Latest On Titans WR Treylon Burks
Considering the player the Titans gave up to acquire the pick that became Treylon Burks, the first-round wide receiver represents not just a long-term investment but one pivotal to Tennessee’s 2022 season. So far, the Titans have not seen too much of Burks.
Tennessee, which traded A.J. Brown to Philadelphia for a package headlined by this year’s No. 18 overall pick, saw its Brown heir apparent miss OTAs time and then miss all of the team’s minicamp. Mike Vrabel did not provide a reason for Burks’ unavailability this week.
Burks was slowed during OTAs and later missed practice time due to asthma. While Titans wide receivers coach Rob Moore praised Burks’ progression in their offensive system, via The Tennessean’s Ben Arthur, his unspecified minicamp absence does provide a bit of an early concern.
Earlier this offseason, SI.com’s Albert Breer noted weight issues have followed Burks for a bit. Listed at 225 pounds, Burks, according to some teams ahead of the draft, played in the 240s at points during his Arkansas career and was over 230 during some of his pre-draft workouts. While the big-bodied target obviously played well enough to warrant a top-20 selection, nearly hitting 1,000 yards in 2020’s COVID 19-shortened season and surpassing 1,100 as a junior in 2021, the SEC standout does enter the NFL with some uncertainty.
The Jon Robinson-era Titans have not shied away from first-rounders with potential red flags. They hit on 2019 first-rounder Jeffery Simmons, who was coming off an offseason ACL tear ahead of his rookie season. Simmons has become one of the NFL’s top interior defensive linemen. But the team missed badly on 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Wilson, who was off the Titans’ roster by 2021 after a three-snap rookie season. Caleb Farley missed Tennessee’s offseason program and some of training camp last year, due to the two back surgeries he had undergone. Farley, who suffered a torn ACL during his freshman year at Virginia Tech, went down due to another ACL tear three games into his rookie season.
Tennessee cut Julio Jones after what turned out to be a misfire — one that cost the team a second-round pick. Recent trade acquisition Robert Woods, obtained for just a 2023 sixth-round pick, is coming off a torn ACL he sustained in November. The Titans do not have much in the way of notable investments at receiver behind Burks and Woods, though former UDFA Nick Westbrook-Ikhine showed some promise last season. This amplifies the importance of their Woods-Burks duo producing. Training camp will be a key step for both.
Latest On Titans DL Jeffery Simmons
Jeffery Simmons is attending Titans mandatory minicamp, but he’s not participating in any drills. While the player is clearly staging a “hold-in,” neither Simmons nor the Titans coaching staff will attribute his on-field absence to contract issues.
The Titans picked up the former first-round pick’s fifth-year option, so Simmons still has two years remaining on his rookie pact. He’ll earn a base salary of $2.22MM this upcoming season before getting that fifth-year jump, which is at $10.75MM. Curiously, Simmons doesn’t have an agent; instead, he has a “team” that deals with his contract.
“I’m not talking to them about my contract. I have a team in place that, if it is my contract, they’re going to talk to whoever upstairs,” Simmons said (via Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com). “Vrabs doesn’t handle contracts. My job is to be a leader, be a player and not just on the field but in the weight room, the lockerroom, or whatever it may be. I’m on the plan and I’m sticking with it, and I’ll see you guys in camp.”
While Simmons could be hinting that his team is negotiating a new contract with the organization, Mike Vrabel also said the defensive lineman’s absence doesn’t have anything to do with contracts. Rather, Simmons is “following the plan laid out by the team” that would have him ready for training camp, per McCormick.
The 2019 first-round pick had a breakout season in 2021. After collecting only five sacks through his first 24 games, Simmons finished the 2022 campaign with 8.5 sacks. He added 54 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 16 QB hits.
