Titans Negotiations With Conklin Worth Watching
- While new Titans general manager Jon Robinson may get his team’s draft class secured in a more timely manner than the team has done in the past, Tennessee’s negotiations with first-round tackle Jack Conklin are worth watching, writes Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. In recent years, the Titans have pushed for offset language to be included in their first-rounders’ rookie contracts, and there are indications that trend will continue, according to McCormick.
Titans Sign Delanie Walker To Extension
MONDAY, 1:49pm: Walker has officially put pen to paper, making his two-year extension official, as the Titans announced today (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 5:34pm: Tight end Delanie Walker, who was preparing to head into a contract year, has agreed to terms on a new deal with the Titans that will lock him up beyond the 2016 season, the team announced today. Although the club didn’t specify the terms of the deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that it’s a two-year, $14.7MM extension, with $8.2MM in guarantees.
“Delanie is an integral piece of the offense,” Titans general manager Jon Robinson said in a statement. “In my short time around him, he came in and bought into our philosophy of what Titan football is going to be about. Obviously he’s a Pro Bowl player with great individual statistics, but his commitment and his desire and willingness to compete to the team concept of wanting to win is as important. We are looking forward to his on-field performance, but his positive impact in the community as well.”
Schefter initially reported Walker’s new deal as a three-year pact, so it seems likely that it will keep him under contract through 2018 — two new years, and three overall. Assuming that’s the case, and $14.7MM is the base value of the extension, it would represent a nice salary bump for the veteran tight end, whose last deal was worth $4.375MM annually. A $7.35MM per-year salary would put Walker in line with Dwayne Allen, and right in between Jason Witten and Kyle Rudolph.
Walker, 31, enjoyed a career year and earned his first Pro Bowl berth in 2015, his 10th NFL season. After averaging about 18 receptions per season from 2006 to 2012 in San Francisco, Walker has seen his production spike in Tennessee during the last three years. The former sixth-round pick broke the 60-catch threshold in 2013 and 2014, then exploded for 94 receptions, 1,088 yards, and six touchdowns in 2015 — all of those numbers are career highs.
Having landed a franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota a year ago, the Titans continue to attempt to surround the young signal-caller with weapons — this offseason, the team has brought in running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, along with wide receiver Rishard Matthews. So while Walker figures to remain one of Mariota’s favorite targets going forward, the veteran tight end may not be leaned on quite so heavily in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Titans Cut Damaris Johnson, Add 11 UDFAs
The Titans, one of the last teams in the NFL to formally announce their undrafted free agent class, have done so today, confirming in a press release that they’ve agreed to terms with 11 rookies who weren’t selected in the 2016 draft. The team announced that it has reached deals with six members of its ’16 draft class as well.
In addition to bringing in 11 undrafted free agents and locking up six draftees, the team also announced that it has waived two veteran players — wide receiver Damaris Johnson and cornerback Steven Clarke. A former Vanderbilt CB, Clarke spent last summer with the Dolphins but has never appeared in an NFL regular season game. Johnson, on the other hand, has played in 44 career contests, most notably catching 31 balls for 331 yards and a touchdown during the 2014 season for the Texans.
Here’s the complete list of the Titans’ 11 incoming UDFAs:
- DE Mehdi Abdesmad (Boston College)
- S Lamarcus Brutus (Florida State) ($5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
- T Sam Carlson (Colorado State)
- WR Rashon Ceaser (Louisiana-Monroe)
- TE Alex Ellis (Tennessee)
- DE Iosia Iosia (West Texas A&M)
- DE Terrell Lathan (TCU)
- T Tyler Marz (Wisconsin)
- T Nick Ritcher (Richmond)
- K Aldrick Rosas (Southern Oregon) ($1K bonus, per Wilson)
- NT Antwaun Woods (USC)
And here’s the list of Titans draft picks who have agreed to terms with the team so far:
- 2-43: Austin Johnson, DL (Penn State)
- 2-45: Derrick Henry, RB (Alabama)
- 5-140: Tajae Sharpe, WR (Massachusetts)
- 5-157: LeShaun Sims, CB (Southern Utah)
- 7-222: Aaron Wallace, LB (UCLA)
- 7-253: Kalan Reed, DB (Southern Mississippi)
First-round tackle Jack Conklin and second-round edge defender Kevin Dodd are among the draftees who have yet to finalize contracts with the club.
