Landry Locked Up With Long-Term Deal
NASHVILLE – Harold Landry is not going anywhere. Except to the bank.
The Tennessee Titans agreed to a five-year contract extension with the veteran outside linebacker Tuesday, hours after the deadline passed for them to use the franchise tag on him. The deal is worth a reported $87.5 million with $52.5 million guaranteed, which tops the five-year, $82.5 million pact ($33.75 million guaranteed) that Bud Dupree got last season. That edge rushing duo is now set to work together through the 2025 season – and will be paid a premium to do so.
Landry, 25, led the Titans in sacks each of the last three years. He ranked 10th in the NFL last season with a career-high 12 sacks and ranks 11th in the league with 26.5 since the start of the 2019 season.
In keeping him, Tennessee resolves its biggest issue among players who were set to become unrestricted free agents when the current contract year ends on March 16.
The deal also further complicates the Titans’ salary cap situation. Before adding Landry’s cost, the team already was $7.9 million over the 2022 salary cap of $208.2 million, which was revealed a day earlier. That means that in the coming days some familiar names will be released and other well-compensated performers may be asked to renegotiate their contracts.
Tennessee’s appreciation for Landry has been evident from the outset. Franchise officials traded a second and a third-round pick to move up 16 spots and selected him in the second round (41st overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft after he led the country with 16.5 sacks in his final season at Boston College.
Since then, he has been one of the team’s most consistent and reliable performers. He has missed one game in his career, and his current streak of 52 consecutive starts is second among all linebackers, and his streak of 64 straight games played is sixth at the position. He made the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2021 and has been on the field for more than 85 percent of the defense’s plays for each of the last three seasons. He played 94 percent in 2020.
“We have great trust in Harold to know what to do and to go out and play to the standard in which we expect,” coach Mike Vrabel said last week at the NFL combine. “He plays a lot of positions for us. He’s a valuable part of our team.”
Two years ago, the Titans used the franchise tag on running back Derrick Henry before they agreed to a long-term deal later in the offseason and finalized a multi-year pact with quarterback Ryan Tannehill hours shortly after the start of the new contract year.
Those moves kept key pieces of the offense in place. This one ensures the defense does not have to replace one of its significant pieces – and does so without any of the drama.
