Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans TRADE Kevin Byard to Eagles in Smart Move, Trade Compensation & Who is Traded Next?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans have traded star safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles, and it was the right move to make. I'll explain why 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.

Starting point is 00:00:43 I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. The Tennessee Titans have made a trade. They are sending two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, 31 Savage, the mayor of Murfreesboro to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a fifth and a sixth round pick in 2024's NFL Draft and veteran safety Terrell Edmonds. I'm going to break

Starting point is 00:01:24 down the move, what comes next, why it was the right move to make for the Titans all on today's show. Before I get into it, 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 free on all apps. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:01:48 I'm Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic, a certified film junkie, and a staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com. Shout out to my everydayers in here Monday through Friday. If you are an everydayer, then you heard me yesterday in my bold predictions tell you that I think Kevin Byard would be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. And we saw that on Monday.

Starting point is 00:02:14 Again, I think this is a good deal for the Titans. I realize this is a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people. Kevin Byard, former All-Pro, one of the best Tennessee Titans of all time. I'm wearing my Kevin Byard jersey today, guys. And for me, Kevin Byard is my favorite Tennessee Titans player of all time. Period. Period. My favorite.

Starting point is 00:02:38 But again, removing the emotion, this is the right move for the Titans. Kevin Byard's contract was restructured before the emotion, this is the right move for the Titans. Kevin Byard's contract was restructured before the season, giving him a $19 million cap hit for the Titans next year if he was on the roster. Kevin Byard was never going to be on the team next year. This was a one-year situation, and the Titans and Byard both knew it. That's why they restructured his deal in the way that they did. That's why he took the pay cut, because he realized this was the last season. The Titans put money into next year that they were never going to pay. So the conversation you have to ask yourself,

Starting point is 00:03:15 would it be better to get a fifth and a sixth round pick for Kevin Bayard or would it be better to let him walk for nothing after the year? And it wouldn't be a compensatory pick situation because the Titans would be releasing Kevin Bayard to carve out more cap space because simply $19 million in cap hit for Bayard is not a smart way for teams to play football. So the Titans getting a fifth and sixth round pick back

Starting point is 00:03:41 for a player that would not have been on the team next year instead of losing him for nothing is the smart move. Now I realize the pill is even tougher to swallow because it's the Philadelphia Eagles and we're coming off the Sunday night football where A.J. Brown was great and it was all set on the stage. I get that that makes it tougher to take this news, but it does not matter what happened before Rand Carthon showed up. If the Philadelphia Eagles gave the Titans, which I think they did, which I think they did, I think this was the best deal the Titans could get.

Starting point is 00:04:14 If the Titans could have got a better trade from somebody for Bayard, why would they not have done it? This is the best offer that they were going to get from a team that was needy at safety. That's why it always made the most sense for these two teams to link up for this trade. Okay. Rand Carthon cannot say, hey, I'm not going to accept the best trade possible because the previous guy made a dumb trade with this team. So what the Titans can never trade with the Eagles ever again, even if it's the right trade, the best trade possible, because

Starting point is 00:04:45 it's going to make fans mad. You don't operate like that as an NFL general manager. This was the best offer for Kevin Byard. The Titans are smart to take this offer for Kevin Byard, and that is coming from someone who Kevin Byard is their favorite Tennessee Titan of all time. I'm shooting you straight here. I wouldn't just say it to be optimistic, and people know that's not my style anyway. But you start to look at the draft pick. It's not the Philadelphia Eagles' fifth and sixth round pick. The Eagles don't have their fifth and sixth round pick. It is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' fifth round pick, and the Titans are getting back their sixth round pick that they traded to the Eagles for Ugo Amadi, all right? So it's going to be the Buccaneers' fifth round pick that they traded to the Eagles for Ugo Amadi. All right? So it's going to be the Buccaneers' fifth round pick,

Starting point is 00:05:28 which is going to be way better than the Eagles' pick, and it's going to be the Titans' sixth round pick, which is way better than what the Eagles' sixth round pick is going to be. And I know that you're fifth and sixth round pick, and that doesn't sound like a lot, but if you put those two picks together, it gives you a third round value. It gives you a value in the 70s, in the picks.

Starting point is 00:05:45 So the Titans aren't just going to sit on their hands with their picks now. They have the ability to move around. You could package picks together to go up and make trades. Coming into this trade, the Titans had a first, a second, a fourth, and three sevenths. Does that sound like the kind of draft ammo that a rebuilding team like the Titans needs to have going into a draft? No. So you trade away a player who is never going to be on next year's team anyway. You get back two picks that you can use to make moves, to have flexibility.

