Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Tee Higgins TRADE OFFERS, No Wide Receivers in Free Agency & NFL Combine Importance

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans could still trade for Tee Higgins, and I'm going to tell you what that trade could look like 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. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150. If your bet wins, make sure you visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. T. Higgins got the franchise tag, but the Titans can still make a trade. I'll go over some trade offers that make sense. Also, the free agent wide receiver market continues to dwindle. We'll go over the latest and the NFL Combine starts this week.

Starting point is 00:01:21 I'll tell you what matters and what doesn't really matter. Before we get into all of that, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen. Each and every day, remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. And throw a thumbs up on the video. The out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys.

Starting point is 00:01:46 And throw a thumbs up on the video. The show is always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. Do want to let you guys know my next video on my film channel at Tic Tac Titans here on YouTube is going to be on Peter Skowronski and it's going to come out a little bit later this week

Starting point is 00:02:02 than the last two videos have because I had a busy end of the week last week week, schedules, all season, stuff like that. You guys understand. But wanted to give a little programming note there regardless. But diving in here, Tee Higgins got the franchise tag from the Bengals over the weekend. It's official. And, you know, I'm not even going to pat myself on the back

Starting point is 00:02:20 for telling you guys this whole time that Tee Higgins was going to get franchise tag, even though there were people in my comments calling me an idiot. Why would we trade when he's going to be a free agent, blah, blah, blah. Look, anybody who knows anything about the NFL, anybody who is even a little bit informed about the NFL knew that T Higgins was going to get the franchise tag. So I tried to tell you guys, some of you guys didn't want to hear it, but pretty much anybody who knows anything about the NFL knew that this was coming. So no big surprise.

Starting point is 00:02:47 But what was a big surprise is how early they put the franchise tag on Tee Higgins. So NFL teams have until March the 5th to place the franchise tag. And you would think that an NFL team would take the max amount of time to do a deal with one of these players. You don't want to put a franchise tag on a guy with 12 days left until the deadline to place it. You want to use that time to try to get a long-term deal done. So the Bengals putting a franchise tag on Tee Higgins this early with 12 days left until the deadline to do it, that just tells you that negotiations are not going well. The Bengals and Tee Higgins camp are not anywhere close on a deal.

Starting point is 00:03:33 That's exactly what the timing of this tells you. So while the outcome wasn't a surprise, the timing definitely is a surprise. And to me, the timing of this and the Bengals and Tee Higgins not being close enough on a deal to even continue negotiations for the 12 remaining days, that makes it even more likely that the Bengals look to trade T. Higgins. And we've been having these discussions on the show for the last few weeks. My everydayers will know I am against a trade for T. Higgins.

Starting point is 00:04:03 I don't want the Titans to give up what I think it will cost to trade for T. Higgins. I don't want the Titans to give up what I think it will cost to trade for T. Higgins and what the Bengals will accept. And then remember, on top of that, not only are you giving up draft capital, but you have to give T. Higgins a huge deal. And another big thing of information that came out this weekend, the salary cap is way higher than what people were projecting. Most of the sites, most of the people around the league were thinking $242,000, $243,000. Well, the NFL announced this

Starting point is 00:04:33 weekend it's all the way up to $255,000. So while the Titans get more money from that, other teams get more money from that as well. And players will be expecting more money because now there's more money in the pot. So they're like, hey, if I was going to get paid $20 million, now I should be getting paid $23 million because there's more money out there, a higher percentage of a team's salary cap. That's how teams are going to look at this. That's how players are going to look at this. So the Titans are going to have to give Tee Higgins a bigger contract based on the salary cap going up than they would have otherwise. So, again, it's a ton of draft capital and giving out a huge contract

Starting point is 00:05:13 to a guy in T. Higgins who, I like T. Higgins a lot. I would love to have T. Higgins on the Titans. But as a lot of you guys have pointed out, there are injury concerns there. Soft tissue. He's missed 10 games over his first four years of his career, including five last year.

Starting point is 00:05:29 So there are concerns there. So that's a really risky move. But ultimately, what would a trade look like? What would the Titans have to give up to get Tee Higgins? In my mind, it would be the Titans' second round pick. That is the starter. That is the baseline. No. 38, the second round pick of the Titans.