Titans Hire Ryan Cowden As Director Of Player Personnel
The Titans have officially hired Ryan Cowden as the team’s Director of Player Personnel, as Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com writes. Cowden previously served as the Panthers’ college scouting director. 
Cowden, who spent 16 years with Carolina, will oversee all areas of the scouting department. That includes collegiate scouting, NFL scouting, advance scouting, and international scouting for the draft, free agency, and upcoming opponents.
“Ryan will oversee both pro and college scouting,” GM Jon Robinson said. “When I was first hired by the Patriots, Ryan was promoted by Carolina to handle the Southeast and we cut our teeth together in that region scouting. We were both learning the ropes, going to many of the same places and had a lot of interaction through the years on the road. He has a strong eye for talent, he has developed good managerial skills over the years and in the team-building process it will be nice to get his take, as they have put together very good teams there in Carolina over the years. I like the combination of our experiences in the league and on a personal level I have always trusted and respected him.”
In related moves, the Titans moved some of their current personnel to new roles. Dale Thompson moves to the West Coast region, Brandon Taylor to the Southeast, Wes Slay will cover the Midwest, and Dennis Polian will be a pro scout. As previously reported, Marv Sunderland and Mike Yowarsky will not be returning. Sunderland, a scout with 39 years in the game, took the dismissal to heart.
“It is the ugly part of the game, but new leadership has the prerogative to make changes,” said Sunderland, who has 39 total years of experience as a scout. “The Titans will be much better next fall and are headed in the right direction. Would I prefer to be there to watch Marcus [Mariota] and the team flourish? Absolutely. But Jon has control of the football part of it and I’m sure he wants his own people. He ran a good draft and the new draft picks should represent themselves very well.”
Titans Hiring Ryan Cowden, Part Ways With Two Scouts
Following the draft, Titans general manager Jon Robinson dismissed scouts Mike Yowarsky and Marv Sunderland, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com writes. Yowarsky was with the Titans for three seasons while Sunderland has spent the last nine with Tennessee.
“It is the ugly part of the game, but new leadership has the prerogative to make changes,” said Sunderland, who has 39 total years of experience as a scout. “The Titans will be much better next fall and are headed in the right direction. Would I prefer to be there to watch Marcus [Mariota] and the team flourish? Absolutely. But Jon has control of the football part of it and I’m sure he wants his own people. He ran a good draft and the new draft picks should represent themselves very well.”
- The Panthers‘ personnel department is undergoing some changes, though those changes involve employees leaving of their own accord rather than being fired. Per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, Carolina’s college scouting director Ryan Cowden is leaving to take a position with the Titans, while college scout John Peterson is retiring.
- Cowden will be joining the Titans as the team’s new director of player personnel, as reported by Person and confirmed by Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. According to McCormick, Cowden will serve as Robinson’s “right-hand man in the personnel department,” with director of college scouting Blake Beddingfield and director of pro personnel Brian Gardner both reporting to him.
Titans Decline Chance Warmack’s 2017 Option
The Titans will not exercise their fifth-year option on offensive lineman Chance Warmack‘s rookie contract, the team announced today (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com). The move will ensure that Warmack is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2017, barring an extension with Tennessee.
[RELATED: 2017 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]
“We have decided to decline the fifth-year option for G Chance Warmack,” GM Jon Robinson said in a statement (Twitter link). “At this point and time for our football team, as we manage the roster and salary cap, we believe this is in the best interest of our team. We talked to Chance and his representation this morning to inform them of our decision. We expect Chance to play well for us this year; and we are not closing the door on his long-term future with our franchise.”
Warmack, 24, has been the Titans’ full-time right guard since being selected 10th overall in the 2013 draft, starting 46 of a possible 48 games over the last three seasons. The Alabama alum has been solid but not spectacular in that role, ranking 40th out of 81 qualified guards in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades.