Starting point is 00:06:16 Win a roster that you need to remake, that needs to get younger. Okay? So this was the right move for the Titans. younger. Okay? So this was the right move for the Titans. The options again are take the best deal available for Kevin Byard or let him walk for

Starting point is 00:06:32 nothing in the offseason because the Titans were not keeping around for $19 million. The better move to build this team out is to get the draft picks. Not just because you're going to pick in the 5th and the 6th round, but because now you going to pick in the fifth and the sixth round, but because now you have the ability to move up and down the board and restock your cupboards.

Starting point is 00:06:49 This was a smart move by Rand Carthon. The other aspect of this is, Kevin Byard wasn't playing at an all-pro level this year. Byard wasn't bad by any means, but he wasn't in a position this year in this defense to be worth the money that the Titans were paying him. And they certainly weren't going to pay him more next year. So again, get nothing when you let Kevin Byard go after the year

Starting point is 00:07:12 or trade him now, get a fifth and sixth pick and Terrell Edmonds. We could talk about Terrell Edmonds in the next part where I talk about what the Titans are going to do next at safety and who might be traded next for the Titans. We're also going to talk about Tankathon. If you're looking at the Titans getting a draft pick, it was a great weekend for you. So we're going to talk about all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:07:34 Before we do, though, just for a moment, I am going to say, again, Kevin Byard's my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time. The last Titans game I went to was the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night football game where the Titans laid down and died. And you know who stepped up and made plays all night? Kevin Byard. I was in the building

Starting point is 00:07:52 for maybe his last two interceptions as a Tennessee Titan. I just want to take a moment and say shout out to Kevin Byard for 27 interceptions, constant big plays, for physical presence, leading the team in tackles some year.

Starting point is 00:08:09 For seven years and 120 games, played in every single possible game he could play in his entire career. Wasn't just great on the field, was great off the field, in the community, as a leader of this team. 31 Savage, the mayor of Murfreesboro, the best defensive back in Tennessee Titans history. Kevin

Starting point is 00:08:27 Byard, a Titan up to you. Titan up in the chat right now. Let's show our respect for Kevin Byard. Thank you so much for an incredible career. Hopefully you're able to go get a championship. You have been my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin Byard. With that being said, do want to move on. What next? Who's going to play safety? Who else could be traded? We're going to talk about all that before we get into it though.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs. LinkedIn jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. All you got to do is create a free job post on LinkedIn jobs. Then add your job in the purple

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Starting point is 00:09:50 Terms and conditions apply. Also want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy sports made simple. You don't got to submit a lineup where you're playing against a thousand pros or bots or sharps or all this. It's just you against prize picks projections. So prize picks has a projection for every player. Derek Henry, 80 rushing yards, AJ Brown, a hundred receiving yards, Lamar Jackson, two passing touchdowns like that. And they have different projections for different players. You can do different things, but all you got to do is pick two to

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Starting point is 00:10:48 Sign up. And when you do, make sure that you go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL or use the code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. Again, prizepix.com slash locked on NFL. Use code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. PrizePix, it's daily fantasy sports made easy. Titans fans, let's continue today's reaction episode to the Kevin Byard trade news. I had an entire show planned out for today right before I went to record it. Thank the heavens. Above, the Kevin Byard news dropped. So I just talked about why the trade was a good idea for the Titans. And while some people are

Starting point is 00:11:48 upset because it's the Eagles and all of that, getting back a fifth and sixth round pick for Kevin Byard when he was leaving for nothing is the right move for the Titans team. Now I want to kind of look ahead. What next? Who's next? What happens at safety? All of that.

Starting point is 00:12:03 Before I do, thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed for Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Tomorrow, I'm going to look ahead. What's the Titans record going to be the rest of the way? Who should the Titans play at quarterback? So much to talk about this week. Make sure you get subscribed, stay

Starting point is 00:12:28 subscribed, throw a thumbs up on the video right now as well. Show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. But do want to give another shout out to Rand Carthon because because Kevin Bayard took a pay cut and restructured his deal, it allowed this trade to be possible. Bayard was only getting like $7 million in salary this year, maybe even a little bit less. And that means that nearly halfway through the season, the Eagles only had to take on half of that salary.

