Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans RELEASE Bud Dupree, Derrick Henry Trade Rumors & Jeffrey Simmons Scrubs Socials

Episode Date: March 6, 2023

The Tennessee Titans released Bud Dupree on Monday. Why now, how much does it save and what's the future at edge? Also, Derrick Henry was shopped at the 2023 NFL Combine according to a report. Should we believe it, what teams would be interested and what should the Titans hope to get in return? Finally, Jeffery Simmons made some concerning moves with his social media accounts. How freaked out should fans be?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

The Tennessee Titans release Bud Dupree. Derrick Henry on the trading block. Jeffrey Simmons deletes the Titans off his social media. What is going on, Titans fans? We're on Rebuild Watch. All of that and more on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Lock 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, what an insane Monday to start the week for the Titans. Bud Dupree is released. I'm going to tell you why it should have happened now, what the Titans are going to save, and what next. We're going to talk about these Derrick Henry trade rumors. Apparently, he was put on the trading block during the combine.

So we'll discuss where he might be going and what the Titans could get in return. And then Jeffrey Simmons, during contract negotiations, scrubs his social media and then deletes his social media. So a very strange day for Titans fans. We may be staring the rebuild in the face. I'm going to get into all of that more before we do. 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 year long and always for free. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic, certified film junkie, and a staff writer over at alltitans.com. But we got a lot to get into. First and foremost, Bud Dupree released by the Tennessee Titans. So Dupree signs a five-year, $82 million contract. Season.

And the Titans were trying to fix the pass rush so you could see what they were thinking, but there were better options on the table, in my opinion, with a Trey Hendrickson, with a Hassan Redick. And you don't want to have hindsight 2020 completely, but those were options that I thought were better at the time than Bud Dupree coming off a torn ACL when he wasn't even one of the top two pass rushers in Pittsburgh. So it was a questionable decision at the time, in my opinion, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it here. Throughout the entire two years that Bud Dupree has been with

the Tennessee Titans, it was my expectation that he would be cut after the first two seasons. There's an outness contract, which we've discussed. The Titans are going to save around $9 million if they have the cut go through right away on March the 15th. They would eat around $10.8 million in dead cap, but you simply can't pay Bud Dupree $20 million on the salary cap. He played 22 games out of a possible 33 games that he could have played. He had seven sacks and eight tackles for loss combined in those years.

You simply can't have a player making $20 million against the salary cap, giving you that sort of production and the amount that Bud Dupree was out on the field. But again, that's the risk that you take when you sign a guy coming off an ACL tear. So that was a bad decision by John Robinson in signing Bud Dupree was out on the field. But again, that's the risk that you take when you sign a guy coming off an ACL tear. So that was a bad decision by John Robinson and signing Bud Dupree and giving him the contract that he did ultimately had a big effect on John Robinson getting fired. We could talk about, you know, the AJ Brown trade all we want, but it was a ton of different decisions along with the first round draft picks. But Bud Dupree was a big, a big part of John Robinson losing his job eventually,

giving him that contract. So again, the Titans saved $9 million, get about $11 million in dead cap if they execute the move right at March 15th when the new league year starts. Or what they could do is they could do like they did with Julio Jones, designate Bud Dupree as a post-June first cut. They would save about $15 million on the salary cap, but they don't get those cap savings until after June 1st. So they could do the cut now, designate it post-June 1st, get that money then.

There's some logic there because you save more money, but the Titans with their limited cap space may want to go ahead and have that $9 million available right now. So I think that's what they're deciding to do. We would hear that it was a post-June 1st cut when it was initially reported, if that were the case. So now what the Titans do from here, I think edge rusher becomes a significant need. I would say it's probably the number one need on the defensive side of the ball right now, and that depends on what happens with David Long.

If David Long, ultimately the Titans let him go in free agency, then I think inside linebacker immediately becomes the most important need for the Titans on the defensive side of the ball. But if the Titans were to bring back David Long, then edge rusher is the number one. Now, some may say cornerback, and that is an option. Understandable there. But for me, I think edge rusher because of the importance of pass rush.

I'm a guy who's always going to value pass rush over everything else on the defensive side of the ball. I think that getting an edge rusher in the first couple of rounds may be an absolute necessity for the Titans at this point. I like Rashad Weaver a lot. I think he's slated to be the starter outside of Harold Landry, who hopefully is able to play his style of football off the ACL tear because he's had enough time to recover.

