Titans To Sign CB Malcolm Butler
Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan are reuniting. This time, it’s in Tennessee. Butler intends to sign with the Titans when free agency formally opens on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Butler gets a five-year contract worth more than $61MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes more than $30M guaranteed. 
Butler had interest from multiple teams, including the Texans and the Saints. The Jets, who are said to be seeking two starting-caliber corners, also likely had Butler high atop their list. A return to incumbent Patriots, meanwhile, seemed unlikely after Butler was benched for the overwhelming majority of the Super Bowl.
Had Butler reached unrestricted free agency last offseason, he would have had piles of money thrown at him. However, he was a restricted free agent and the Pats prevented him from joining the Saints when they could not agree to terms on a trade. This time around, Butler was an unfettered free agent and still got paid oodles of money, despite coming off of a down year.
Butler will now collect more than the tentative agreement — four years, ~$50MM — that he’d agreed to with the Saints in 2017. The Patriots, meanwhile, never offered Butler more than $7MM annually.
Several Teams Comprise Heated Lewis Market
On a player-friendly second tampering-window day, Dion Lewis has yet to make his decision. He’s going to be receiving a notable raise from his previous contract, however, when he does choose his next team.
The 27-year-old running back does not look like he will be returning to the Patriots, who were not believed to be a bidder if the price escalated to a certain point. Now that it apparently has, the Dolphins, Jets, Giants, Titans, Texans, Colts and 49ers are in on Lewis, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
The Jets, Colts and Titans were reported suitors earlier this week, but the remaining teams are now diving into the fray.
The Giants signed previous Pats passing-down back Shane Vereen in 2015 but haven’t found much in the way of backfield success in several years, and the 49ers may well lose Carlos Hyde in free agency. The Dolphins traded away Jay Ajayi and have versatile runner Kenyan Drake. Houston, interestingly, has a Lamar Miller–D’Onta Foreman setup but is evidently eyeing big-name help.
Lewis’ asking price was rumored to be around $6MM per year, and given the events of Tuesday and the number of interested teams here, it’s quite possible the sixth-year veteran could surpass that despite having just one 100-touch season on his resume. However, that also means Lewis could have a few productive seasons left despite being set to turn 28 later this year.
Erik Walden To Test Market
- Although the Titans spoke with Erik Walden‘s agent at the scouting combine, the veteran edge defender is expected to test the open market, tweets Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com. Earlier this offseason, I noted that finding a young pass rusher should be at top priority for Tennessee, so the 32-year-old Walden may not be a fit. Walden managed four sacks as a rotational rusher during his first season with the Titans, but he posted 11 sacks as recently as 2016. Entering the free agent period, PFR ranked Walden as the 15th-best free agent edge defender.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at second-round level:
- Falcons: G Ben Garland (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (via John Oehser of Jaguars.com, on Twitter)
- Redskins: T Ty Nsekhe (via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
- Titans: G Quinton Spain (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky)
- Vikings: G/C Nick Easton (per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bears: CB Bryce Callahan, WR Cameron Meredith, WR Josh Bellamy (via Rich Campbell and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, all Twitter links)
Non-Tendered:
- Broncos: WR Bennie Fowler (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter)
- Packers: P Jake Schum (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- 49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (per Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler, on Twitter)
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, WR Jordan Taylor, LB Zaire Anderson, T Elijah Wilkinson, LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams, LB Joseph Jones (Jhabvala reports, Twitter links)
- Giants: G Jon Halapio (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, on Twitter)
- Jaguars: TE Ben Koyack, OL William Poehls (Twitter links, via Oehser)
- Packers: WR Michael Clark, OL Justin McCray, CB Donatello Brown (all Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com and Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Raiders: K Giorgio Tavecchio, LB Shilique Calhoun (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com)
- Rams: RB Malcolm Brown, CB Troy Hill (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-Tendered:
- Bears: LS Patrick Scales (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter)
- Cardinals: TE Ifeanyi Momah (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic)
Avery Williamson Turns Down Titans Deal
Linebacker Avery Williamson is drawing interest from the Jets and Dolphins after turning down a four-year, $12MM deal to return to the Titans, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter). It was reported Sunday by ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe that there was mutual interest in Williamson returning to the Titans.
Williamson was clear, though, that he was only going to return to the Titans at the right price. Williamson also said that he was surprised by the Titans’ decision to fire head coach Mike Mularkey and hire Mike Vrabel but that wouldn’t be a deterrent in his decision to come back.
The Titans made Williamson a fifth-round pick in 2014 and he’s started all 16 games in each of the last two seasons. He tallied a career-high 73 tackles in 2016 and racked up 52 tackles last season to go with three sacks.
Titans A Frontrunner For Dion Lewis?