Starting point is 00:12:58 Kevin Bayard had like $11 million in signing bonus because of the way he restructured his contract. If that didn't happen, this trade wasn't happening. So, shrewd move by Rand Carthon to make that happen, to set him up for this. And again, I think it's a good trade for the Titans. But looking forward, at safety, the Titans did also get back Terrell Edmonds. I haven't talked a lot about that because

Starting point is 00:13:16 I don't think Terrell Edmonds is a very good player. It's more about just having depth at safety. I think Elijah Molden is going to be the one who steps into the starting safety role. And let me just do this one time. I told you guys. I told you. Yesterday on the show, I think Kevin Byard will be traded to the Eagles. Earlier this summer, the Titans are cross-training Elijah Molden

Starting point is 00:13:44 and moving him to safety so that they can trade Kevin Byard. I tried to warn you guys. Once again, just like on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, follow me there. Just like in the YouTube comments, you all called me a fool to even think about it that way. But I try and I try and I try to put you guys on some game. All right. But with that being said, Elijah Mold to put you guys on in some game. All right. But with that being said, Elijah Molden is next up, in my opinion, needs to stay healthy,

Starting point is 00:14:10 needs to stay on the field. I think Molden's played pretty well in the third safety role that the Titans have put him in. He'll be asked to play a lot better being a starting safety. Edmonds can now slide into that third safety role and help the Titans there. That makes a lot of sense. He could play up towards the line of scrimmage, be physical, all that. Sure. Okay. But who could be traded next? Now, my bold prediction was that Kevin Byard would be traded to the Eagles and he'd

Starting point is 00:14:34 be the only one traded. Now, some of you guys are going to give me credit for saying that I thought Kevin Byard would be traded to the Eagles. Some of you guys are going to say I'm a bum if the Titans trade anybody else because I didn't get that part right. Either way, doesn't matter because I hope the Titans do make more trades. This is a sign here, guys. This is the fact that the Titans are making this trade mid-season, trading away Kevin Byard and what he means for the locker room and what he's meant to the team.

Starting point is 00:15:01 Like, there is no way to package this move up as anything but tank. This is a tank job, right? This is, a veteran is leaving, we're not worried about being as good as we can possibly be, we need to get draft picks back. Mike Vrabel, probably going to talk to the media on Tuesday, can't wait to hear what he has to say about this because this is anti-Vrabel. This is not something that Mike Vrabel would do. But it's a smart thing to do, which I'm glad why Rand Carthon is around

Starting point is 00:15:31 because this was the right move to make. But if the Titans are willing to make this move, if the Titans are willing to move Bayard, then why aren't they willing to move Danico Autry on the last year of his contract? An aging player who's been okay this year. Been okay. If they can get anything for Christian Fulton,

Starting point is 00:15:51 a team just wanting to rent a cornerback for a sixth-round pick, do it. Do it. Derrick Henry, last year of his contract, again, one of my bold predictions is Henry wouldn't be traded, but I'm not against it.

Starting point is 00:16:06 I want Henry to be traded. If Bayard is getting a fifth and a sixth, then the Titans can get a third or a fourth for Henry. But Henry would be more expensive to take on for another team, and that's why it's more difficult. That's why Diana Rossini said that she's not hearing much interest for Derrick Henry around the league, because no one's paying

Starting point is 00:16:26 a near 30-year-old running back that money, even halfway through the season salary money. They're not paying that along with the draft picks. So if the Titans could trade anybody else, I hope they do. I think Danico Autry makes the most sense as a guy who could be traded. Titans could get a sixth-round pick back for somebody there. Christian Fulton, of course, I would like to see it. Hopkins and Henry could make some sense,

Starting point is 00:16:48 but I just don't think you're going to get value for those guys with what they're being paid. As for the starting safety position, for me, it's obvious. It's going to be Elijah Molden now. And Terrell Edmonds can add some depth in there and play as well. Jag, just another guy, Replaceable level players there. But yeah, I think my overarching point before we kind of

Starting point is 00:17:09 move on here to a different conversation that, you know, obviously touches on this as well, is this was the right move for the Titans. This was the right thing to do. And I think that when Kevin Byard comes out and talks about it, he's going to say that he appreciates

Starting point is 00:17:26 that the Titans traded him to a contender so he can spend his last couple of years in the league trying to go for a Super Bowl. I think Kevin Byard will come out and show appreciation to the Titans for this move and for everybody worried about the image of the Titans around the league. I think players like Kevin Byard coming out and saying it was the right

Starting point is 00:17:42 thing. Veteran NFL players understand. All right? They know that sometimes teams got to rebuild. Like, this isn't a big shocker. So we'll wait to hear from Byard. Haven't heard from him as of this recording. But I think he'll express appreciation for the Titans for doing this. But with that being said,

Starting point is 00:18:01 if you're somebody who wants the Titans to tank or hoping they improve their draft position, boy, it was a great weekend for you. So we're going to continue talking Kevin Byard trade, talk about what happened in week seven for the Titans, all 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 GameTime.

