Titans Release Cameron Wake
The Titans have released outside linebacker Cameron Wake, per a club announcement. In the same press release, the Titans also made official the release of running back Dion Lewis. 
Wake, who turned 38 in January, has previously said that he plans to continue playing in 2020.
“I don’t have any plans of giving it up,” Wake said late last year. “As long as there is a mutual desire from myself and the organization obviously as well, I’d look forward (to playing here again). It is not even a ‘like’ it here – I love it here. In the past I knew of guys who had passed through this organization, and now having come here myself, it’s an understatement to say how much I enjoy it. I’ve kind of had the appetizer version of what it is.”
“This place checks all the boxes for me,” Wake continued. “I am blessed to have been given the opportunity and I appreciate every minute of it. And I look forward to whatever the future brings.”
Last year, Wake missed the final stretch of the season with a back injury. Many expected the Titans to drop him this offseason, a move that saves the club $5.6MM against the cap. Combined with the Lewis release, the Titans have saved $9.6MM in total.
NFL Cancels Spring Meetings
The NFL has cancelled its annual spring meeting, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). It was slated to take place in Palm Beach, Florida from March 29-April 1.
Instead, the league wil discuss potential rule changes and other orders of business on May 19. This is likely the first of several key league events to be 86’d for the coming days.
Earlier today, a team source told Ben Fischer of SBJ that he was frustrated with the league’s lack of communication regarding coronavirus plans. The NFL is now starting to take action, though the latest word is that free agency and similar key dates in the NFL offseason will go on as planned. As of this writing, the league has not put a stop to scheduled workouts and travel, though individual teams including the Jets, Giants, and Redskins have.
Seahawks To Meet With Jordan Reed
Jordan Reed will visit the Seahawks today, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The tight end has suffered at least seven concussions since the start of his collegiate career and the latest one sidelined him for the entire 2019 season. 
When healthy, Reed is one of the most explosive tight ends in the game. But, at this juncture, it’s not clear what he can offer, or whether playing football would even be advisable. Despite the question marks, Reed says he wants to return to the NFL.
The Redskins released Reed in February, cutting off the last two years on his five-year, $47MM contract. By dropping him, the Redskins saved $8.5MM against $1.8MM in dead money.
Between 2013 and 2018, Reed tallied 329 receptions for 3,371 yards and 24 touchdowns. He left the Redskins with top-10 placement in franchise history for both TDs and catches, despite all of the missed games.
“Zero Communication” From NFL On Coronavirus Plans
There has been “zero communication” between the league office and teams regarding COVID-19 procedure, according to a team source who spoke with Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). Individual teams have moved to restrict or eliminate travel, but the NFL has yet to announce any league-wide moves or changes to the offseason.
Instead, the NFL has decided to proceed with the upcoming offseason schedule in place. The league has no plans to move the start of the league year (and the beginning of free agency) on Wednesday, March 18.
Meanwhile, the rest of the sporting world has acted quickly this week to limit exposure to the pandemic. In North America:
- The NBA season has been suspended indefinitely.
- The NHL season has been suspended indefinitely.
- Major League Baseball is set to suspend spring training.
- The Major League Soccer season has been suspended, for at least 30 days.
- Multiple college basketball conference tournaments – including the Big Ten and SEC tournaments – have been cancelled.
A cancellation of March Madness also seems likely. At minimum, those games will be played without fans in attendance.
Although the NFL season doesn’t start until September, the league’s offseason is in full swing and it calls for a great deal of travel, conferences, and face-to-face interaction. The league is said to be considering adjustments to April’s NFL Draft, but many are calling for Roger Goodell to take immediate measures to protect the game’s players, executives, and prospective rookies in the interim.
Titans To Release Dion Lewis
The Titans are moving on from Dion Lewis. The running back has been released from his contract, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Titans Prioritizing Tannehill Deal?]
This was an expected move. The Titans are intent on bringing Derrick Henry back, either with a tag or a brand new deal to keep him from free agency.
Lewis, meanwhile, is no longer worth the remainder of the four-year, $20MM deal he signed with the team in the 2018 offseason. After averaging 5.0 yards per carry in the Patriots’ varied backfield, he’s averaged just 3.5 yards per tote for the Titans across the last two seasons with an increasingly smaller role. Last year, he appeared in every game, but carried the ball just 54 times for 209 yards.
Henry, meanwhile, has been sensational. Last year, he turned in a 1,540-yard season – that’s not counting his 446 postseason rushing yards, the most by any player whose team did not reach the a Super Bowl.
NFL Has “No Plans” To Move Free Agency
The NFL announced that it still plans to begin its league year on March 18. Barring any change, this means that pro football’s free agency will kick off on Wednesday.