Starting point is 00:05:48 And then I also think that they would have to give up their fourth round pick this year, which I believe is 108. So you would have to give up 37, 38, and 108, 107. Maybe I'm flipping those around, but either way, right there within one. You're going to have to give up your second and

Starting point is 00:06:03 your fourth round pick, plus give T. Higgins $25 million a year. Like, that is a big-time commitment. Now, Higgins is only going to be 25 years old, so you're doing it on a player who's young, who knows the system, with the connection to Brian Callahan, who can get down the field and win these deep passes that Will Levis is going to excel at. So he fits perfectly.

Starting point is 00:06:26 Obviously from Tennessee, wanted to be a Titan his whole life. All of that, there are a ton of reasons why T. Higgins is a great fit. But the trade, a second and a fourth, giving out a four-year $100 million deal with likely $60 to $65 million guaranteed, that is a major risk on a guy like Tee Higgins who has injury issues.

Starting point is 00:06:49 And it's okay to say, is he a real number one wide receiver? Is that true? It's fair to have these concerns, and that is why despite really liking Tee Higgins and wanting him on the Titans, I have said, no, I do not want to make that trade. I don't think

Starting point is 00:07:06 the Titans can sacrifice that draft capital where they would only have their first round pick and then T Higgins and then a bunch of seventh rounders. Like that is a dangerous game to play for this team to put all your eggs in the veteran baskets. The Titans need cheap, young talent, and you get that in the early rounds of the NFL draft. Top 100 picks are everything, and the Titans would have their number one pick, their first round pick, and then nothing else in the top 100 if they made that deal.

Starting point is 00:07:34 So, to me, too risky. But, let me say this. A deal that I would be willing to make, a deal that I would consider a good deal for the Titans that I think they can make. Instead of this year's second round pick, next year's second round pick. If the Titans can give a 2025 second round pick and then give this year's fourth and add in this year's sixth

Starting point is 00:07:59 so give a sixth round pick, a fourth round pick this year and a second round pick next year, that a second round pick next year. That would be a deal that I could stomach. I don't want the Titans to make that initial trade we talked about, a second and a fourth in this year's draft. I don't want them to do that. But, and I'll tell you this, I don't think the Bengals would accept the trade that I would be okay with.

Starting point is 00:08:21 If I'm the Bengals, I'm not accepting a 2025 second when I could get a third round compensatory pick off of T. Higgins if he leaves in free agency after the year. And one other thing that I want to say here. Some people, including myself, thought, hey, T. Higgins plays on the tag. The Titans could get him in free agency in 2025 without having to trade everything. Just have to be patient and wait for a year.

Starting point is 00:08:47 Well, the tag this year for Higgins is $21 million. If the Bengals tagged him again next year, it would basically be $26-27 million. So, that would be a two-year span where the Bengals paid Higgins $48 million. Higgins wants $25 million a season. So, two years, $25, that's $50 million. Even if the Bengals tagged him two years in a row, they would be paying him less than what he wants to get paid in free agency. So the Titans would have to make a trade. I think they'd have to make a bad trade to be able to get Higgins. Maybe they can get him next year in free agency, but the

Starting point is 00:09:24 Bengals certainly could tag him again and try to keep this train rolling. So it's going to be able to get Higgins. Maybe they can get him next year in free agency, but the Bengals certainly could tag him again and try to keep this train rolling. So it's going to be something that we're going to have to watch play out. But the first trade, a second and a fourth this year, I think gets Higgins. But a trade I would be okay with would be a second next year and then a fourth and a sixth this year. It's going to be tough to navigate for the Titans and to get T. Higgins,

Starting point is 00:09:42 and it makes it even more dangerous and more scary when you look at what's going on with the free agent wide receiver market this year. We're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. All right, guys. The NFL season may be over,

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Starting point is 00:10:54 official sportsbook partner of the NBA. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just looked at some T. Higgins trade offers that the Titans could make. Again, I think a second and a fourth this year gets it done, but I would rather do a second next year, a fourth and a sixth this year,

