NFL free agency officially kicks off next week and the Tennessee Titans will approach things differently than they did a year ago.
Last year, the Titans pushed hard to land top-of-the-market free agents to add some much-needed star power and talent to this roster. Several of those players dealt with injuries and failed to live up to their contracts as the Titans crawled to an NFL-worst 3-14 record.
That was a big reason why former general manager Ran Carthon was fired and replaced with Mike Borgonzi.
The Titans now want to be a draft-and-develop team, which signals a potentially more reserved stance in free agency. Combine that with this NFL article about which free agents are going to make more than you think from Tom Pelissero, and you can almost guarantee that the Titans won't be major spenders during the first wave of free agency.
Pelissero projects guys like Aaron Banks and Drew Dalman signing deals that would make them the highest-paid players at their position (or very close to it). Those are fairly anonymous players due huge raises in pay in free agency.
Borgonzi and company will test the market, but if that proves true, then the Titans should circle back and see if they can get a deal done with some of their impending free agents before the market officially opens.
With nearly all of the talented offensive linemen getting locked into deals before hitting the market, maybe the Titans will call Dillon Radunz and Daniel Brunskill to check and see what they would want on a short-term deal. Both are solid but unspectacular options at guard, and signing one (or both) would allow the Titans to head into the draft with 80% of the offensive line in place.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is a fan-favorite after his touchdown tear last season, and unless the Titans are willing to throw money at someone significantly older than him, there aren't going to be many options to round out the wide receiver group in free agency before the draft.
Finally, Sebastian Joseph-Day is an aging asset, but he seems willing to come back to the Titans according to his social media. The defensive line market is crowded enough between free agency and the draft that a short-term deal might work out best for everyone.
