The Titans Might Not Be Done Yet With The Restructuring Of Contracts

Following the announcement that the Tennessee Titans had restructured their deal with safety Kevin Byard, more similar moves could come.

NASHVILLE - Nothing in this world is guaranteed, so my writing is somewhat speculative; still, there seems to be good reason for that speculation. 

Now that the news of the Tennessee Titans and safety Kevin Byard's agreement to restructure his deal, allowing the team to clear cap space, likely intended to go toward Wednesday's signing of three-time Pro-Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins, could more moves come?

According to a report by Ian Rappaport, Byard's 2023 salary will drop from $14 million to $11 million, with incentives to earn back the difference. 

While the team had a reported $8.9 million remaining under the current league salary cap, the new money from the Byard move is most likely earmarked for the Hopkins deal, which was signed on Wednesday, according to a social media video post by the receiver. 

That means the Titans are likely up against the cap, with little to no free money to spend.

At the same time, the team is scheduled to work out former Seattle and, most recently, New York Jets offensive tackle George Fant on Saturday.      

Fant, a free agent, was paid $9,750,000 million last season with the Jets. And while he might not be looking for that amount this time, his asking price will likely be more than it appears the Titans would have available to spend. 

Of course, Titans cap wizard Vin Marino could have some creative ways to make things work; it seems logical that the team would need to make at least one more contract adjustment to an existing deal to be able to accommodate a contract for Fant. 

Harold Landry has been one name mentioned frequently over the last few weeks as a contract the team could use to clear more space, while Ryan Tannehill- not very likely- and Derrick Henry are also oft-mentioned targets with the value to clear space for other deals.  

Regardless of the who, it appears, at least to me, that the team will need at least one more restructuring if they are in the market to find a replacement for the first six games of the season, as their presumed starting right tackle, Nicholas Petite-Frere serves his suspension for violating the league's gambling rules.  

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