Despite having surpassed the 100-touch mark just once in a season, Dion Lewis may well have surged to the point of being the top running back available. And the healthy market expected for the 27-year-old back shows no signs of slowing down. However, the Patriots are going to try to keep Lewis, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. However, he notes Lewis’ price may “far outpace” what the Pats are willing to spend to keep him. The Colts, Titans and Jets look to be the early favorites for Lewis. The Titans being run by former Patriots exec Jon Robinson — who was in New England when the Pats acquired Lewis — and the fact Tennessee just released DeMarco Murray would make the AFC South team a logical suitor. The Jets have passing-down veteran Bilal Powell going into the final year of his contract, and the Colts are without a proven back now that Frank Gore is out of the picture.
- The Bears placing their transition tag on Kyle Fuller may not dissuade teams from inquiring about the corner. JLC hears from multiple execs the fifth-year cornerback could be in line to see an offer sheet. However, Chicago holds $50MM in cap space and would seemingly be an obvious threat to match an offer that comes Fuller’s way. La Canfora reports the Packers, Titans, Buccaneers and Texans are doing extensive work researching the cornerback market. With Fuller tagged, Trumaine Johnson and Malcolm Butler are the prizes currently unattached.
49ers To Meet With Richard Sherman
Could Richard Sherman be joining another NFC West team? It sounds like he’s at least considering the idea, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the veteran cornerback is set to meet with 49ers officials today.
San Francisco wants to confirm that Sherman is recovering from his Achilles injuries, and if everything goes well, the two sides will “try to get a contract done.” In another tweet, Schefter says there’s a good chance that this is Sherman’s only visit. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says (via Twitter) Sherman’s apparent interest in the 49ers makes sense. The cornerback has “a strong affinity for the West Coast,” and he’s already familiar with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh‘s scheme.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports (via Twitter) that Sherman has received “preliminary interest” from a list of additional teams: the Lions, Titans, Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers, and Packers.
Sherman’s seven-year tenure with the Seahawks came to an end yesterday, as the team released the defensive back with a failed physical designation. The veteran is still rehabbing from surgery to fix a torn Achilles and remove a bone spur, but he expects to be ready by June. The three-time First-Team All-Pro was relatively productive in nine games last season, compiling 35 tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defended.
Titans Cut QB Matt Cassel, WR Eric Weems
The Titans are making moves this week. Quarterback Matt Cassel and wide receiver Eric Weems have been released, according to a press release from the team. They join running back DeMarco Murray and safety Da’Norris Searcy as recent Titans cap casualties. 
Cassell spent two years with the Titans as a backup to Marcus Mariota. He played sparingly and amassed a stat line of 446 yards with three touchdowns against four interceptions with a 59% completion rate. By cutting Cassel, the Titans will clear his entire $2.5MM cap hit from the books.
The release of Weems will free up $1.35MM for the Titans. Weems, 33 in July, was an expected cut this offseason. He served primarily as a deep reserve in 2017 with the occasional appearance on special teams.
Between all four cuts, the Titans have saved approximately $13MM heading into free agency.
Titans Cut S Da’Norris Searcy
The Titans have released safety Da’Norris Searcy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Searcy had one year remaining on his Titans contract. 
By cutting Searcy, the Titans will save $3.85MM with $1.125MM in dead money left on the cap. That’s down from his original deal thanks to a restructuring of his contract last year, but it was not enough to keep his spot on the team.
Searcy netted a four-year, $24MM+ deal in free agency from the Titans in 2015, based off the strength of his 2014 campaign with Buffalo. The strong safety performed well in the first year of the deal, but his play dipped in ’16 and ’17.
Last year, Searcy amassed 23 tackles with one interception. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 61 ranked safety.
The Titans could explore safety in free agency, but they seem set with Johnathan Cyprien and Kevin Byard as their starters. Byard excelled in 2017, but injuries slowed Cyprien in the first year of his four-year, $25MM contract with Tennessee.
Titans Release DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray will not be part of a third Titans team. Tennessee made the decision to release the veteran running back on Thursday.
No additional guaranteed money remained on Murray’s Eagles-constructed deal, and he will venture into free agency again — this time as a street free agent.
The Titans will save $6.5MM by releasing their two-year starter, who did not perform as well in 2017 as he had during a Pro Bowl 2016 slate. The team will now turn to Derrick Henry, who ate into a bigger portion of Murray’s workload in his second season.
With free agency less than a week away, Tennessee is now projected to hold more than $53MM in cap space.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Murray turned 30 last month and has now averaged 3.6 yards per carry in two of his past three seasons. While his previous two even years — a first-team All-Pro appearance with the Cowboys in 2014 and amassing 1,664 yards from scrimmage two years later — have been superb, his work with the 2015 Eagles and ’17 Titans don’t paint a portrait of reliability.
Although, this free agent running back class is not particularly strong. Murray could generate a market, albeit one at a much lower rate than what he commanded from the then-Chip Kelly-run Eagles three years ago.