Dillon Radunz Concentrating On RT
- Previously mentioned as a potential left guard option, Titans 2021 second-round pick Dillon Radunz is now concentrating on the right tackle battle. With Radunz and rookie third-rounder Nicholas Petit-Frere matching up outside, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com notes former UDFA Aaron Brewer and ex-Seahawks backup Jamarco Jones are vying for the left guard gig (Twitter link). The Titans must replace cap casualty Rodger Saffold and free agency defection David Quessenberry — their latest right tackle stopgap — up front this year. Both 2021 starters are with the Bills now.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/13/22
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed: K Gabe Brkic (from Minnesota)
- Waived: K Dominik Eberle
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: CB Chris Jones
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: OLB Andre Mintze
New England Patriots
- Reverted to reserve/NFI (after going unclaimed on waivers): K Quinn Nordin
Tennessee Titans
- Released: S Jamal Carter (from IR)
Washington Commanders
- Waived: DB Will Adams, K Brian Johnson
Poll: Which AFC Team Had Best Offseason?
Due to a flurry of additions, the 2022 AFC presents a crowded competition for playoff and Super Bowl LVII access. Some of the top-tier teams addressed key weaknesses, and several middle-class squads took big swings in respective aims to improve their chances this season.
The fallout paints a picture in which barely any AFCers can be truly counted out for playoff contention. Future Hall of Famers, potential Canton inductees, and Pro Bowlers moving from the NFC — along with various intra-AFC changes — have made for one of the most captivating offseasons in modern NFL annals. While the offseason is not yet complete, most of the acquisition dominoes ahead of training camp have fallen. Which team did the best work?
With Russell Wilson joining the Broncos, the AFC West’s Wilson-Patrick Mahomes–Derek Carr–Justin Herbert quartet appears of the great quarterback armadas any division has fielded in the five-plus-decade divisional era. The Broncos gave up two first-round selections in a five-pick deal but were able to hang onto their young receivers. Denver, which moved to a younger coaching staff headed by first-time HC Nathaniel Hackett and two rookie coordinators, also added defenders Randy Gregory and D.J. Jones. Going from the Teddy Bridgewater–Drew Lock combo to Wilson represents one of the top gains any team made this offseason, but Denver’s divisional competition will not make improvement easy.
Entering the final year in which Herbert must be tied to his rookie contract, the Chargers addressed several needs. They added defensive help in free agency, via J.C. Jackson and Sebastian Joseph-Day, and traded second- and sixth-round picks for Khalil Mack. The team also extended Mike Williams at $20MM per year — days before the wide receiver market dramatically shifted — and drafted right guard Zion Johnson in Round 1.
The Raiders were partially responsible for the wideout market’s explosion, trading first- and second-round picks for Davante Adams and extending him at $28MM per year. That came shortly after the team’s Chandler Jones addition. Las Vegas’ Josh McDaniels–Dave Ziegler regime has greenlit extensions for Reggie McKenzie– and Jon Gruden-era holdovers — from Carr to Maxx Crosby to Hunter Renfrow. Will a Darren Waller deal follow?
Of last season’s conference kingpins, the Chiefs and Titans endured the biggest losses. Hill and Tyrann Mathieu‘s exits will test the six-time reigning AFC West champs, while last year’s No. 1 seed balked at a monster A.J. Brown extension by trading him to the Eagles for a package headlined by a 2022 first-rounder. Both teams did address some needs early in the draft, but the Bengals and Bills look to have definitively improved their rosters.
Cincinnati augmented its bottom-tier offensive line by signing La’el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras. The defending AFC champions retained almost their entire defense, though Jessie Bates is not especially happy on the franchise tag. Buffalo reloaded as well, adding Von Miller to a defensive line that has lacked a top-end pass rusher for a while. The team swapped out ex-UDFA Levi Wallace for first-round cornerback Kaiir Elam, and James Cook is the Bills’ highest running back draftee since C.J. Spiller 12 years ago. How significant will the Brian Daboll-for-Ken Dorsey OC swap be?
Although Cincy’s AFC North competition made improvements, some caveats come with them. The Ravens filled their center and right tackle spots, with first-rounder Tyler Linderbaum and veteran Morgan Moses, and are now flush with safeties following the arrivals of Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton. But Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson situation has reached a strange stage, with the top three Ravens power brokers indicating the former MVP has not shown extension interest. Cleveland landed Amari Cooper for Day 3 draft capital and, on paper, rivaled Denver’s QB upgrade. Historic draft compensation and a shocking $230MM guarantee was required for the Browns to pull it off. But their Deshaun Watson trade has generated considerable drama — to the point the ex-Texans Pro Bowler cannot be considered a lock to play in 2022.
