The Ringer’s Top 100 Free Agents List Includes Four Tennessee Titans
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans have a ton of tough decisions to make this offseason, but one of the least talked about issues they face is what to do with a few pending free agents that are set to hit the market.
In a recent list done by The Ringer, the Titans have four players who ranked in the top 100 of pending free agents in the NFL. Those four players are David Long, Taylor Lewan, Nate Davis and Austin Hooper. Obviously with Lewan, the situation is a bit different since Lewan was cut for salary cap purposes, but he is a pending free agent nonetheless.
Let’s take a look at where the Titans’ four players rank and what the author, Sheil Kapadia, had to say about each player’s situation.
David Long - #27
Kapadia’s insight: “Long is a tough player to project. There will be teams enamored of his versatile skill set. He set career highs last year with 86 tackles and seven tackles for loss. The issue has been durability. Long has just 26 starts in four NFL seasons and has missed 12 regular-season games over the past two years because of injuries.”
The first statement is hard to disagree with. Long’s evaluation is all over the place. He’s dynamic and aggressive when on the field, but hasn’t been on the field quite enough to justify a payday in the range of $13 million a season like some salary cap sites are projecting. Mike Vrabel said at the 2023 NFL Combine that they would love to get Long back on a long-term deal, but if Long does get close to that number, the Titans would have to let him walk.
Taylor Lewan - #51
Kapadia’s insight: “Lewan is a nearly impossible player to slot because we don’t know how healthy he is or whether he even wants to continue playing. Retirement could be the move for Lewan after the Titans released him last month. His 2022 season was limited to two games because of a knee injury related to his torn ACL in 2020, and Lewan has appeared in just 20 games over the past three seasons. If he wants to keep playing, Lewan would likely be looking at a one-year deal somewhere.”
The Titans released Taylor Lewan earlier this offseason in a move to save salary cap space, but one important detail about that release was that Lewan was let go with a failed physical designation. That has no impact on the cap savings, but it does show that Lewan is still not fully healthy. Maybe Lewan gets back to full strength and decides to keep his NFL career going, but odds are Lewan hangs it up before he decides to play elsewhere on a one-year deal.
Nate Davis - #62
Kapadia’s insight: “He’s been up and down in four seasons with the Titans. Davis has started 54 games, but he’s missed eight due to injury in the past two seasons. Davis’s ability to pass protect is still a question, as he allowed eight sacks last year—tied for second most among all guards, per PFF. Mark Glowinski got a three-year, $18.3 million deal from the Giants last offseason. Davis could be in the market for a similar deal.”
As Kapadia pointed out, concerns about durability and pass protection could cause the Titans to move on from Davis, but they are being very risky with the offensive line if they do. The Titans already need to find a new starting left tackle, left guard and potentially a center. Adding right guard to that grocery list when Davis is only expected to get around $6-9 million would be ill-advised.
Austin Hooper - #79
Kapadia’s insight: “The Browns released Hooper last March, and Hooper signed with the Titans on a one-year, $6 million deal. He caught 41 balls for 444 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hooper should interest teams in the market for a short-term solution at pass-catching tight end.”
If you asked most Titans fans they would tell you they want Hooper to return, but it may not make as much sense as it seems. As Kapadia points out, Hooper did well for the Titans last year, but at this point he is nothing more than a glorified pass catching tight end. He is not an everyday option. Second-year tight end Chig Okonkwo should get a major increase in opportunity in 2023 and Okonkwo still needs to improve as a blocker. Hooper is not much of a blocker these days so having Okonkwo and Hooper as your top two tight ends just doesn’t work from a run game perspective. The Titans would be wise to give all of Hooper’s opportunities to Okonkwo and get a tight end who is a better blocker as the second half of the pairing.
