Titans not under contract for 2017
Here is a list of Titans not under contract for 2017:
Guard Chance Warmack finished his rookie contract with the Titans on injured reserve. A fantastic athlete, he never became the superb mauler type of guard that some envisioned when he was drafted tenth overall in the NFL draft. His play was excellent, then not good. It continued to be sporadic throughout his time with the Titans. He has played for Mike Munchak and Russ Grimm, two of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. The guess here is that the Titans won’t see a bright future for him with the corresponding a pressing need to resign him. He always made less than $4 million each season. He is probably hoping for more and wants to start somewhere. At a reasonable salary, he could return as a backup, but it’s unlikely.
Wide Receiver Kendall Wright has been a fan favorite since the day he was drafted. He is cat-quick laterally and was a glorious pain in the neck to cover in Dowell Loggains’ short pass offense. He had 1000 yards receiving and looked to have a real bright future in the NFL. Things went south for him once the Titans changed offenses. He didn’t succeed in a common wideout role that does the whole route tree. This season he only had 29 catches. Wright made more than $7 million in 2016 and will likely look for another lucrative deal from some other team this offseason. Mularkey’s offenses have never had a slot wide receiver as a large part of their offense. 29 catches is about average for a Mularkey offense. As long as the Titans plan to pay him as a “29 catch guy,” it doesn’t seem like the two sides would mesh on a long term re-signing deal.
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Offensive lineman Byron Bell and defensive tackle Karl Klug are both valuable players to the Titans. The team seems to highly appreciate each of them. The two 28 years olds are both overcoming a major injury. Whether they return will depend on their recovery. Surely, the desire from the team is present.
Tight End Anthony Fasano has been a fine tight end. The Titans have age issues at tight end. He will probably return and battle for a spot in camp. He will be 33 next summer, as will Delanie Walker. Craig Stevens was 32 when he retired this past summer.
Offensive lineman Brian Schwenke stepped up and played pretty well when Quinton Spain was injured earlier this season. According to spotrac, he made an average of roughly $600,000 during his stint with the Titans. A backup guard and backup center, with playing experience, for 600k does seem like a good deal. Schwenke may have his eyes upon greener pastures, but the Titans should strongly consider re-signing him at his rate.
Linebacker Sean Spence had a “show me” contract at 1 year and two and a half million. He made some excellent plays, but also allowed several completions in coverage. He is 26 and his return is questionable.
Safety Daimion Stafford has been a useful player. He has filled in as a safety and played well. He has worked himself into significant minutes. He has been the “dime-backer” at times. If Dick Lebeau covets his “super safety” type in the draft, then Stafford probably won’t return. If that Polamalu, Woodson, Lake type isn’t in this draft, he may return. (continued)
Safety Rashad Johnson has started and been a fine free agent signing from the Cardinals. He is 30 years old. It would seem the Titans will only re-sign one of Johnson or Stafford if the safety they covet is available in the draft. Four safeties is plenty. There isn’t really a need for five quality safeties.
Quarterback Matt Cassel is supposedly a valuable veteran to have around the young players. He didn’t play well in week 16 or week 17. He played “OK” and made mistakes. Marcus Mariota has been injured each season, so there is a strong need to have a quality backup “just in case.” Cassel’s return will probably depend on the free agent market.
Cornerback Valentino Blake is clearly appreciated by the coaching staff. He is a curious bird. His play is so up and down, he is very difficult to evaluate as a cornerback. His special teams play has been very good. He was the Titans fastest player in 2016. He will likely return, but as depth. He “showed something” at times and could theoretically improve for 2017. Many have questioned if he is a starting caliber corner though.
Cornerback D’Joun Smith never played in 2016. He probably gets a camp invite and the team sees how that plays out during the summer.
Running back Antonio Andrews was a feature back in 2015. He has lined up as a running back, fullback, punt returner, kick returner, gunner, h-back, tight end, and wide receiver in his time with the Titans. He was even considered the emergency quarterback at times. As an undrafted free agent, he has never made “big money” in the NFL. Is there a team where he could win a bigger role with? He is so useful, surely the Titans would want him back, but third string runningback is third string runningback. Quite candidly, he seems perfect for Bill Belichick who seems to greatly appreciate players that can play many positions.
Quarterback Alex Tanney is 29 and was not given a chance to play in week 17. Chances are, the latter, is indicative of his future with the team. The Titans could replace him with late draft pick or sign an undrafted free agent. “Developmental quarterback” is not an actual position on a roster, it’s just something common among teams. They could sign another veteran to replace him. One could argue that Tanney or Cassel needs to be around when offseason training begins so that there is some continuity, since Mariota will still be out then.
Linebacker David Bass played well filling in for Derrick Morgan in 2015. He played well in spots in 2016. The Titans have unusually great depth at outside linebacker. He has been inactive recently. Aaron Wallace seems to have replaced him on the depth chart. With Kevin Dodd and even JR Tavai on the roster, there isn’t a need for the Titans to re-sign him. This is the first “good problem” in years for the Titans. They about have too many good outside linebackers.
Caveat-Dodd was an excellent college defensive end. His switch to outside linebacker was not smooth. The Titans did not get great production out of their starting defensive end DaQuan Jones. If the team feels they got it wrong and Dodd should be a defensive end, then Bass would surely be tendered an offer as a new need would suddenly arise.
Wide Receiver Tre McBride was “the steal of the draft” by draft experts, but didn’t do much as a rookie. Last summer, Mularkey praised him for his improvement. He did appear to be far improved during the preseason. The brutal reality is that he has no catches in two seasons. The restricted free agent will likely return, but his future outlook has dimmed considerably. It’s a results-based business and zero catches is zero catches.
Return specialist Marc Mariani is questionable. Teams often want the return role to be filled by another player so that they can free up a roster spot. He is adored by fans and the team clearly prefered him in 2016. He didn’t break any long returns and wasn’t all that impressive. He didn’t make mistakes though-no fumbled returns, no mishaps at all. Coaches do greatly appreciate relying on a return man.
Linebacker Nate Palmer went from playing considerable minutes in Green Bay to accepting a backup role for roughly $600,000. He could be back. The salary is workable and it’s good to have backups with playing experience.
Data here comes from Spotrac.com
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