Oddsmakers do not expect the Jaguars’ moves to translate to 2022 contention, but the team did hire a former Super Bowl-winning coach in Doug Pederson and spend wildly for lineup upgrades — from Christian Kirk to Brandon Scherff to Foye Oluokun — and used two first-round picks (Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd) to further upgrade its defense. Going from Urban Meyer to Pederson should offer stability to a franchise that has lacked it, never more so than in 2021.
The Jets chased big-name receivers for weeks but came away with Garrett Wilson in a highly praised three-first-rounder draft. New York’s last-ranked defense now has new pieces in first-rounders Sauce Gardner and Jermaine Johnson, along with DBs Jordan Whitehead and D.J. Reed. Miami made a stunning coaching change by firing Brian Flores, which produced a tidal wave of controversy, but the now-Mike McDaniel-led team also paid up for splashy additions in Hill and Terron Armstead while retaining steady edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah.
Are there other teams that warrant mention here? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on the new-look AFC in the comments section.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/6/22
Here are today’s minor moves to start the week:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Keith Kirkwood
- Waived: WR Talolo Limu-Jones
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed: OL Carson Green (from Houston)
- Waived: OL Derwin Gray
Nine Teams Gain Cap Space From Post-June 1 Cuts
Although early June no longer serves as a stretch in which a wave of veterans are released for cap-saving purposes, June 2 still serves as an important calendar date for certain teams annually. Nine teams qualify as beneficiaries this year.
Eleven players were designated as post-June 1 cuts this year, via CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. Due to a longstanding CBA provision, teams that designate players as post-June 1 releases see the dead-money burden lessened for that year. Teams can designate up to two players as post-June 1 releases each year.
Here are 2022’s post-June 1 cuts, along with the belated cap savings the teams picked up Thursday:
Arizona Cardinals
- DL Jordan Phillips; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)
Chicago Bears
- RB Tarik Cohen; 2022 cap savings: $4MM (story)
- LB Danny Trevathan; 2022 cap savings: $3.3MM (story)
Cleveland Browns
- TE Austin Hooper; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)
Dallas Cowboys
- T La’el Collins; 2022 cap savings: $10MM (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- LB Cory Littleton; 2022 cap savings: $11.8MM (story)
- DE Carl Nassib; 2022 cap savings: $8MM (story)
Philadelphia Eagles
- DT Fletcher Cox; 2022 cap savings: $2.1MM (story)
Seattle Seahawks
- DE Carlos Dunlap; 2022 cap savings: $5.1MM (story)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Julio Jones; 2022 cap savings: $9.5MM (story)
Washington Commanders
- S Landon Collins; 2022 cap savings: $11.9MM (story)
As detailed in PFR’s glossary, post-June 1 cuts spread dead-money hits over two years. These teams will be taking on dead money this year and next. A few of the 2023 hits are substantial, but the league’s cap-space hierarchy changed significantly Thursday as well.
Because of multiple restructures, Raiders will carry $9.9MM in Littleton dead money next year. The Cowboys will take on $8.7MM in 2023 for cutting Collins, while the Titans will be hit with $8.4MM for their Jones release. Cleveland, which just gave David Njoku a $14.2MM-per-year deal, will carry a $7.5MM dead-money cost next year due to shedding Hooper’s eight-figure-AAV deal early. The Eagles will be tagged with $11.5MM for their Cox cut, with Corry noting that is the net difference because of a $3.2MM salary cap credit regarding Cox’s 2022 bonus proration. Philadelphia re-signed the perennial Pro Bowler on a one-year, $14MM deal.
Hooper’s release pushes Cleveland’s cap space to beyond $40MM; the Browns’ overall cap-space edge is now a whopping $15MM. That should help the team address multiple needs ahead of training camp. Other teams have more options now, too. As of Thursday, the Raiders hold the NFL’s third-most cap space ($22.5MM, per OverTheCap). The $10MM the Cowboys saved moves them up to fourth in cap space ($22.49MM), while the Bears ($22.2MM), Commanders ($18.4MM) and Seahawks ($17MM) now sit fifth, sixth and seventh.
