talked about Derrick Henry not being on the trading block, being on the trading block, conflicting reports. I don't think the reports conflict all that much anyways. I think both reports are actually true. We talked about three players and their franchise tag situation, specifically two offensive tackles, and then Lamar Jackson and how that impacts the Titans or the discussion around that. Now I want to finish talking about some more quarterback dominoes here and how it can help the Titans out. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the Locked on NFL Draft podcast.

You got Damian Parsons and Keith Sanchez. They provide in-depth analysis of every big NFL draft prospect, but they also do deep dives in the sleepers and the hidden gems as well. Find the Locked On NFL Draft Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. It's on any podcast platform. It's on YouTube as well. Locked On NFL Draft Podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

It's your team every day. I do want to address something real quick that someone said in the chat. I don't mean to pick on you in any way, David Brown or anything like that, but David says, Tackles are hard to find. Why aren't these teams tagging them and extending them? And I understand that as a concern, but let me flip that around for you.

Why aren't the Titans tagging or extending A.J. Brown? Why are they willing to give him away? Why didn't the Miami Dolphins tag or extend Tyreek Hill? Why didn't the Green Bay Packers tag or extend Devontae Adams? Do you see what I mean here? That's like when people said they didn't want an offensive coordinator who was fired by another team. Guys, just because a team moves on

from a player or a coach doesn't mean that that player or coach is garbage and they shouldn't be signed by anybody else and there's something significantly wrong with them. While that can be a red flag at times, sometimes teams just don't have the money to do it or want to allocate their resources elsewhere. And they let good players go because they just want to build the roster

in that way. So that's what I would respond to with that, David. I understand your concern there, but to me, you know, that can only hold so much weight. But with that in mind, I do want to mention this. Derek Carr signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints. And I think this is a good thing

for the Titans because it leaves the Jets open. Now, as we speak, as we speak, the Jets are meeting with Aaron Rodgers. Now, it would be best for the Titans if Aaron Rodgers retires or go that goes back to Green Bay because now with Derek Carr in New Orleans I didn't see New Orleans as an option yeah Matthew McMurray that's a great another great example why don't we tag or extend Jack Conklin?

It didn't mean that he was a bad player and the Browns should buy or beware. It's just how it works sometimes. But, but, but these are not elite. Orlando Brown Jr. is an elite offensive tackle. Absolutely, he is. So that's what I would respond there, but enough of that. So, the Jets are meeting with Aaron Rodgers right now, and it would be best for the Titans if Rodgers went back to Green Bay or retired, because the Jets are desperate. The Jets want a veteran

quarterback so badly, okay? So, if Aaron Rodgers is not an option for the Jets, if they miss out on Derek Carr like they already have, then the Jets could be a team that's willing to give you a few draft picks for Ryan Tannehill. Absolutely. That would be a great fit for the Titans if they wanted to trade Ryan Tannehill.

Okay? And here's the thing. Would you rather pay $35 million over three years for Derek Carr? Would you rather pay $35 million a season for Jimmy Garoppolo? Or would you rather trade a second round draft pick for Ryan Tannehill and pay him $20 million for two seasons? Because what a team is going to do when they trade for Ryan Tannehill is they're going to extend Ryan Tannehill for probably one more season,

give him a little bit of guaranteed money, because it's all salary that they'll be getting. They'll be getting $27 million in salary. So you take $7 to $27 million in salary. So you take $7 to $10 million in salary, you turn it into bonus money, you give Ryan Tannehill some bonus money up front, you lower his

cap hit down to $20, $17 million. Would you rather have, would you rather give a second round pick and pay Ryan Tannehill $20 million a year for the next two years, or would you rather pay Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr $35 million a year for the next two years, or would you rather pay Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr $35 million a season for the next three years?

To me, I'd rather take Tannehill in that situation. Now, that's not a situation that the Titans are in because they have Tannehill and his dead money and his guaranteed money on the books already, but if you're a team that doesn't have to take any guaranteed money in the future, that doesn't have to pay restructure bonuses and signing bonuses

that make Brian Tannehill's cap hit so high 36 million for the Titans if you don't have to do that then I would rather take Brian Tannehill especially if you're the Jets and you're a team that isn't going to be trading up to get a rookie I think of a team like the Carolina Panthers I think about a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They could all be interested in a veteran quarterback for way less than Daniel Jones just got $40 million a season. I'd rather have Ryan Tannehill at $20

million a season than Daniel Jones at $40 for sure. So you can hate Ryan Tannehill all you want in my comments. You could say he's garbage, he's terrible, blah, blah. Ryan Tannehill all you want in my comments. You could say he's garbage. He's terrible. Ryan Tannehill is a top 14 quarterback in the NFL. And if you traded for him, you could get his cap hit $20 million lower than a Daniel Jones or a Derek Carr. Well, their salaries at least. So to me, it's definitely an option. The quarterback dominoes are falling.

Lamar Jackson is a part of that as well. I think it's crazy that all these teams are coming out and saying they're not interested in Lamar Jackson. Wild to me. There are conspiracy theories going around as to why that is. But yeah, it would be best for the Titans. The best thing that could have happened for the Titans is Derek Carr going to New Orleans

and then Aaron Rodgers going back to Green Bay or retiring because that would create a better market for Ryan Tannehill. So the news lately has been good. There's a lot of news to come in the next few days. We're going to continue breaking down free agents over the next few days. We're going to dive deeper into the offensive line free agents. We're going to dive deeper into wide receiver free agents over the next few days. We're going to dive deeper into the offensive line free agents. We're going to dive deeper into wide receiver free agents over the next few days.

Get you guys ready to go for a free agency kicking off in the middle of next week. Can't wait for that. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on tight.