But Rashad Weaver had his downsides last year as well. It was an impeccable year for Rashad Weaver, a little undisciplined in his pass rush, getting too far upfield in run defense. He had some splash plays, but wasn't always able to hold up his edge in run defense. So while I do like Rashad Weaver and would it be okay with him starting, I think you need a high-level player to be a part of a three-man. So for me, that's something that's super important is having that depth on the edge for the Titans. I think that it does become a significant need. Would I address it in free agency?

No, I absolutely would not address it in free agency, but I think it's something that you definitely got to think about in the draft. We're going to continue today's conversation. There was so much news that happened on before the Titans outside of the Bud Dupree release. You have the Derrick Henry trade rumors could be on the trading block according to this report from the NFL Combine. Crazy to think, but it's definitely a possibility.

So we're going to talk about who Derrick Henry could get traded to and ultimately what he would get traded for. So with that in mind, we are going to continue today's show. Before we get into it, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Look, guys, the NFL season may be over, but the NBA season, this is the best time of the year. And right now, the best place to bet the NBA is on FanDuel Sportsbook,

America's number one sportsbook. New customers can get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back even if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the FanDuel Sportsbook app. It's safe. It's secure. It's super easy to use. I love single game parlays. I'm not going to lie to you. Taking a couple of different statistics with, let's say, the Lakers. LeBron's hurt right now, but LeBron over 25 points. Anthony Davis over 25 points. Anthony Davis over 10 rebounds. D'Angelo Russell over five assists.

Who do you think is going to win the game? Add all that together, you can bet a little to win a lot. They also have the money line, point spreads, three-pointers made, a bunch of different things that you can bet on over at FanDuel. So don't miss your chance to get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000 in bonus bets when you go to FanDuel.com slash locked on. That's FanDuel.com slash locked on to learn more.

Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. Titans fans, so much news on Monday. We're going to continue breaking it down. We just talked about Bud Dupree and his release. I think that was something that a lot of people expected, but kind of figuring out exactly what kind of release they're going to use is going to be an interesting thing going forward.

But now, we're going to dive into this, maybe the biggest news coming out of Combine weekend, and that's Derrick Henry on the trading block. Now, I think that's a little salacious if you put it that way, Derrick Henry on the trading block. I don't know if that's the right way to go about it, but there was a report from Michael Silver

saying that there were three veteran players that he heard that were shocked at the NFL Combine when the general managers were having these discussions. Number one was Jalen Ramsey of the Rams. Number two, DeAndre Hopkins from the Cardinals. And number three, Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans. I think that Mike Silver is a respected voice in the industry. I don't want to say he's not,

but Ian Rappaport on NFL Network said he wasn't able to corroborate that report. So Ian Rappaport wasn't able to confirm that about Derrick Henry. So it's a bit up in the air, but listen, we have to just accept the reality. And it's something that I've talked about throughout the offseason so far. Derrick Henry is set to hit the salary cap for $16 million. A $16 million running back. Derrick Henry is still a very productive, incredible running back.

No lie, one of the best in his position in the entire NFL. But with what he's getting paid and where the Titans are at as a team, if you're trying to win a Super Bowl, you can justify paying Derrick Henry what he's getting paid and where the Titans are at as a team. If you're trying to win a Super Bowl, you can justify paying Derrick Henry what he's getting paid. If you're not set up to win a Super Bowl, it's hard to justify paying a running back that much money. It simply is. And from what we know, historically speaking, in the last 14 years, most of those teams were paying their running back pennies. So we all talk about the Titans getting an outside hire, the Titans changing the offensive system,

the Titans playing more modern football. Well, part of playing more modern football is not having a $16 million running back. That's just a reality. So we have loved watching Derrick Henry play. He's an incredible player, absolutely. But I think that if you get offered a certain amount for Derrick Henry,

you have to consider it because not only will it save you a little bit of money, but it would help you kickstart a rebuild. And that's been kind of the overarching point of the show today is that the Titans are entering a potential rebuild right in front of us. They flirted with it. We've wondered, would Mike Vrabel really do that? Would they trade Tannehill?

Could they trade Henry? How much change would they really make? I don't think the cuts that we've seen with Taylor LeJuan, Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham, Randy Bullock, now Bud Dupree, I don't think the cuts that we've seen tell us that it's a rebuild. I don't think that's the case.

But if they trade Derrick Henry, that is signifying that they know that they're heading into a rebuild. And with the rumors that we're hearing about Jeffrey Simmons and the conversation we're going to have later on in the show about that, I mean, it could just be the truth that we need to accept here. Rand Carthon came in to rebuild the team.