Starting point is 00:11:32 just for a little bit of safety there. But I don't think that trade would get it done. So the Titans are in a tough spot when it comes to T. Higgins now that he's franchise tag. But that's not the only tough spot that they're in because you start to look around at the wide receiver free agent market. And as I've been saying for the last few weeks, the Titans likely won't have a chance to get any of the top names on the market. We're going to

Starting point is 00:11:56 dive into that. Before we do, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. It is combine week. We are going to get a ton of rumors. We're going to get a ton of news. Cap cuts are happening. We got so much to dive into. I'm going to have a ton of stuff to talk about. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. But not only did T Higgins get franchise tag, which takes him off the free agent market, but we're also hearing that a long-term extension for Mike Evans with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is very close to happening.

Starting point is 00:12:36 It's in the works. Now, of course, that's just rumor. Those things could break down. Those things could not work. And Mike Evans could hit the free agent market. But let's all be honest with ourselves. This is like the conversation about Tee Higgins hitting the free agent market. When you guys would get in my comments and call me names and say I'm dumb, and does this guy know he's going to be a free agent? Do you know that he's going to get franchise

Starting point is 00:12:57 tagged? What are we talking about? People try to act like I'm dumb when they're uninformed. It's always so hilarious to me. But this is another one of those situations. You can hold out hope that Mike Evans is going to be a free agent. I would love to sign Mike Evans. Awesome. I would love to sign Tee Higgins. But Mike Evans is about to get a big-time deal from Tampa Bay to stay in Tampa Bay for his whole career.

Starting point is 00:13:20 They would be smart to give it to him. He would be smart to stay. I mean, there's just no reason to think that that won't happen. And now it's being reported. It's being rumored. You have to just read the tea leaves here. So, who does that leave? Well, the only two big names, I will say, left on the market

Starting point is 00:13:37 or left with a possibility to hit the market would be Michael Pittman from the Indianapolis Colts and Calvin Ridley from the Jacksonville Jaguars. And look, I would love to sign either of those guys. If Pittman hits free agency, I'm on it. Get big, physical, young wide receiver. Take him away from the Indianapolis Colts as well. I mean, that would be awesome.

Starting point is 00:14:01 I'm here for that. Same thing. Calvin Ridley. He's a little bit older. He's 29, but Ridley sat out an entire season, so his body is younger than what his age is. Typically, when you would think of somebody his age, you steal him away from Jacksonville.

Starting point is 00:14:15 He's a savant route runner. I think he's going to be way better this year after he sat out a year and then came back, and I just think that he's going to be better this year and next year than he was last year now that he's back in you know the NFL routine that he needs to be in so I would love to have Michael Pittman or Calvin Ridley but like Mike Evans like T Higgins if we're honest with ourselves they're probably not going to hit the free agent market. Now, I think Calvin Ridley has a better chance of that than Michael Pittman because Calvin Ridley's condition

Starting point is 00:14:49 of his trade from Atlanta to Jacksonville if the Jags do a re-sign and an extension with Calvin Ridley they're going to have to pay a second round pick to the Atlanta Falcons. So they might just say, hey, why would we do that? We'll draft a wide receiver in the first or second round

Starting point is 00:15:06 and not pay T. It's a similar conversation to the T. Higgins thing. Do the Titans want to trade a second round pick and give out a huge contract when they could just draft a wide receiver in a great wide receiver class for cheap? You know, you know? You have to find high-level play on cheap contracts in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:15:32 Like, look at the Kansas City Chiefs roster and all the guys in the recent drafts that they have who are making plays for them. That's the way it has to go, okay? That's the way it's always been done in the NFL. Yeah, you've got certain high-level veteran players, but the majority of your value of your contracts is going to come from rookies who play at a high level and are on rookie contracts. Giving up those opportunities is a dangerous risk. So, would the Jaguars really give up a

Starting point is 00:15:57 second-round pick and pay Calvin Ridley a huge contract? Maybe they don't. Maybe they let him get the free agency and then the Titans could take a swing at him there. I think it would be a great fit. Okay, I do. But let's just acknowledge the reality that T. Higgins franchise tag, Mike Evans extension, Calvin Ridley back to the Jaguars,