A handful of this year’s post-June 1 cut crop joined Cox in taking advantage of the modern setup, which allows these cap casualties to become free agents immediately — rather than waiting until June to hit the market. In place since the 2006 CBA, this adjustment let veterans loose early while keeping their cap figures on teams’ payrolls through May. Collins quickly joined the Bengals, while Littleton landed with the Panthers, Hooper signed with the Titans, and Phillips returned to the Bills. The remainder of this group remains unsigned. The savings this lot of teams inherited Thursday may help some of these players’ causes in free agency.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Planning To Retire
After 17 seasons, Ryan Fitzpatrick looks set to retire. The veteran quarterback texted former teammates, including ex-Bills running back Fred Jackson, who shared Fitz’s intentions via Twitter.
Amazon is negotiating a deal with the exiting QB, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Fitzpatrick’s 17th season only featured a handful of snaps in Washington’s Week 1 game, which included a season-ending hip injury. But the Harvard grad left an imprint on the game.
He is the only quarterback in NFL history to have started for nine different teams. No other QB has started for more than seven. The 39-year-old passer, despite being a seventh-round pick, will exit the NFL having started for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Washington. Stretches as a backup ensued, and an earned rollercoaster reputation followed Fitzpatrick, but the former 250th overall pick continued to deliver NFL relevance into his late 30s.
What looks like the NFL’s final Fitzmagic dose occurred late in the Dolphins’ 2020 season, when the bearded vet pulled off a game-winning drive in relief of Tua Tagovailoa in Las Vegas. During the second of his two Bucs seasons (2018), Fitz averaged 9.6 yards per attempt. That remains tied for eighth-best in a season in NFL history — behind only Kurt Warner among post-merger QBs. While that figure formed during a seven-start season, that form helped the popular passer stay a viable option to take snaps into the twilight of his career.
Financially, Fitz did quite well for himself. Even after the Bills bailed on his most notable contract — a six-year, $59MM extension in 2011 — in 2013, he collected a few other nice checks on short-term deals. After Fitzpatrick broke Vinny Testaverde‘s 17-year-old Jets record for single-season touchdown passes, tossing 31 in 2015, Gang Green gave him a one-year, $12MM deal after an offseason impasse. The Dolphins signed Fitz to a two-year, $11MM pact in 2019, and Washington upped that price by inking the then-38-year-old QB to a one-year accord worth $10MM. Despite only playing 16 snaps last season, Fitz collected every penny.
After backing up Marc Bulger and Carson Palmer in St. Louis and Cincinnati, respectively, Fitzpatrick broke through in Buffalo. Taking over for a Bills team that had tried J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards for a fairly lengthy stretch, Fitz started 53 games for the Bills from 2009-12. None of those seasons produced a winning record, however, during the Bills’ near-two-decade-long playoff drought. The Titans and Texans then bolted on two-year contracts after one season apiece.
The Jets brought in Fitz in 2015, after Geno Smith had started two seasons. Backup linebacker I.K. Enemkpali punching Smith in the locker room likely altered his backup’s career trajectory. Fitzpatrick stepped in for a team rostering Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker and tallied a career-high 3,905 passing yards to go with the 31 TD throws. This produced the Jets’ most successful season of the past decade, a 10-6 campaign. While Fitz struggled in a crucial season finale, he re-established himself as a starter option.
Following his surprisingly explosive Jameis Winston fill-in season, which featured some memorable press conference attire, Fitzpatrick led a woeful 2019 Dolphins roster to five wins — something that produced a major NFL controversy years later — and concluded that season with a stunning upset in New England. That result game gave the Chiefs a first-round bye, catalyzing the eventual champions’ Super Bowl LIV push.
For his career, Fitz finishes with 34,990 passing yards (32nd all time), 223 touchdown passes (36th) and 169 INTs. This somewhat amazingly never translated to a single playoff appearance in 17 years, with his starter record 59-87-1. But this sub-.500, regular-season-only run certainly generated considerable attention and delivered a host of memorable moments.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/1/22
Today’s minor moves around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Cameron Batson
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DE Drew Jackson
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: RB A.J. Rose Jr.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OLB Tuzar Skipper
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Juwan Green
- Waived: TE Ryan Izzo
Poll: Which Rookie QB Will Make Most Starts In 2022?