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Starting point is 00:20:05 Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Kevin Byard getting traded. We talked about who's next, what could be next for the Titans. Now I want to talk about the Titans draft pick and kind of the favors that the Titans received from other teams around the NFL throughout the year. Before I get into it, though, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast

Starting point is 00:20:25 your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. It's your team every day. Again, wearing the Kevin Byer jersey. Shout out to KB.

Starting point is 00:20:39 Appreciate everything. Getting some more information here. Apparently, according to a source, Terry McCormick report that Byer did not request the trade. He did not request a trade from the Titans. So that's what we know from this situation. But moving right along, you look at the Titans draft pick.

Starting point is 00:21:03 Coming into week seven, coming into the bye, there were six teams in the NFL with two wins or with less than two wins. So six teams that had zero wins or one win. All right. Leaving week seven, there's only two. The Patriots beat the Bills. The Bears beat the Raiders. The Bears beat the Raiders.

Starting point is 00:21:35 The New York Giants beat the Washington Commanders. And I'll think of the fourth one. I will. I promise. But the point here remains that four teams that had less than two wins were able to win this week. Oh, it's the Broncos over the Packers. There you go. Broncos over Packers.

Starting point is 00:22:00 Bears over Raiders. Giants and Patriots. Okay, there we go. So four teams that had one win now have two. Titans only have two. So that really helps the Titans in the tank-a-thon. These teams keep winning. The Titans lose. Obviously, that's how they're going to get the best position. And right now, the Titans are tied with a bunch of teams with two wins, but the Titans would have a top 10 pick right now at minimum. At minimum, a top 10 pick with the ability to go up. With Ryan Tannehill injured, the Titans are going to be playing Malik. They're going to be playing with Levis.

Starting point is 00:22:36 They just traded Kevin Bayard. It's obvious that the Titans are not focused, number one sole focus on winning as many games as possible this year. So hopefully that means Tannehill doesn't play any more games. And even if he comes back in a couple of weeks, the Titans continue to ride with the young players because it's obvious what they are focused on right now. And again, this is the right thing to focus on.

Starting point is 00:22:58 The Titans are committing. The Titans are choosing a path here. And that's what we needed to see them do all along. I said it all all season. If you try to walk down two paths, you'll only walk down the wrong one. Now, the Titans delayed this decision and delayed this commitment

Starting point is 00:23:13 as long as they possibly could. But now, they see it was time to do it. It was time to make the move. It's time to commit to the future. No more ruling 35-year-old Tannehill out there. All right? It was time to make the move. It's time to commit to the future. No more ruling 35-year-old Tannehill out there. All right? Play Nicholas Petit Ferrer over Andre Dillard.

Starting point is 00:23:33 Play Nicholas Petit Ferrer over Chris Hubbard. I mean, whatever. Like, at this point, the Titans are declaring where they need to go. Week 7 really helped them out. The Jaguars won again. They're 5-2. The Titans aren't catching them in the division. That's not happening.

Starting point is 00:23:48 And you look at a wild card. The Titans aren't getting a wild card this year. I mean, in years past, 9 wins, 10 wins has gotten it, but 11 wins has gotten a 7th spot before. So I just don't think the Titans are going to get close. Whether it be wild card, whether it be the division. And I think they see it too. And if they found out no way that Tannehill is going

Starting point is 00:24:11 to play this week, and we got to go with Levis and we got to go with Willis, whatever, then the Titans probably realize, hey, we're probably not going to be able to win these next couple of games. And if we don't win our next couple of games, we're going to go into our division slate way behind. And there's just no way we're digging out of that hole. So it was a good weekend for the Titans.

Starting point is 00:24:31 If you're wanting them to prioritize the future, a bunch of teams that had fewer wins, got wins and Titans traded away a veteran player. They wouldn't have had next year for a lot of picks. The future is now time to look forward. And I'm glad the Titans are at least committing. But with that being said, I'm going to be

Starting point is 00:24:50 back with you guys tomorrow to talk more Titans. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans TRADE Kevin Byard to Eagles in Smart Move, Trade Compensation & Who is Traded Next?

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