Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - What If....Harold Landry Walks?? Tag Deadline Options & Landry Replacement Options in Free Agency

Episode Date: March 8, 2022

The Franchise Tag deadline has arrived and the Tennessee Titans have a decision to make on Harold Landry. Will the Titans get a long term deal done before the deadline, will they tag Landry or will they let him walk? Tyler goes over all the paths. But, whatever the Titans decide to do, how will it affect Free Agency? Tyler goes over some options on the market that make sense if Landry walks while also looking at some veterans who could help even if Landry is brought back!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport 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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Franchise Tag Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, today is the Franchise Tag deadline where the Tennessee Titans have to make a decision on whether or not to tag Harold Landry. So we'll have the conversation about that. And then we'll turn that into another installment in the 2022 Locked on Titans free agency preview. What should the Titans do at the edge position? We'll go through two paths.

What if they lose Harold Landry? And what if they keep Harold Landry? How does that affect the free agent activity at the edge position for the Titans? So all of that on a Franchise Tag Tuesday 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.

Titans fans, it is a Franchise Tag Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans Podcast. As I mentioned, it is Franchise Tag deadline day. The Titans have until 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to either place the franchise tag on Harold Landry or to officially allow him to walk into the unrestricted free agent market. So we'll talk about that decision. We got some official price tags on that franchise tag amount as well from the NFL. So we'll dive into all of that.

Also, we'll use that as a jumping off point to get into our free agency preview of the edge rusher position. What should the Titans do if they lose Landry? What should the Titans do if they keep Landry? I'll cover all of that. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you stay locked into the Locked on Titans podcast Monday through Friday, not

only during the regular season, but all year long. You're going to find the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. It's always free and available everywhere, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now. Follow me on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter and at LockedOnTitansPod on Facebook.

Ready to dive into this conversation. So, 4pm you're listening to this probably in the morning for the YouTube crowd. You're listening to this or watching this on Monday night. The news could break at any moment that the Titans decided to franchise tag Harold Landry. On Monday, we got a few franchise tag designations already.

The Chiefs put a franchise tag on offensive tackle Orlando Brown. The Bengals put a franchise tag on Jesse Bates, the safety, and David Ninjoku, who was a tight end target for the Titans, was tagged by the Browns. Now also on that note, tight ends like Mike Gusecki, tight ends like Dalton Schultz from the Cowboys, those guys are also expected to be franchise tagged on Tuesday or late on Monday night,

so we should see that impact what the Titans can do in free agency. But the conversation comes down to Harold Landry. And the NFL officially put out the numbers. If the Titans do tag Harold Landry, it would be $18.7 million. Now, there are some complications here because the Titans want to go into free agency with as much maneuverability as possible. And if the Titans were to get a long-term deal done with Harold Landry,

they would be able to do it in a way that his cap hit for this season would be much lower than $18 million. I mean, Bud Dupree got a big deal last year, and his cap hit in the 2021 season was only about $5 million. So the Titans would be smart to get a long-term deal done before the deadline to try to capitalize on their cap space. If they franchise tag Harold Landry, that's $18.7 million against the cap.

You can't do anything, can't go through any salary cap loops to make that cap hit any lower. Yes, of course, the Titans are going to put a tag on Harold Landry with the hopes that they get a long-term deal done by training camp, which is still an opportunity. You put the franchise tag on Harold Landry and that allows you to continue those negotiations up until training camp, which is exactly what happened with Derrick Henry. The Titans gave Derrick Henry the franchise tag and then they used that time to get him a long-term deal.

But here's the issue. You're going to go through free agency, and you're going to go through the draft, and you're going to go through the summer up until training camp, have an $18.7 million in cap hit on your salary cap, which really eliminates a lot of maneuverability, like I said, a lot of wiggle room for the Titans in terms of their free agent targets. They want to upgrade the offensive weapons. They want to put some additions on the offensive line.

