The Tennessee Titans don't have many young, talented players on their rsoter, so it should be easy enough to focus on retaining those few, right?
With the team's 2022 NFL Draft class set to hit free agency after this season, there are only three Titans from that class who are currently playing more than 50% of the team's snaps.
The first is Chig Okonkwo, who came on strong at the end of last season. In the six games the team played starting in December, Okonkwo had five games with three or more catches, three games with five or more catches, and two games with more than 50 receiving yards.
If Okonkwo has a good year with expected No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward this year, the Titans would be smart to keep him in the building.
Nicholas Petit-Frere is another player from that class who played more than 50% of the snaps, but every Titans fan is praying that never happens again.
Cornerback Roger McCreary has proven to be versatile and talented enough to earn a new deal sooner rather than later.
McCreary was miscast as a boundary corner as a rookie due to personnel issues, but over the last two seasons, he has settled in nicely as a slot corner. According to PFF, McCreary has only allowed one touchdown from the nickel during that stretch, despite being targeted 114 times. By nearly any metric, he has been above average since moving inside, and he even added 12 tackles for loss this season, tying Mike Hilton for the NFL record for tackles for loss by a cornerback in a season since 1999.
This week, the Chicago Bears extended their slot cornerback Kyler Gordon by signing him to a three-year extension worth $40 million. That deal should be the framework for what the Titans decide to do at the position, but that number is only going to go up if the team sits around and waits for other cornerback deals to get done around the NFL.
The team hit on Jarvis Brownlee Jr. last season, and he is set to be an incredibly cheap starter for the next few years. Considering that the Titans moved on from Chidobe Awuzie earlier in the offseason, locking down McCreary should be something the Titans have plenty of money for, and it would ensure that the defense has the continuity of those two young cornerbacks for the foreseeable future.
Titans Trade Will Levis in Mock Deal
The Tennessee Titans are beginning to enter a new era in franchise history after they make their choice with the number one overall pick in next week's NFL Draft.
The Titans are expected to pick Cam Ward out of Miami to succeed Will Levis as the starting quarterback for the team in the fall.
With Levis unlikely to be in Tennessee's plans next season, Bleacher Report writer Moe Moton suggests a trade that would send the former second-round pick to the New Orleans Saints along with a fifth-round pick for a fourth-rounder.
"The Titans stance on Levis could change if they draft Ward. The third-year quarterback could also request a trade for a fresh start in that scenario," Moton writes.
"Tennessee may find a trade partner in the New Orleans Saints, who have a new coaching staff and uncertainty at quarterback."
"According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Derek Carr suffered a "significant" injury to his throwing shoulder that jeopardizes his availability for the start of the 2025 season.
"Even if the Saints take a quarterback early in the draft, they can consider adding Levis to compete with a rookie, Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and Ben DiNucci for the starting position if Carr misses extended time."
The Titans signed both Tim Boyle and Brandon Allen in the offseason, which means the team could afford to move on from someone currently on the roster. If Levis could get the Titans an upgrade on their pick, it may make sense to trade him while they can.
It's entirely possible for Levis to be Ward's backup for the 2025 season, but the Titans should be listening to other teams to see if he is worth any kind of value during the draft or even in training camp.
