Tennessee Titans free agency 2020: Top 5 targets
By John Buhler
The Tennessee Titans have a ton of tough internal decisions to make this offseason. Here are their top five targets heading into 2020 NFL free agency.
One NFL franchise whose offseason plans will by overly dissected will be the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee went 9-7, sneaking into the AFC playoffs as the No. 6 seed. But this wasn’t a one-and-done team in the postseason. Tennessee upset the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens in succession in the postseason to make it all the way to the AFC Championship game.
Though they lost to the eventual Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs, America fell in love with this team. With an exciting offense headlined by Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry and one of the best up-and-coming head coaches in Mike Vrabel, we almost convinced ourselves of the Titans making it all the way to the Super Bowl. They came up one game short.
The Titans’ offseason is a critical one because so many key pieces from the 2019 roster will be hitting free agency, including Derrick Henry and 2019 NFL Comeback Player of the Year in quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tennessee would love to re-sign both, but do they have enough cap space to do so?
The Titans have roughly $48.6 million in available salary-cap space, which is good enough for the middle of the pack in the NFL. Tennessee may not have the financial resources to bring the whole gang back in 2020, so general manager Jon Robinson has to be methodical about it. Here are the five players the Titans need to target in the upcoming NFL free agency period.
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Tennessee Titans. player. 35. CB. Logan Ryan. 5
It seems like only yesterday that former Patriots defensive back Logan Ryan inked a three-year deal to play for the Titans worth $30 million. Though he has not made it to a Pro Bowl during his three years in Nashville, Ryan has brought a Super Bowl-pedigree to the Titans defensive backfield. He’s coming off arguably his best season as a professional.
Ryan started all 16 games, making 113 total tackles, breaking up 18 passes, intercepting four for 16 yards, as well as setting a career-high with 4.5 sacks from the cornerback position. His interception of Tom Brady helped Tennessee advance over the Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round. He’ll be entering his age-29 season. Somebody will pay this guy, but will it be the Titans?
Overall, you would probably think Ryan would be more open to long-term security than dollars per year. Would he be worth bringing back on a similar deal he inked back in 2016? Yes, but the Titans may not view him worth taking up close to 20 percent of their available cap space. It’s all about the money here because the performance is up to par to merit a new contract to stay in town.
The only issue with Ryan entering free agency is he’s maybe at best the third-most important internal free-agent target. There is a decent chance Robinson may opt to draft another cornerback in the first three rounds, hoping that Vrabel and his staff can coach the youngster up. Ryan is a good player, but he may not be worth the premium the Titans would have to pay to keep him.