It's going to be really hard to do what they want to do on the offensive side of the ball if they have that $18.7 million cap hit from Harold Landry's franchise tag during the main free agency period. So even if they do work out a long-term deal and bring that cap hit down by training camp, it's kind of not a good time for them to even be able to take advantage of that value. At that point, you're probably better off just letting him play on the franchise tag

and eating that one-year salary and going forward and trying to figure something out next offseason. So a tough spot for the Titans, but I will say my expectation is that they do franchise tag Harold Landry. That's what I've said all along throughout the offseason. You do not let good players that you drafted, that you developed, that do everything you ask of them, that are productive, that are durable, that are young, you don't let players like that walk.

You just simply don't. That's not a good way or a smart way to build a football team. So Harold Landry will be on the Tennessee Titans in 2022. I've said that all along, and I do believe that. Whether that be the franchise tag by 4 o'clock today, or whether that be getting a long-term deal done before the deadline, or both, getting the franchise tag placed on Landry before the deadline at 4 p.m.

and then getting a long-term deal done, worked out, before training camp starts. Either way, I expect Harold Landry back, but I got to tell you guys, if you're a Titans fan, which all of you probably are, and you want this team to be able to make the roster as good as possible, you have to hope that John Robinson and Vin Marino, cap analysis guy,

find a way to get a long-term deal done with Harold Landry. More than anything, to keep that cap hit for 2022 as low as possible because it's going to be as high as possible if you keep him on the franchise tag and don't get a long-term deal done soon. So the Titans, even if they franchise tag them, they still have about a week to get their books in order and maybe get a long-term deal done, but it just doesn't give them a lot of time before free agency. So let's hope a long-term deal is announced today, but if not, I expect the franchise

tag designation. And of course, we'll follow up and talk more about that on tomorrow's episode as well. But like I said, we're going to use this conversation about Harold Landry as a jumping off point into the next installment of the 2022 Locked On Titans Free Agency Preview. We're going to look at the edge rusher position. What should the Titans do if they do let Harold Landry walk? What should the Titans do if Harold Landry is brought back to completely different paths and to completely different sets of players.

So I'll dive into all of that with you guys. Before we do, I do want to tell you a little bit about betonline.net. Football season might be over, but basketball season is full steam ahead in both pro and college hoops. March Madness is right around the corner. It's a perfect time to sign up at BetOnline.net. You can head to their website today or use your mobile device to learn more about all the trends and all the action.

For all the latest odds, totals, player props, all that, check out BetOnline.net. It's the number one spot for all your sports betting needs. BetOnline remains the best spot for all your sports scores and news this season. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, we're going to continue this Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We just talked about Harold Landry's franchise tag

and the deadline there that the Titans are faced with today. But now I want to talk about the free agent market at the edge rusher position and how the Titans decision on Harold Landry could lead them down two different paths. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you're following the Locked On Titans podcast with the Locked On NFL podcast. Locked On experts are covering the biggest stories around the NFL every Monday through Friday in less than 30 minutes.

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Like I said, I am the Thursday host for the national show. You get all your local news and your Titans news here with me. Now get your national news with the Locked On NFL podcast. But moving forward, like I said, if for some reason the Titans decide not to franchise tag Harold Landry, and I gotta tell you guys, I gotta be making sure that I'm constantly checking updates here and checking on the phone in case we get news

that Harold Landry does sign the franchise tag or Harold Landry gets a big time deal. I want to be able to break that news to you live, so not to be distracted during the show, but get notifications here. I want to make sure that we're not missing any big news on the Tennessee Titans as I'm recording this show, but nothing yet, so continuing to move forward. If the Titans, for some reason, let Harold Landry walk, I think it would be an incredible mistake that they would make, and I believe that John Robinson will not make that mistake. But if that were to happen,

