Grading the Tennessee Titans Moves: Returning Players in Week One of Free Agency

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans are in the process of re-shaping the roster and while that does include signing free agents off other teams, it also includes bringing back some familiar faces from last year’s team. The Titans made four moves in week one of free agency to reunite with some young players. Let’s grade each move.

Teair Tart – GRADE: A

The Titans put a second-round tender on Tart. This means Tart can go negotiate a new contract with another team and if the Titans decide not to match that new deal, the team signing Tart will have to give the Titans a second-round pick. It is possible the Titans decide to match any deal presented to Tart. It is also possible that no other team offers Tart a contract because they don’t want to risk losing a second rounder.

If the Titans don’t work out a long-term deal with Tart and he plays on the second-round tender, it’ll be a one-year deal worth $4.3 million. That is a steal for how important Tart was to the Titans’ defense. Tart allows the Titans to play defense consistently in nickel packages. Keeping five defensive backs on the field typically only allows six to be in the box, but when you have Tart, that is not a big issue. Tart can take two blockers at the same time which allows the linebackers to flow free to make tackles. He is a key to the way the Titans approach defense and keeping him around is a smart move. If he leaves, getting a second-round pick for a former undrafted free agent would be a steal.

Aaron Brewer – GRADE: C

This move did not make much sense to me. Brewer struggled mightily last year as starting left guard. Brewer will likely move to center this year which should fit him better, but the real concern here is the price. Brewer, like Tart, was given a second-round tender. It is hard to imagine another NFL team giving Brewer $4.3 million. Honestly, it would be hard to imagine an NFL team giving Brewer half of that. We saw the Titans decline to use a tender on wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and then(spoiler alert) sign him back to a deal a day later for less than $2 million. I would have rather seen the Titans take this route with Brewer as well rather than give him a $4.3 million tender.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine – GRADE: C-

The issue with this move is not as simple as disliking the signing. In a vacuum, the Westbrook-Ikhine deal is just fine. The Titans declined to use a “right of first refusal” tender which had a value of $2.6 million. So, signing Westbrook-Ikhine back to a one-year deal means that the price had to be less than the $2.6 million tender. Paying less than $2 million for a guy who worked his way from undrafted free agent to starter and has put up 66 catches for 906 yards and seven touchdowns in three seasons is a good deal.

Here is the issue, signing back Westbrook-Ikhine signals a philosophical stagnation for the Titans. The hope was after the hiring of a new general manager and head coach Mike Vrabel mentioning the need for more speed on the team numerous times throughout the early offseason that the team would be moving away from slow, big-body wide receiver in favor of receivers with more speed. That philosophical change apparently isn’t coming. With all that in mind, this signing gets a low grade more based on what it means for the future of the team under Vrabel rather than on its own merits.

Naquan Jones – GRADE: B

Naquan Jones joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2021. He had a fantastic rookie year where he put up 2.5 sacks and 29 tackles. He didn’t have as good of a 2022, only putting up 16 tackles and one sack, but he clearly can continue to be a nice rotational piece for the Titans’ defensive line. The Titans have tagged him as an exclusive-rights free agent. That simply means Jones does not have the ability to negotiate with other teams. His options are come back to the Titans on a one-year deal worth less than $2 million or not play next season. He will be back with the Titans and as a backup for Tart, he is a perfect fit.

TITANS SIGN DILLARD: The Titans' biggest area of need entering free agency has their first new member with the announcement that former Eagles tackle Andre Dillard will sign with Tennessee. CLICK HERE
TITANS LOSE DAVIS: The Tennessee Titans will need to find a new starting right guard after free agent Nate Davis joins the Chicago Bears on a three-year deal. CLICK HERE
FREE AGENCY FORESHADOWING: The Tennessee Titans are set at the starting line of NFL Free Agency with a ton of needs on the roster. How they choose to address those needs will tell us a lot about how the front office sees the team’s potential in 2023. CLICK HERE

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