As players widely linked to first-round destinations fell into the third, the long run of skepticism about this year’s quarterback class manifested itself. While this was the lowest-rated quarterback crop since at least the 2013 class, a few of these passers have paths to early playing time.
Russell Wilson‘s rapid rise notwithstanding, third-round QBs do not have an extensive track record for extended QB1 run as rookies. Only six non-Wilson Round 3 QBs (Joe Ferguson, Mike Glennon, Chris Chandler, Davis Mills, John Hadl and Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton) made at least 10 starts as rookies. (Wilson is the only third-round QB to start a full season.) The bar is low for the likes of Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis and Matt Corral, but they each landed in interesting situations.
Conversations around starter promotions for this year’s class must first include Kenny Pickett, who ended up going 54 spots before the next quarterback came off the board. The Pittsburgh alum, who will turn 24 next month, was a four-year starter at the ACC school. Pickett’s NFL entrance looks similar to new teammate Mitchell Trubisky‘s. The No. 2 overall choice in 2017, Trubisky unseated Glennon after the latter signed with the Bears that offseason. A value gap between being picked second and 20th certainly exists, but the Steelers clearly have Pickett penciled in as their long-term preference.
Four of the five QBs taken in last year’s first round were full-time starters by September, while three of the four 2020 first-rounders moved to the top depth chart position by October. The Steelers bumped 2004 No. 11 overall pick Ben Roethlisberger into their lineup in Week 3 of his rookie year, following a Tommy Maddox injury. How eager will they be to put Pickett out there? Trubisky has 50 career starts to his credit, and the oft-maligned Bears draftee rebuilt his value in Buffalo — to some degree — to create a bit of a market in March. A Trubisky-Mason Rudolph depth chart adds some fuel to a scenario in which Pickett waits a bit before taking the reins.
The second quarterback chosen this year, Ridder joins a Falcons team amid a full-scale rebuild. This is a similar situation to the one Mills walked into in Houston. Ridder started four seasons at Cincinnati, topping it off by helping the Bearcats become the first Group of Five team invited to the College Football Playoff. Marcus Mariota resides as Atlanta’s stopgap starter, and while Ridder’s No. 74 overall draft slot does not mandate a lengthy look as the team’s long-term arm, Mariota has not made it past October as a starter since 2018.
The former Arthur Smith Titans pupil would stand to buy Ridder time in a low-expectations season post-Matt Ryan, but Ridder has a clear path to an extended look — if he proves worthy in the coming months.
Willis’ tumble doubled as one of the modern draft’s most notable freefalls. Linked to teams in the top half of the first round, the Liberty prospect fell to No. 86, when the Titans traded up for him. Of the top QBs taken this year, Willis seemingly has the best chance for a full-on redshirt. Ryan Tannehill has not seen his job threatened since taking over for Mariota midway through the 2019 slate, though the Titans have featured one of the lowest-profile QB2 situations since Mariota left for Las Vegas.
Willis’ all-around skillset, which allowed the Auburn transfer to nearly put up a 3,000-1,000 season during a year in which he accounted for 40 touchdowns, will make things interesting for Tennessee — if the Titans struggle after losing a few key offensive starters.
Perhaps the biggest wild card here, Corral resides on a Panthers team that spent the past two offseasons trying to made a big quarterback splash. Sam Darnold still represents Carolina’s projected Week 1 starter, unless the team finally decides to acquire Baker Mayfield. The Panthers have balked at trading for the disgruntled Browns QB for several weeks, due to his $18.9MM fully guaranteed contract. Darnold and Corral’s performance this offseason may well determine if Mayfield ends up a Panther, with Matt Rhule on the hot seat and Darnold showing little — albeit behind a bad offensive line — in 2021. Corral finished last season with a 20-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio, adding 11 rushing scores, and led Ole Miss to its first major bowl game in six years.
Which quarterback will make the most starts for his team this season? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.