then the Titans would have Bud Dupree at edge rusher. They would have Rashad Weaver coming back from a serious injury and a broken leg. They, outside of that, would have nothing but Tazar Skipper and Joe Jones and a bunch of guys who you're not going to count on, basically. So they would have to, at that point, go out in free agency and find somebody who can be a competent starter

across from Bud Dupree for less money than Harold Landry if they're not willing to pay that $18.7 million price tag that was just announced. So, who are some options for the Titans on the free agent market who could fill that need and at the right price? Well, number one, a guy who I wanted this guy instead of Bud Dupree,

and if I could go back in time and influence decisions, I would have had the Titans go sign this player instead of Bud Dupree on a one-year deal. Hassan Riddick, he played for Arizona two years ago, had a great season as an edge rusher. When he was drafted, he got converted from an edge rusher to an off-ball linebacker, and that didn't work out. Arizona put him to an edge rusher for the last year of his rookie deal, and he exploded with double-digit sacks. Goes to Carolina last year, has 11 sacks, goes to Carolina last year, has 11 sacks, 33 pressures, a very productive year. He's only 27 years old, very good in run defense, a very aggressive rusher who's good to be used in blitzes and stunts.

Now, he's nowhere near the guy who can draw back into coverage like Harold Landry has shown he can do at times, but good against the run, aggressive, rushing the passer, productive, durable. I mean, he checks a lot of bucks, still young. And his market value would be anywhere from $10 to $12 million. So you'd be saving yourself about $5 to $6 million from what you'd be paying Harold Landry. I think that I'd rather have Harold Landry for the money.

But again, this scenario is who are guys that make sense? If the Titans let Harold Landry walk, and Hasan Reddick would be at the top of my list. There are guys who are going to make more money than him. Von Miller is up there, of course. Chandler Jones is up there, of course. But we got to think, the Titans aren't going to let Harold Landry walk for $18 million and then pay a guy $20 million.

That's not what they're going to do. So they'd be looking for a better value in their eyes at that point if they let Landry walk. And I think Riddick could really check that box at around $10 to $12 million. Another guy who is in that price range, or at least in that tier, is Derek Barnett, a guy who Titans fans, who may also be UT fans, have a very good idea of. He's only 25 years old, probably going to be around $9 to $12 million. Not super productive last year, only two sacks and 20 pressures. So that $10 to $12 million market evaluation that

I saw on certain sites, I just don't know that I agree with that. Now, Barnett, although not being productive last year as a pass rusher in the box score, still a productive rusher and very, very solid run defense player. Very strong at the point of attack on the edge. So, I think that at a young age of 25 years old, he would make a lot of sense for the Titans to go ahead and get in on early. Excuse me. Another guy in that kind of tier is Dante Fowler Jr.

Now, Fowler Jr. had some locker room issues in Atlanta. He's had some production issues in certain places. I would not be interested in Dante Fowler. I don't think he's a good fit for the Titans. He's a pure pass rusher. I just don't think that he fits what the Titans are looking for. Now, this next name, very, very intriguing to me if the Titans let Harold Landry walk. I think he would be my number one option, and it's Uchenna Nwosu who played for the Los Angeles Chargers last year. 25 years old.

He's going to be right around $8-9 million. So less than half of what Harold Landry is set to make. He's really good in coverage. That's something he has the ability to do is drop back off the line of scrimmage and get back in coverage. Whether you like it or not,

the Titans like to drop their linebackers into coverage and run those fire blitzes, those zone blitzes, try to confuse offenses. And Nwosu is somebody who has the ability to give you that versatile package that could mimic what a Harold Landry gave you. He can draw back in coverage. He can play against the run.

He needs to be a little more productive rushing the passer. Five sacks, 30 pressures last year. But, like I said, an athletic guy, 6'2", 250, checks all the boxes for versatility in a spot that the Titans really need that versatility. I think Nwosu would be a great fit for the Titans if they let Landry walk, which, again, I don't want or expect them to do. Next, Lorenzo Carter, 26 years old, going to be a lot cheaper. The cheapest option that we've talked about so far, probably around $4 to $5 million.