Starting point is 00:16:19 Michael Pittman franchise tag or a long-term deal with the Colts. The odds are that the big four names are not going to hit the market, which means that's why I've been talking about these names and we've been having these conversations throughout the week. Mike Williams, Hollywood Brown, Gabe Davis, Darnell Mooney, Curtis Samuel, a name that I really like that we haven't really got into a lot recently,

Starting point is 00:16:43 but you need to start accepting that that is the grocery list. That is the options that the Titans are going to have here if they want to sign a wide receiver and free agency. So the question then becomes, do you want to pay $12, $13, $14, $15 million for a Mike Williams, a Hollywood Brown, a Gabe Davis, a Darnell Mooney, a Curtis Samuel. You know, Mooney and Samuel are going to be on the low end of that, obviously. $10 million, $11 million. Samuel may be even $8, $9 in there.

Starting point is 00:17:17 But that is the position the Titans are going to be in here. Because this free agent market at wide receiver is eroding. And if we're honest, this makes the conversation about drafting a wide receiver in round one even more enticing because you're not going to get stud wide receivers in free agency. You're not going to get stud offensive linemen in free agency. That is the truth. These guys don't make it to the market because teams aren't dumb enough to let them go. Now, sadly, the Titans' former GM, John Robinson, was dumb enough to give up the Titans' top five wide receiver in the NFL. Lay sigh. But most teams are not dumb enough to do that, which means that the only way that you're going to get a guy of your own, the only way the Titans are going to get a top 10 wide receiver of their own

Starting point is 00:18:05 is in the draft. So, it makes it a tough conversation, but the reality that we have to accept here is who would you want out of that B tier of free agent wide receivers? Mike Williams, Hollywood Brown, Gabe Davis, Darnell Moody, Curtis Samuel. And for me, I've said, I think Hollywood Brown is the best fit. I would also like to take a $10 million one-year prove-it deal on Mike Williams. But out of those guys, Mike Williams, Hollywood Brown,

Starting point is 00:18:35 and then a cheaper option in Curtis Samuel, those are the guys that I would be interested in. And I still do think that the Titans should go out and pursue one of those names. It's going to be lower risk. It's going to be lower risk. It's going to be lower money than the top names. But that's who I'd be looking at. Let me know down below. Would you make the trade for T. Higgins?

Starting point is 00:18:52 Would you look at some of these B options in free agency? What would you do? Now I want to get into combine and what matters and what doesn't. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's show is sponsored by BetterHelp. What's the first thing that you would do if you had an extra hour in the day? Go for a run, take a nap, read a book, show up for a friend. A lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time.

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Starting point is 00:20:02 Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Learn to make time for what makes you happy with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on to get 10% off your first month today. That's betterhelp, H-E-'s betterhelp.com slash locked on. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about some potential T. Higgins trade offers. Let me know which trade offer you like the most down below. We talked about the ever-evolving and ever-concerning status

Starting point is 00:21:01 of the free agent wide receiver market and why we need to level our expectations and start looking in a different pot of free agents. But now I want to talk about the NFL Combine because the Combine does begin this week. And I just kind of want to go on an impromptu Roland's rant on the Combine and what is actually important and what isn't important.

Starting point is 00:21:23 Before I get into that, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. I also want to let you guys know that Locked On has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and it's now also available on Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app. It's called Locked On Sports Today. That's right. Locked On Sports Today. That's right.

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Starting point is 00:22:06 the combine kicks off alright and the schedule is staggered so one position shows up on Sunday the next one on Monday the next one on Tuesday and then it's kind of reversed the first group that showed up leaves in the middle of the week

Starting point is 00:22:22 the next group leaves the next day the next group leaves the next day blah blah blah group leaves the next day. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. On and on for a week. So they have it staggered out basically by position. We'll go over the exact schedule at the end of our conversation right here. But what I want to talk about is what actually matters in the combine. And we're not going to see any on-field testing like the drills that we watch

Starting point is 00:22:42 until like Thursday. But it's what leads up to Thursday that is actually most important at the NFL Combine. What matters least is the drills that we watch. The least important thing at the Combine every year is the stuff that we as fans actually get to watch on TV. What actually matters is the behind-the-scenes activities. All right? Every NFL decision-maker is in Indianapolis this week.

