Which Titans Are Headed for Free Agency?
The end of the current end of the contract year comes in just over two weeks, and when it does 18 members of the Tennessee Titans will become free agents who can sign with any team.
Until then, the Titans have the opportunity to negotiate new deals with any or all of them. However, the salary cap is set to drop for 2021, and – as it stands at the moment – Tennessee will have little if any money to spend. Wide receiver Adam Humphries already was released to free up some cap space, and more such moves are likely to come.
Here are the players currently set to become free agents when the signing period begins on March 17 (legal tampering commences two days earlier):
Jadeveon Clowney, Edge
Age: 28; 2020 Salary Cap Number $12.179 million
The No. 1 overall pick in 2014 waited almost until the start of the 2020 regular season before he signed but ended up with less money than he hoped. After a season with no sacks and 19 tackles in eight games before knee surgery sidelined him in mid-November, he will have to seriously adjust his salary expectations this year.
DaQuan Jones, NT
Age: 29; 2020 Salary Cap Number $8.334 million
Jones has been a starter for six of his seven seasons in the NFL and has played all 16 games five times in the last six years. He has been one of the Titans’ most consistent and underappreciated players for years as a guy who occupies blockers and holds his ground so that linebackers can run free to make tackles.
Corey Davis, WR
Age: 26; 2020 Salary Cap Number $8.17 million
It is unfair to label the fifth overall pick in 2017 as a bust, but overall he has not produced as expected. He is coming off his best season (65 catches, 984 yards, 5 TDs) and has been the Titans’ second-leading receiver each of the last two years. However, he never developed into the No. 1 option (A.J. Brown, a 2019 second-round choice, has claimed that role) for the passing game, which is why franchise officials declined his fifth-year option and allowed him to become a free agent this year.
Stephen Gostkowski, K
Age: 37; 2020 Salary Cap Number $2.734 million
His 15th NFL season was his worst in terms of total field goals missed (eight) and field goal percentage (69.2). Oddly, though, he never was better from 50 yards and beyond than he was in his first season with the Titans (7-for-8) and had the best game of his career when he went 6-for-6 at Minnesota in Week 3. Plus, he made the ones that mattered most. He had three game-winning field goals, all in the first three weeks.
MyCole Pruitt, TE
Age: 28; 2020 Salary Cap Number $2.5 million
He is much more of a traditional blocking tight end than he is a pass-catcher, and he even has been used as a fullback, which adds to his value. That being said, four of his 20 receptions over the past three seasons have gone for touchdowns. So, he is useful in the passing game too.
Jonnu Smith, TE
Age: 25; 2020 Salary Cap Number $2.31 million
Smith is not the answer for teams that want the next Travis Kelce or Rob Gronkowski. At 6-foot-3, 248 pounds, however, he is a well-rounded tight end with better-than-expected speed for someone his size, and he often showcases that speed after the catch. If given the chance, he can put up bigger receiving numbers than he has in in four seasons with the Titans, but it is impossible to ignore that he can help an offense in multiple ways.
Jayon Brown, ILB
Age: 25; 2020 Salary Cap Number $2.201 million
Drafted as a nickel linebacker who had the speed to run with tight ends, backs and even some receivers, he grew into an every-down player over the past two seasons. He was the Titans’ leading tackler before he sustained a season-ending injury in late November. He had one interception each of the last three years and one forced fumble in each of his first three NFL seasons.
Ty Sambrailo, T
Age: 28; 2020 Salary Cap Number $1.569 million
He was the first to step in after Pro Bowler sustained a season-ending injury in Week 6. He started a career-high five games before he sustained his own season-ending injury, and those starts were at left tackle, a spot he had not played since his rookie season (2015). He is exactly what most teams want in a No. 3 tackle because he can play on either side of the line.
Desmond King, CB
Age: 26; 2020 Salary Cap Number $1.129 million
Acquired at the trade deadline after three-plus seasons with the Chargers, he was the slot cornerback Tennessee needed. In nine games after the deal, he had 30 tackles, a sack, three quarterback pressures, two tackles for loss, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery. Tennessee did not tap into his skills as a return man, but he can help in that regard as well.
Jack Crawford, DL
Age: 32; 2020 Salary Cap Number $987,500
He was a useful and versatile performer who had two sacks for a defense that was among the NFL’s worst at rushing the passer and overall failed to live up to expectations from start to finish. He is not a game-changer but can make a difference for a team that needs a seasoned piece for its defense.
Nick Dzubnar, LB
Age: 29; 2020 Salary Cap Number $887,500
A core special teams player who signed with Tennessee after five seasons with the Chargers, he led the Titans with 13 special teams tackles in 2020. He has had 12 or more stops on special teams in every season but one since he entered the NFL.
Geoff Swaim, TE
Age: 27; 2020 Salary Cap Number $750,000
Signed near the end of training camp, he evolved into a trusted member of the offense who started eight of the 10 games he has played. He caught nine passes for 83 yards, which was consistent with his first five NFL seasons, and scored the second touchdown of his career.
Tye Smith, CB
Age: 27; 2020 Salary Cap Number $714,706
He does not have the coverage skills that will make any team look at him as a starter, but he compensates with an unrelentingly physical style of play that makes him impossible to ignore when teams begin to think about the composition of their final rosters.
Senorise Perry, RB
Age: 29; 2020 Salary Cap Number $687,353
A core special teams player, he missed seven games with injuries. When he played, he filled a number of roles in the kicking game and even got a few opportunities on offense, including two carries for nine yards.
Daren Bates, LB
Age: 30; 2020 Salary Cap Number $441,176
A core special teams player who adds attitude and enthusiasm to the locker room, he can fill in at linebacker in a pinch but no one will count on him in that regard.
Matt Overton, LS
Age: 35; 2020 Salary Cap Number $264,706
Overton was selling real estate in Indianapolis when the Titans added him to their practice squad in 2020. Before long, the job was his and he held it for the final nine games of the season.
Will Compton, ILB
Age: 31; 2020 Salary Cap Number $220,588
A one-time starter with Washington, Compton has become a plug-and-play guy. Each of the last two years it was at least mid-August before he was signed (New Orleans and Oakland in 2019, Tennessee in 2020), but he still managed to carve out a role with the Raiders and Titans, which speaks to his professionalism and preparation.
Marshall Newhouse, T
Age: 32; 2020 Salary Cap Number $176,471
Newhouse is a well-traveled veteran who has been with eight teams and started at least two games in nine of his 10 NFL seasons. The exception was 2020, when the Titans added him in December to provide depth at a position at which they took a lot of hits.
