Tennessee Titans Offseason News - S1

[majesty95]

The Titans headed into the offseason and quickly got a jump on things be re-signing several key players. While the financial terms of the deals were not announced, the players and contracts length are listed below:

FS Tashaun Gipson - Signed through 2020
WR Kendall Wright - Signed through 2019
C Brian De La Puente - Signed through 2017
DT Louis Nix III - Signed through 2017
DT Terrence Cody - Signed through 2017

Additionally, the Titans released several players to clear cap space and, presumably, open spots for younger players on the roster.

LE Ropati Pitoitua
RE Karl Klug
KR Dexter McCluster

 

[majesty95]

After re-signing several key players prior to free agency, the Titans hit the recruiting trail looking to significantly improve their roster.

One of the prize free agents in this class was defensive tackle Damon Harrison from the Jets. Most 3-4 defensive tackles are just big bodies who take up space and try to stuff the run. Harrison is one of the rare talents that can not only play a huge roll defending the run, but can actually get after the passer.

The Titans went after Harrison hard and wound up in a bidding war with the Green Bay Packers. Eventually the Titans prevailed with one of the stars of free agency, locking up Harrison to a 5-year deal worth $75M. It was a large sum of money but one the team thinks will help shape their defense and change the direction of games for many seasons to come.

Here is a list of the key free agents that the Titans picked up in free agency.

WR De'Anthony Thomas 3-years, $7.5M
TE Zack Miller 4-years, $7,84M
OT Jake Long 2-years, $12M
OG Ryan Wendell 3-years, $8.99M
DT Damon Harrison 5-years, $75M
OLB Elvis Dumervil 2-years, $3M
CB Tim Jennings 1-year, $2.5M

After Harrison, the two most intriguing free agents may be Thomas and Dumervil. Thomas is an explosive kick returner who has the ability to stretch defenses in the passing game. He is a slightly smaller and more explosive version of Kendall Wright although Wright is the more polished receiver. It will be interesting to see how the Titans use Wright, Thomas and second-year receiver Dorial Green-Backham this season.

Dumervil will not be a starter for the Titans, at least that is not the plan. However, he is expected to be a significant part of the 3rd down packages the Titans will utilize during the upcoming season. While undersized for a pass rusher (5-11), Dumervil has made a name for himself as an elite edge rusher. He was not used much by the Ravens a season ago but the Titans have plans to make full use of his unique and elite pass rushing skills.