Starting point is 00:23:12 Frank Carton, Brian Callahan, Chad Brinker, Anthony Robinson, the scouts, the assistants. All around the NFL, the high-level decision-makers are certainly, and then, of course, you know, some guys here and there, but the high-level decision makers for every single team are in Indianapolis, and they're going out and having drinks together. They're going out and having dinner together. They're having meetings.

Starting point is 00:23:36 They're in suites right next to each other where we can go over and say, hey, how are you doing? The Combine is a convention for the NFL. Think about like San Diego Comic Con or you know, D23 for Disney. Like it is an expo for football. So, this is when free agent deals happen. Yes, the legal tampering period opens on March 15th. Let's all be honest with ourselves.

Starting point is 00:24:06 Right now, this week, is when agents and GMs and cap guys and head coaches are in Indianapolis having conversations. Hey, if we wanted to sign your client, what kind of ballpark would we be looking at? Oh, well, you know, we maybe, you know, can't do that, but we could offer this. The negotiations for these things are taking place this week.

Starting point is 00:24:33 That's why when March 15th hits, it's, oh, this deal, this deal, this deal. Wait, if the tampering period just opened, how are they already got deals completely ironed out? It's because they start at the combine. Alright, if you want the Titans to go trade for T. Higgins, well now that T. Higgins is franchise tagged

Starting point is 00:24:52 the Bengals can legally have trade conversations about T. Higgins. So that is going to happen this week. Justin Fields getting traded from the Bears? That is going to happen this week. The news may not break this week, but the negotiation to make these things happen

Starting point is 00:25:09 will happen this week. So, free agents, trades, cap cuts, all those conversations are going to be taking place this week between NFL decision makers, and that is what's most important at the combine. On the other side of it, the prospects, the draftees. Again, the drills that we see are the least important part. More important are the measurements, the medical, the interviews.

Starting point is 00:25:42 So before the players actually hit the field for the drills, they get measured arm length, hand length, height, weight, all that stuff. They do medical interviews

Starting point is 00:25:55 where teams, doctors, the Titans doctors, different teams, medical personnel actually get to examine those players. And for a lot of players, think about, I always butcher his first name, but Lawatu Latu, the edge

Starting point is 00:26:12 rusher from UCLA. He literally retired from football for medical reasons and then came back to UCLA. I think he was at Oregon first and then came back to UCLA and we saw that with Jalen Phillips, edge rusher from the Miami Dolphins. You got to clear these guys medically. And this is where we see things pop up. Hey, so-and-so has a heart issue that drops them down.

Starting point is 00:26:35 And you hear all these medical... Tajay Spears drops to the third round because people are worried about him not having an ACL in his knee. These sort of medical things are officialized and confirmed at the combine before these players ever get on the field for the drills that we watch on TV. And then, of course, you have measurements, you have medical, then you have the interviews.

Starting point is 00:26:56 These players sitting down with teams to discuss themselves, and it's a job interview. It's a week-long job interview. And you see a ton of scouts and a ton of personnel say it. And we've seen Chad Brinker and Rand Carthon say it so far this all season. We know who the player is on football, on the football field now. We've watched all the tape for multiple years. We know who the player is on the field.

Starting point is 00:27:19 Who is the player person, though? Who is the man that we're going to be drafting? So we all watch the drills. We care about the drills, the testing, but the behind the scenes negotiations with the front offices and the decision makers and the behind the scenes information gathering on the prospects with the medical,

Starting point is 00:27:39 the measurements, the interviews, that is what's most important at the NFL Combine. And again, we are going to get a ton of news this week. So keep your ear to the ground. Keep your eye to social media. Take everything with a grain of salt. But don't dismiss anything outright either because the conversations that create those rumors are happening right now.

Starting point is 00:28:02 All right. That is going to do it for today's show though. So excited for this week. Going to be so much news. So many rumors. Make sure you stick with me here. But as always,

Starting point is 00:28:13 I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this is Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Tee Higgins TRADE OFFERS, No Wide Receivers in Free Agency & NFL Combine Importance

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