Titans Not Interested In Tom Brady
Scratch the Titans off the list of Tom Brady suitors. Per Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, Tennessee is no longer interested in Brady and is focused on getting a deal done with incumbent Ryan Tannehill (Twitter link). Indeed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com hears that Tannehill and the Titans are “on the verge” of a multi-year extension (Twitter link).
Earlier this month, there were reports that the Titans were confident they could beat out the Patriots for Brady’s services. Tennessee made a surprising run to the AFC Championship Game thanks in large part to Tannehill’s 2019 renaissance, but his uneven track record and the high price tag that goes hand-in-hand with his performance last season made it a possibility that the Titans could go in another direction.
The Titans were one of a handful of clubs that had a legitimate chance to use a franchise and transition tag this offseason, as Tannehill, RB Derrick Henry, and RT Jack Conklin are all eligible for free agency and would be at or near the top of the market for their respective positions. But now that a new CBA is in place and teams can only use one tag, the need to get at least one of those players under contract immediately is magnified.
After all, if the Titans had put all their eggs in the Brady basket, Tannehill could have gotten away and Tennessee could have been left scrambling for a replacement signal-caller. Henry will almost certainly be tagged, and it seems as if Conklin will hit the open market.
Meanwhile, the new CBA does allow for more flexibility for teams like the Patriots, who can spread out dead money hits for cut players and cap charges for free agent signees over multiple years. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes, that could help New England in a competitive-bidding situation for Brady, and having one major competitor bow out of the race obviously increases the chances that Brady will return to Foxborough.
Titans Release Delanie Walker
Delanie Walker‘s lengthy Titans tenure will end after seven seasons. The team announced the release of its longtime tight end.
The 35-year-old target had battled injuries in recent seasons but wraps up his Tennessee stay with three Pro Bowls on his resume. Injuries limited Walker to just eight games over the past two seasons, however, and it’s fair to wonder if this will be it for the 14-year veteran. For what it’s worth, Walker said in December he planned to play a 15th season in 2020.
While Walker’s work decreased in recent years, he was one of the league’s premier tight ends for an extended stretch. After leaving his post as Vernon Davis‘ backup in San Francisco, Walker thrived after signing with Tennessee. From 2014-17, he posted four straight 800-plus-yard seasons.
Tennessee used Jonnu Smith as its primary receiving tight end last season and received some contributions from Anthony Firkser as well. They combined for more than 600 yards and look to be the players tasked with succeeding Walker going into the 2020s.
This move will create more than $6MM in cap space for the Titans, who opened $2MM earlier Friday by releasing Ryan Succop. Tennessee has not re-signed Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry or Jack Conklin. The Titans are running out of time but are now north of $66MM in cap space. Only a handful of teams possess more.
Titans To Release K Ryan Succop
Ryan Succop‘s six-season Titans run will wrap up with a release. The Titans will move on from their longtime specialist, according to TitansOnline.com’s Terry McCormick (on Twitter).
This move will produce more dead money than cap savings ($2.1MM/$2MM), but Succop struggled last season for a Titans team that largely made its late-season push without the assistance of the field goal component.
Succop, 33, made just 1 of 6 field goal tries after coming off IR midway through last season. He did not kick in the playoffs for the Titans, who were set to pay him $3.4MM in 2020. The Titans placed Succop on IR for a second time in 2019, ending his season in December.
Tennessee signed ex-Cleveland kicker Greg Joseph to a three-year extension and used him in the playoffs, so some large writing was on the wall for Succop with the Titans. A knee injury initially sent Succop to IR in August, and he never re-established his usual form prior to IR trip No. 2.
The former Chief, however, made at least 86% of his field goal tries in four of his six Titans seasons and has 10 years’ experience. This will be Succop’s second stay in free agency. The Chiefs cut him 2014, pivoting to Cairo Santos. Succop quickly landed with the Titans, with whom he signed two contracts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
New York Giants
- Waived/failed physical: T George Asafo-Adjei
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Chris Milton
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.
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.
Titans Prioritizing Ryan Tannehill Deal?
Probably the non-Patriots team most closely linked to Tom Brady, the Titans may be aiming to run it back with the formula that carried them to the AFC championship game.
The Titans area focused on extending Ryan Tannehill, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reporting the sides continue to negotiate a deal (video link). Tannehill would like to stay with the Titans, per Rapoport.