Again, another guy who's versatile. He can drop back in coverage. He can rush the passer. He's not quite the prolific pass rusher that you would expect, but along with being able to drop into cover to give you solid rush, he's a very good run defender as well. He had five sacks, 15 pressures last year. So I think, again, Nwosu and Carter are both guys who give you versatility that mimics what you're going to get from Harold Landry, if not quite at that level of talent.

The last name that I wanted to throw in here would be a real bargain option for the Titans, but Anthony Barr. Anthony Barr is 30 years old. When he came out of college, he was seen as that incredibly versatile, prototypical linebacker. 6'5", a monster guy, 250 pounds, has the ability to play off the ball. Didn't turn into quite the pass rusher that people would hope that he would be, but can still give you some of that as well. He can play against the run. He can be off ball as well.

Drop back into coverage a little bit. He had three interceptions last year, two fumble recoveries, two and a half sacks, ten pressures. So again, an all-around versatile player, which if you look at Harold Landry on tape and look at what he does for the Titans, he's not just a pure pass rusher nonstop. He's a guy who does drop back into coverage, plays against the run, plays off-ball linebacker when the Titans line up in a 4-3 alignment.

So you need somebody who can mimic that versatility because Bud Dupree does not give you that and neither does Rashad Weaver. So you need somebody who can fill that role, and Anthony Barr, while being a little long in the tooth for an NFL linebacker at 30 years old, still gives you that versatility, and he'd only be around $4, $5, $6 million at most. He's had some questions with durability lately. Last four seasons, 13 games, 14 games, 2 games, 11 games last year,

so there's some concern there. But again, if the Titans let Harold Landry walk, they're going to be in a precarious situation with how to fill that role anyway. So that would just be a cheap veteran option for the Titans. But I think the more realistic avenue is, what should the Titans do at edge rusher if they do keep Harold Landry, which is my expectation. So we'll talk a little bit about that.

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need. rockAuto.com Titans fans, we're going to cap off this Franchise Tag Tuesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We talked about Harold Landry and the Franchise Tag deadline that is at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today. We talked about some free agent edge options for the Titans if Harold Landry does walk in free agency. But now I want to get into the more realistic scenario, which I think is bringing Harold Landry back.

What are some options that the Titans would have in free agency even with Landry back in the fold? And we're going to look at some veteran values here. Now, before we get into it, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Now for your second listen, check out the Locked on NFL Draft podcast. You got

Ryan Tracy and former NFL cornerback Eric Crocker. They bring the NFL Draft to life every day. They're giving you insights on not only college football prospects but also NFL front offices. It's free and available wherever you get your podcast.

Check out the Locked On NFL Draft Podcast. But moving forward here, looking at some veteran options that make sense for the Titans if Harold Landry is retained. So you would have Bud Dupree, Harold Landry, Rashad Weaver. I think bringing back Ola Adani as a cheap player in free agency for special teams purposes would be smart as well. But to me, Weaver is still going to be in his second year, which is basically his rookie year because of the injury.

And then while Ola Adani is a serviceable guy, I'd rather have Ola as my fourth rotational pass rusher. Even better, my fifth rotational pass rusher with Weaver. I think Weaver could provide some inside-outside rush ability. He could rush from the interior. He could rush from the exterior. I think he's got the ability to replace Danico Autry. So if you think about Danico Autry's role, a year from now, in 2023, we're going to be talking about Rashad Weaver replacing Danico Autry in that role where he can play 4-3 defensive end.'m looking for in free agency as your third rotational rusher.