Even if Warmack had played consistently well during his first three years, it would have been a tough pill to swallow for the Titans to exercise his fifth-year option. As a top-10 pick, Warmack would have been in line for a higher salary than players picked between 11th and 32nd. And because offensive linemen aren’t split up by position, his projected 2017 salary ($11.902MM) would have been the same as the salary for tackles like Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel. Currently, only one guard – Kelechi Osemele – earns more than $8MM per year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Titans Acquire No. 157 Pick From Broncos
The Titans have traded back into the fifth round, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, who tweets that Tennessee has acquired the No. 157 overall pick from the Broncos. The Titans led off the fifth round by snagging UMass wide receiver Tajae Sharpe and have now landed a second pick, which they used to draft Southern Utah cornerback LeShaun Sims.
In exchange for the No. 157 overall pick, the Broncos have received the 176th overall pick (a 2016 sixth-rounder) and a sixth-round pick for 2017, per Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Titans also picked up a 2016 seventh-rounder in the deal, which falls at No. 253 — that’s the last pick of this year’s draft, so Tennessee is currently in line to select this year’s Mr. Irrelevant.
One reason the Broncos may have added this 2017 selection: the trade with the Eagles for a conditional ’17 choice that brought Mark Sanchez to Denver now looks like it will be for a sixth-round pick and not a seventh-rounder, Klis tweets. The presumptive Week 1 starter for the Broncos, Sanchez was traded for a conditional 2017 draft choice last month.
The Broncos initially acquired this fifth-round choice from the Jets in the teams’ Ryan Clady swap — one that also involved Denver sending a seventh-rounder to New York — earlier this month. The defending champions now hold three picks in the draft’s final two rounds.
Tennessee selected a safety during its busy Day 2 in Kevin Byard of Middle Tennessee but could use some help at corner presently beyond starters Jason McCourty and Perrish Cox. The Titans also added to the position by signing Brice McCain, however.
Will Titans Rookies Contribute Right Away?
- The Titans made four picks on Friday night, but ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky is convinced that only one of those players (right tackle Jack Conklin) will start next season. The writer wonders if he set his expectations too high, or if the organization missed out on players who could contribute immediately.
[SOURCE LINK]
Draft Rumors: Day 2, Ragland, Ravens, Cowboys
The consensus from evaluators is that there are more talented players still available today than they had anticipated, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. That means that we could see a lot of trade activity take place early on in the second round. Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that the Browns, Titans, and Cowboys, who hold the first three picks of the second round, are all getting phone calls about possible trades.
Here are a few more draft updates and rumors, with the second round less than two hours from getting underway:
- Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter link) surveyed 11 teams about linebacker Reggie Ragland‘s enlarged aorta and none of those clubs expressed concern. Ragland, he adds, is still expected to come off the board early on in tonight’s proceedings.
- Reports last night suggested that the Ravens and Cowboys discussed a trade involving the fourth and sixth overall picks, but Dallas balked because Baltimore would have selected running back Ezekiel Elliott. Per Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Ravens actually wanted to move up for defensive back Jalen Ramsey. However, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets that the Cowboys believed the Ravens were eyeing Elliott, and didn’t want to miss out on both Elliott and Ramsey by sliding down two spots.
- Agent Jimmy Sexton helped to stop Laremy Tunsil‘s slide on Thursday night by having his client call into war rooms and talk to team decision makers, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. In those conversations, Tunsil owned the past drug use shown in the video.
- Here’s a fun fact from Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter): Chip Kelly’s NFL teams have used 11 of their 23 picks on Pac-12 players, the most picks from a single conference by any head coach in that time. The 49ers, of course, used their two first-round picks last night on Oregon’s DeForest Buckner and Stanford guard Joshua Garnett.
- The Cardinals, Panthers, Falcons, and Seahawks are keeping their eyes peeled today for a backup quarterback, Ian Rapoport tweets.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Chiefs, Cardinals, Titans, Cowboys Trying To Trade up
The Chiefs, Cardinals, Titans, and Cowboys all have interest in trading up, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Kansas City and Arizona would be moving up, while Tennessee and Dallas would be trading back into the first round, having already selected once.
The Chiefs, Cardinals, and Cowboys could all conceivably have interest in acquiring a quarterback. Paxton Lynch just went off the board at No. 26, but Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg have been rumored as first-round options. Indeed, a sorce tells Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link) that Dallas “was” trying to trade up, and Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Cowboys’ target was Lynch.