Byard Watch: The Ball's In The Titans Court

We've seen the Tennessee Titans go through "salary cap purgatory" before, but that was with different people calling the shots. It's a guessing game to see how the Kevin Byard drama will play out.

NASHVILLE - A report from a local Nashville radio station on Monday sent the Tennessee Titans world spinning. The radio host stated that safety Kevin Byard had asked to be released by the team after he refused to take a pay cut. 

According to an AllTitans source directly contacting Byard, the All-Pro safety did not ask to be released. Byard was approached by team representatives and asked to take a pay cut, which he declined.  

If Byard is cut, the Titans would save $6 million against the cap but would add $13.6 million in dead cap dollars to their books over the next two seasons. 

So where does that leave things between team and player?

While that answer remains unknown, the likelihood that the Titans will release him seems slight, given the limited amount of savings it would provide them versus the amount of dead cap hits they would incur to make such a move. 

There's also his on-field production, where he has never missed a game and is still considered one of the top five safeties in the league. Add to that his leadership on the field and in the locker room, along with his community service ventures, and Byard is genuinely one of the good guys to have ever played for this franchise.   

Fan outrage over the thought of Byard being released has been swift and broad across social media. This would be a public relations black eye for the franchise if this were to occur. 

Byard is, without a doubt, one of the team's top five talents, and his salary is large, but he is one of the players who has played to his contract. It's hard to believe that anyone within the Titans organization thought asking him to take a pay cut was a good idea. 

None of this should be blamed on new general manager Ran Carthon. He's simply trying to clean up the mess that existed when he arrived. 

For example, Amani Hooker, who just last season under former general manager Jon Robinson, received a 3-year, $30 million extension, with $17.2 million guaranteed.  His base salary for next season is $6.19 million, escalating to $8.9 million in 2024. 

Hooker is a solid running mate with Byard at safety, but he missed eight games last season with a concussion, shoulder, and knee injuries. This money could have been used differently and helped the team's financial situation. 

This is not a shot at Hooker, who, as a player, was given an offer that he accepted. This is about the mess created by Robinson with bad deals and some bad draft picks. 

As for Mike Vrabel, his comments at his end-of-season press conference praised Byard while he called out other players as repeat offenders. It's hard to imagine a tough-nosed head coach, now leading a player who plays the game as he did, would approve of getting rid of one of his best and likely favorite players.   

It won't surprise me, and if the Titans aren't tanking, or totally rebuilding, to see Byard take the field in two-tone-blue for the start of training camp. 

In the end, I can't see the Titans releasing Byard, but don't sleep on the possibility of him being traded because he has value, and there would likely be more than one team willing to pony up to acquire him in a trade deal. 

The ball's in the Titans court, and everyone is praying they don't fumble it.

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