Tannehill talks have picked back up since the Combine, Rapoport adds, but the sides have been talking since before the regular season concluded. The Titans now have four extra days to try and hammer out a deal, with the NFL moving the franchise-transition tag deadline back to March 16 after previously moving it to the 12th.
Recently, the Titans were trying to extend Tannehill and hope the CBA will not be ratified. That would allow them to use their franchise and transition tags on Jack Conklin and Derrick Henry, respectively. This remains a complex process for the resurgent team. Tennessee currently holds just more than $50MM in cap space.
Last week, a report emerged indicating the Titans were bullish on luring Brady away from the Patriots. But Tannehill talks have unfolded during this will-they/won’t-they Brady pursuit. While no door appears closed on Brady, the Titans may be intent on bringing back his longtime AFC East rival. This would certainly narrow the Brady sweepstakes, potentially helping the Patriots’ chances of retaining the all-time great.
Titans Extend OLB Reggie Gilbert
After trading for Reggie Gilbert last year, the Titans used him as a spot starter and a rotational presence. They reached an agreement to extend Gilbert for the 2020 season on Tuesday.
Gilbert was set to be an exclusive-rights free agent, so this will bypass that process. Tennessee traded a seventh-rounder to Green Bay for Gilbert in late August of last year.
The former UDFA out of Arizona finished with 22 tackles and a sack in his Titans debut season. Gilbert made five starts for a Tennessee team that lost Cameron Wake early in the season and played 27% of the Titans’ defensive snaps.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old edge defender will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2021.
Titans Were Interested In Texans DC Anthony Weaver
The Texans made a move at defensive coordinator this offseason, sidelining longtime veteran coach Romeo Crennel in favor of Anthony Weaver. Now we have more context on that decision, via Sarah Bishop of ESPN.com.
According to Bishop the move was made at least partially out of necessity, as the Titans were showing interest in Weaver for their defensive coordinator vacancy. Tennessee’s defensive coordinator Dean Pees retired after the season. Houston later announced that they’d keep Crennel on staff, but his title was given to Weaver to help prevent him from getting poached. This isn’t the first time the Texans have gone through this exact situation, and funnily enough it happened with current Titans coach Mike Vrabel just a few years ago.
Vrabel was an assistant in Houston under Bill O’Brien when the team had Crennel step down to make room for Vrabel to become defensive coordinator in 2017. After Vrabel was then hired away by Tennessee the following season, Crennel was given his old job back. Weaver spent a handful of years in the NFL in the early 2000’s after entering the league as a second-round pick in 2002. He’s spent the past four years as O’Brien’s defensive line coach.
Bills, Titans To Pursue D.J. Reader?
After a strong contract year, D.J. Reader appears set to have a strong market. In addition to the Broncos being interested in the four-year Texans defensive lineman, the Bills and Titans are expected to be in on this pursuit as well, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle notes.
Reader is expected to command a deal that pays at least $11MM annually, per Wilson, who adds that the Texans initially offered the former third-round pick a $6MM-per-year deal. That offer, however, came during the 2019 offseason — before Reader’s quality season thrust him onto the radar for a big second contract.
Reader graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 overall interior defender last season, operating as one of the league’s top run stoppers. He will turn 26 in July. The Texans have made multiple offers to their breakout interior defender, but Wilson adds that Reader is not expected to return to Houston next season. That will create an interesting marketplace for teams in need of inside help.
Buffalo may lose Jordan Phillips in free agency but used a first-round pick on Ed Oliver last year and has promising 2018 third-rounder Harrison Phillips coming back from ACL surgery. While both Oliver and the younger Phillips are on rookie contracts, run-stuffing defensive tackle Star Lotulelei is attached to a $10MM-AAV deal. The Bills, who will also likely be interested in edge rushers given Shaq Lawson‘s free agent status and Trent Murphy‘s underwhelming Buffalo run so far, are set to hold more than $82MM in cap space. That figure sits third in the league.
Tennessee used a first-rounder on Jeffery Simmons last year and has Jurrell Casey signed through 2022 on a $15MM-per-year pact. Reader would certainly make the Titans a well-invested team on the defensive front. They are also rumored to submit a big offer to Jadeveon Clowney. It is, however, difficult to project how the Titans will proceed. They hold just more than $50MM in cap space but have Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and Jack Conklin as UFAs-to-be. The Titans’ Tom Brady interest only further clouds their picture.