Not retool, rebuild. I would be shocked if that was the case, but if this Henry report is to be believed, which I think I do believe it. I think I do. I think that the Titans would trade Derrick Henry if they got the right package back. And you think, what teams would be looking at a Derrick Henry? Maybe the Buffalo Bills. You've heard that rumor. Although Mike Silver also did say that he does not think it would be Buffalo that would be trading for Derrick Henry. So what about a team like the Miami Dolphins?

Mike McDaniel, their owner, aggressive with the speed they have. What if the Miami Dolphins wanted to trade for Derrick Henry? That could make sense for them. What about a team like the Eagles? Miles Sanders is a free agent. What if the Eagles said, hey,

we're this close to a Super Bowl. We're going to trade for Derrick Henry too. And from what I heard, those conversations between the Titans and the Eagles may have started with a little talk about Derrick Henry. So the skids may already be a little greased on that front.

What about a team like the Chicago Bears who have a rookie quarterback and need to add more weapons on an offense that has been putrid in terms of weaponry around Justin Fields. What if Derrick Henry is a part of a package to get the number one overall pick? I don't think that would be the case,

but I'm just saying there are a handful of teams who it could make sense. And I see people saying, Leo's saying, how about focusing on the offensive line? Well, you can get a couple of picks back to try to help that offensive line. I think that if you look at what you would get for Derrick Henry,

I think on your best day, on the best day, the most optimistic outcome is a second round pick. I think that would be the most optimistic outcome for Derrick Henry, if you're realistic. Christian McCaffrey got like three picks, a second and a third, and I think that would be the most optimistic outcome for Derrick Henry, if you're realistic. Christian McCaffrey got like three picks, a second and a third, and I think a sixth as well,

but Christian McCaffrey can fit with more teams. So there's probably more teams willing to pay more, which drives the price up for a do-it-all running back like Christian McCaffrey, than Derrick Henry, who needs to be in a certain system and be used a certain way and system and be used a certain way, and can't be used a certain way as well. So I think with a second round pick being the most optimistic outcome,

I think a fourth round pick is to be expected. I think if the Titans got a realistic outcome that they would pull the trigger on, I think it would be a third round pick. I think a third round pick is what you would hope to get back for Derrick Henry with his contract. He's got a $10 million salary. So no matter what, if you trade him

to another team, they're going to have to either A, just take the $10 million salary as it is, or, or, the team could trade for Henry and then give him like an extension for a year and try to smooth out the cap hit so it's a little lower. Either way, a $10 million contract to take for a running back

is still something that teams aren't going to want to do unless they're in a certain position. So, for me, a third round pick is to be expected or not to be expected, but you would feel pretty happy about getting a third round pick. But then the conversation instantly becomes, is Derrick Henry worth more to you than a third round pick? Because even if you trade Derrick Henry,

you're only going to save $6 million because there's restructure bonuses that have been pushed into the future. So the Titans are still going to take $10 million in dead money for Derrick Henry, even if they trade him. So they're only saving $6 million this year. So you've got to weigh that into the entire equation.

Look, again, I think it would be very optimistic to get a second round pick. I think it's realistic and what you should hope for, a third round pick, and then a fourth round pick at the bare minimum if Derrick Henry gets traded, which again, I still just don't think happens. It could happen.

I think it's realistic, but I just don't think, I don't think the Titans are ready to do that completely. But again, the whole overarching point of the episode is, and Owen says, when do you think age comes into the conversation with Henry? It's already in the conversation. That's part of the trade discussions. That's part of his value on the trade market.

That's part of the Titans' decision. I mean, you got away in the age of a running back and the contract at that point in time, which is why we're talking about the compensation that we are for Derrick Henry. But with that in mind, again, the overarching point of the episode is if the Titans ever did trade Derrick Henry,

then they're saying, hey, it's time to rebuild the team. We are going into a rebuild mode. That's 100% what would be happening. And one other thing that would signify the Titans going into a rebuild mode. That's 100% what would be happening. And one other thing that would signify the Titans going into a full rebuild, Derek Wright says, what are the Titans doing? The Titans might be rebuilding, my man. That's what they might be doing right in front of you, is going into a rebuild.

May not make a lot of people happy, but it may be the right decision to rebuild. Are the Titans going to be in a position to win a Super Bowl before Derrick Henry is out of his prime? There may be people in charge of the Titans who say no. So why are we holding on to an old expensive running back when we're nowhere close to being able to get him to a Super Bowl? It may be time to rebuild.