In the last 24 hours, we’ve seen the NBA put its season on hiatus and the NCAA progress towards a likely cancellation of March Madness. The NFL, meanwhile, has been mulling different measures to prevent league officials and players from catching the coronavirus while keeping the offseason schedule in tact.
More and more teams are cancelling travel – the Jets, Redskins, and Giants are among the latest – but the NFL has yet to put the kibosh on all travel league-wide. But, according to agent Erik Burkhardt (on Twitter), the league has cancelled all draftee facility visits.
The situation, of course, is fluid, but this is the slated schedule for events in the NFL and labor talks right now (h/t ESPN.com’s Field Yates, via Twitter):
- Saturday, 11:59pm ET: Deadline for players to vote on proposed CBA
- Monday, 11:59am ET: Deadline to apply a franchise or transition tag
- Monday, 12pm ET: Legal tampering window opens
- Wednesday, 4pm ET: Free agency begins
Latest On NFL’s CBA Talks
The deadline for the NFLPA’s CBA vote has not been changed, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The union is still asking for all votes to be submitted by 11:59 pm ET on Saturday. And, on Thursday morning, the NFLPA sent out an email to agents everywhere with the following message: “Please encourage your player clients to exercise their right to vote.”
Meanwhile, offseason plans have been thrown into flux. The league is discussing potential changes to the NFL Draft, slated to take place on April 23-25 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The NFLPA is also doing its due diligence – they’ll have a conference call with medical experts on Friday to assess the situation and determine what steps need to be taken on their end (via Mike Florio of PFT). So far, no announcements have been made regarding restrictions on the travel, workouts, and conferences that are scheduled to take place in the offseason. And, in the midst of everything, the two sides are working to hammer out a brand new CBA that will ensure labor peace for another decade.
On the union side, the NFLPA recently elected Browns center J.C. Tretter as its new president. Tretter was one of four players in the running to take over for Eric Winston and that field was basically whittled down to three when Russell Okung – entangled in some other issues – backed out.
Bucs Unlikely To Trade For David Johnson
Some have speculated that Bucs head coach Bruce Arians could make a play for his old pal David Johnson. However, if the Cardinals try to trade the running back, it’s unlikely that the Bucs will be in the mix, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 
The Cardinals have gone on the record to say that cutting Johnson is “not an option.” The running back is due $13MM/year on his monster contract and releasing him would saddle the team with a $16.2MM dead money hit. If he remains on the team, he’d carry a $14.1MM cap charge for the 2020 season.
Johnson’s was once one of the league’s very best running backs. But, thanks to ankle and back injuries, he’s looked nothing like his old self. Last year, the Cardinals limited his carries and acquired Kenyan Drake via trade before the deadline, further downsizing his role. Drake, meanwhile, is on course to be a free agent later this month.
Even if Drake returns, the Cardinals have not discounted the possibility of keeping Johnson as backfield reinforcement. Then again, they don’t have a whole lot of options. Johnson, simply put, is not the player he used to be, and his contract is an anchor.
Last year, Johnson missed time and averaged just 3.7 yards on 94 totes. His last big year came in 2016, when he earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nods as he ran for 1,239 yards. Before that, he put his name on the map as a rookie by averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
Dolphins To Decline Daniel Kilgore’s Option
The Dolphins won’t pick up the option on center Daniel Kilgore, as Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. With that, the veteran will become a free agent when the league year begins on March 18. 
[RELATED: Dolphins To Release S Reshad Jones]
Kilgore has made 17 starts in the middle since joining the Dolphins in 2018. By turning down the option on the final year in his contract, the Dolphins will save $4MM against the 2020 cap.
The Dolphins have been exploring Kilgore alternatives throughout the offseason and their replacement could come in either free agency or the draft. They’re well-stocked with both cash and picks, so there will be plenty of avenues to explore.
After dropping Kilgore, the Dolphins have about $127.9MM in committments for the coming year. They could trim that number even further, too. If they stand pat, they’ll enter free agency with upwards of $91.5MM to burn.
Packers To Meet With Christian Kirksey
The Packers are set to meet with free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey on Thursday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Kirksey left his Raiders visit without a deal this week, though Garafolo hears that a deal is still possible with Las Vegas. 
Kirksey, 27, was cut by the Browns earlier this month. In Cleveland, he was equally known for his tenacious play and his charitable work. On the field, he appeared in 73 career games and made 54 starts over the course of six seasons. Recently, however, he has has been slowed by injuries. In 2018, a hamstring injury kept him out for more than half of the season. Last year, he only played in two games thanks to a pec tear.
The Browns re-upped Kirksey to a four-year, $38MM extension before the 2017 season. Even before the injuries started, Kirksey’s performance was dipping off a bit, as shown by the advanced metrics in ’18. It was a sharp contrast from 2017, when he tallied 148 total stops.
Kirksey would be a logical fit for both the Raiders and Packers, and he’d come at a much cheaper rate than his previous contract.