So, who are some guys who can fill that role? Number one, a guy that I was asking for last year, Melvin Ingram. And Ingram went from Pittsburgh to Kansas City. And although the statistics don't show a major impact, Melvin Ingram, if you watch the final stretch of games for the Chiefs, Melvin Ingram did make a big impact for that team. He had 41 pressures last year, 33 quarterback hits, only had

one sack in the box score, but again, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Especially when you talk about lines, defensive line, offensive line, things like that. Melvin Ingram is 32 years old and he's going to be looking about anywhere from $4 to $8 million. If the Titans

can get him closer to that $4 million number, I think that would make a little bit of sense. Another guy who really makes a lot of sense, in my opinion, is Justin Houston. 33 years old. He's going to be about $2 to $4 million. Get him at about $2.5 million. I think that would make a lot of sense. He had 24

pressures last year, 4.5 sacks. Even though he's 33, he's still a very.5 million. I think that would make a lot of sense. He had 24 pressures last year, 4.5 sacks. Even though he's 33, he's still a very productive rusher. I think having him in the rotation for the Titans could be very, very advantageous to the pass rush. My big thing is we saw what a really, really good pass rush could do for the Titans last year. More. Give me more. Build a strength on top

of a strength. That's how I see it. I don't ever want to look at pass rush and say, oh they have enough. If you guys know how I view football and how I've been talking about roster building for multiple off seasons now,

outside of quarterback, pass rush is the most important thing on a football team. The only thing that can negate an elite quarterback is pass rush. That's the only chance you have to stop some of these just absolutely stud quarterbacks in the league. Pass rush. More. So you never look at your pass rush, even if it's good, and say, oh, we got enough there. No, never. I'll never look at it that way. Give me more.

So Justin Houston would be a good fit. Another guy who's kind of in that mold, I don't think fits as well with the Titans, but would be there is Jason Pierre-Paul, 33 years old. He's going to be about $4 to $7 million in that range. Again, only played 12 games last year, only had 2 1⁄2 sacks and 14 pressures, but we know who Jason Pierre-Paul is as a player,

and if you take him out of a starting role and put him in a rotation, I think you can get more out of him and more efficiency out of him as well. Another guy like that, Jerry Hughes, 33 years old, going to be a little bit cheaper, $2 to $4 million, had two Another guy like that, Jerry Hughes, 33 years old, going to be a little bit cheaper, two to four million dollars, had two sacks last year, 26 pressures. Again, we're talking about a rotational pass rusher, and I think one of these veterans can make sense.

Jerry Hughes could be one of those guys, although I will say I like Melvin Ingram and Justin Houston better. Another guy, former Buffalo Bill Mario Addison, even a little bit older, 34 years old, two to $4 million as well. Very productive last year though, had seven sacks, 25 pressures. I think they'll probably stay with Buffalo, but I think that would be an excellent rotational pass rusher for the Titans. And the guy at the end here that I want to mention who I was asking for last year is Ryan Kerrigan. Now, he did not impress with the Philadelphia Eagles last year. He only played 31% of the defensive snaps, had zero sacks, only 10 pressures, but he's probably going to be the cheapest guy out of all the names that

we're talking about here. Him and Mario Addison, probably only around $1.75 to $2.5 million. He's only 33 years old, and I think if you put him in a better group, a better defensive line, then he'll have the ability to produce and give you value as that third rotational pass rusher. Plus, he would be cheap enough to where if it didn't work out, it wouldn't be super punitive. So, that's kind of the group of guys

that I think makes sense. If the Titans do bring back Carol Landry, because I don't want them to neglect the edge rusher position completely. I would like to have a better third rotational pass rusher in that group. But that's going to do it for me today. That is another installment in the 2022 Locked on Titans free agency preview. We are now into the defensive side of the ball.

If you missed any of the previous installments, go back and check those out from last week. We hit the entire offensive side of the previous installments. Go back and check those out from last week. We hit the entire offensive side of the ball. Hopefully, next time I talk to you, Harold Landry has a long-term deal done. If not, hopefully, he's at least on the franchise tag, and we'll talk about all of that on tomorrow's show. But that's going to do it for me today, folks.

As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.