And if something like a Derrick Henry trade happens, that is screaming right in your face, they're rebuilding. Not only that, but Jeffrey Simmons scrubs his social media, deletes his social media in the midst of contract negotiations. If you're hitting the panic button, Titans,

I understand, but it may be a rebuild button that you're actually hitting. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do, 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. It has hosts Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez. They provide in-depth coverage of the biggest NFL draft prospects.

They're also going to do deep dives into sleepers and hidden gems that have the potential to change the Tennessee Titans. So find the Locked On Draft Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Also on YouTube, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's crazy edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We talked about Bud Dupree getting released, which feels like it was forever ago at this point. Talked about Derrick Henry on the trading block.

Now we're going to talk about what's going on with Jeffrey Simmons because it's fair. It's fair if you are concerned. It is absolutely fair if you're concerned. So on Sunday, at some point in time, Jeffrey Simmons scrubbed his social media his Instagram and Twitter of things that have to do with him and the Titans.

Later it was discovered that he had deleted his Instagram entirely and then at some point he also deleted his Twitter account. So in the middle of trade not trade but contract negotiations,

Jeffrey Simmons deletes all his social media. Look, this is a very generational conversation. Our older listeners, who may be over the age of 40 or closer to the age of 50, you may think, oh, this is stupid nonsense.

This is nothing, blah, blah, blah. But if you're in the millennial age range like me, if you're even younger and you're in Gen Z, it's just a reality that professional athletes negotiate publicly through social media. We've seen it time and time again with so many different professional athletes over and over and over again. And you can think it's silly and you can think it's stupid and that's fine. Your opinion doesn't change the reality of what's happened.

So, whether it's a big deal, whether it's a little deal, whether it's no deal, that's up for your personal opinion. But for me, today's day and age, if you have a professional athlete

doing these things, it's because they're unhappy with the way negotiations are going. And guess what should worry Titans fans? Jeffrey Simmons being unhappy with how negotiations are going. Okay? So, if you're looking at everything that's happened, Bud Dupree and all the vets getting cut, which I think the Titans should have done, absolutely.

Derrick Henry being dangled in trade rumors at the Combine over the weekend. Jeffrey Simmons scrubbing his social media of everything related to the Titans and then deleting it. I mean, again, the overarching theme of today's show is a rebuild. If for some reason they were to, and we got to talk about this reality.

What if Jeffrey Simmons is part of the package to get the number one pick from the Bears? Again, I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm not saying it's likely. But the Bears probably were interested in Jalen Carter. Would you rather have pick one and trade down to pick four and just get Jalen Carter with some extra picks? Or would you rather get a bunch of picks from the Titans

and instead of an extra first rounder, you get Jeffrey Simmons? So you get the Titans package, you get pick number 11, you get Jeffrey Simmons, who is what you hope Jalen Carter can become anyways. That might be enticing for the Bears. So what if Jeffrey Simmons deleted his social media

because he found out that he's being dangled in the package to the Bears for the first pick. Now, in my opinion, even if the Titans want to kind of do a pseudo tank with all the cuts and trading Derrick Henry and trading Ryan Tannehill and all that, you still keep Jeffrey Simmons. You do all of that so you can keep Jeffrey Simmons. But, but maybe they're going, maybe they're just going full-blown top-to-bottom rebuild, which

I think would be an absolute shock. It would be an absolute shock. But at this point, with the crazy news that we're hearing, some of the reports that we're getting, we have to at least acknowledge the realities that could be right in front of us. I mean, we have to at least acknowledge them because it's clear that things are happening. So what a crazy day of news on Monday. Just absolutely insane.

As we get closer to the opening of free agency, we're going to get even more clarity on a lot. We're going to get more clarity on a lot of different things. I mean, David Long's situation, Nate Davis' situation.

The Titans are going to want money in free agency if they're going to get rid of any other players in a trade so wow yeah dog versus face what kind of name he says what a wild toxic all season and you know what when you go on a seven game losing

streak and when your general manager makes some of the decisions that he made before getting fired and when you have all these bad contracts and you're in the situation that the Titans are in, we all should have known. And a lot of us did know this is going to be a wild, wild ride

this offseason. Buckle up, Titans fans. The next couple of weeks of news is going to be nuts. And I'm going to be here with you the entire time to break it down. Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms,

all year long, and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'll be back with you guys tomorrow. Thank you so much for tuning in. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titan.