Titans Pick Up Kendall Wright’s Option
APRIL 28: The Titans have officially exercised Wright’s option, GM Ruston Webster confirmed today (Twitter link via Wyatt).
APRIL 23: While they don’t have to formally make the call for another week and a half, the Titans are expected to pick up the fifth-year option for wide receiver Kendall Wright, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The team will have until May 3 to make the decision official.
Wright, 25, grabbed a career-low 57 balls last season, though a career-high six of those receptions went for touchdowns. During the 2013 season, Wright developed a strong rapport with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, en route to a 94-catch, 1,079-yard campaign. However, the Titans shuttled through quarterbacks last season, with Jake Locker, Charlie Whitehurst, and Zach Mettenberger all receiving at least five starts, and Wright’s production suffered.
While Wright could be catching passes from Mettenberger again in 2015, there’s also a chance the Titans use their second overall pick on a quarterback like Marcus Mariota, so it remains to be seen if the club will have some continuity at the position. Either way, Wright, Justin Hunter, and free agent signee Harry Douglas are expected to anchor the receiving corps.
As the 20th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Wright will be in line for a 2016 salary worth $7.32MM if the Titans elect to exercise his fifth-year option. That salary will be guaranteed for injury only until the start of the ’16 league year — at that point, if Wright remains under contract, his salary would become fully guaranteed.
Philip Rivers/Titans Rumors: Monday
As recently as Saturday, Peter King of TheMMQB.com suggested that there was something to the Philip Rivers-to-the-Titans rumors, but his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column throws a bit of cold water on that idea. Here’s the latest on Rivers, the Chargers, the Titans, and the No. 2 overall pick:
- As of now, the Chargers have yet to have conversations with any team regarding a trade of Rivers, Alex Flanagan of NBC Sports tweets.
- After making many calls over the weekend, King doesn’t believe the Chargers will trade Rivers. While he’s not ready to lock that in, he writes that San Diego “definitely does not want to trade Rivers.” Additionally, the Titans would want more than just Rivers for the second overall pick, and the Chargers probably wouldn’t be willing to offer more than that.
- If the Titans don’t get a good offer for that No. 2 pick from the Chargers or another team, they’ll likely select Mariota, writes King, adding that while “they feel good about Zach Mettenberger, [they] would feel better about Mariota.
- An Oregon source tells King that no team scouted Mariota more fervently during and after the college football season than the Titans.
- According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Browns, Rams, and Chargers are the most likely candidates to make a deal with the Titans. However, Rapoport agrees that San Diego doesn’t appear to be interested in dealing Rivers, who would have to sign a contract extension and take a physical to finalize a trade — neither of those things is in motion at this point.
- Rapoport adds that the Browns and Rams may find it more difficult to match up with the Titans, since neither team could send Tennessee an established quarterback like Rivers in a trade.
South Notes: Bucs, Winston, Saints, Colts
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is expected to selected first overall by Tampa Bay on Thursday night, and the Buccaneers have certainly done their research on the 2013 Heisman winner. General manager Jason Licht tells Joey Johnston and Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that his club spoke with more than 75 people in an attempt to properly vet Winston. Curiously, the Bucs did not speak with the woman who accused Winston of sexual assault in 2013, but they did talk to a member of the Tallahassee State Attorney’s Office, which declined to press charges against Winston.
Here’s more from the NFL’s South divisions…
- Of the 18 prospects who are known to have visited the Saints, 12 are defensive players, which could be an indication of which direction New Orleans is leaning with its two first-round picks, writes Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Of course, as Woodbery adds, each club is allotted 30 predraft visits, so there up to 12 Saints player meetings that the public isn’t aware of.
- Speaking of the Saints, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com doesn’t think the club will take a risk on players with off-the-field trouble, such as edge rusher Randy Gregory or receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.
- The Colts will likely have to trade up if they want a chance at a player like Alabama safety Landon Collins, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Indianapolis owns nine picks, so they could have the draft capital to make such a move.
- Although a poor draft (and a similarly underwhelming 2015 season) would probably threaten the job of Titans GM Ruston Webster more than head coach Ken Whisenhunt, Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com thinks both could be in jeopardy if Tennessee struggles this year.
Sunday Roundup: Draft, Weddle, J. Houston
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league on this Sunday afternoon, including one note on the first overall pick in Thursday’s first round:
- Multiple teams have reached out to the Buccaneers recently to determine what it would take to move up to the No. 1 overall pick, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). However, Getlin adds in a second tweet that although the Bucs have listened, no offer has been strong enough for the team to seriously consider trading down just yet.
- Similarly, Conor Orr of NFL.com writes that Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has fielded calls on Oakland’s No. 4 overall selection.
- In a separate piece, Orr writes that the Chiefs are keeping the lines of communication open with star outside linebacker Justin Houston, who was slapped with the franchise tag in March. Kansas City has a little under three months to work out a long-term deal with Houston, and the fact that talks are still ongoing and are still progressing is a good sign that something will get done.
- Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic believes Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon would be the perfect first-round choice for the Cardinals, who hold the No. 24 overall pick.
- Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post feels the Broncos should take an offensive tackle in the first round, even if they have to trade up a couple of spots to do it. Renck goes on to examine some of the prospects that could be available when Denver is on the board.
- Chargers safety Eric Weddle feels “highly disrespected” by the team’s refusal to engage in contract talks despite his desire to retire with the organization, but Matt Calkins of U-T San Diego believes the Chargers are taking the right approach.
- Given that the Jaguars feel better about their roster than they have in the past two seasons, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union would not be surprised if the team traded a couple of picks to move into the back of round 1 or up in rounds 2-3.
- Continuing a theme among NFL beat writers, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean looks at the offensive side of the Titans‘ roster heading into the draft and offers his predictions as to what the team will do to address its deficiencies on that side of the ball during draft weekend.
- Washington GM Scot McCloughan‘s history suggests he will select an edge rusher with his top pick in this year’s draft, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com. Although Tandler says Randy Gregory‘s red flags will probably keep him off McCloughan’s board, Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler, Jr. would both be good bets.
Extra Points: Farmer, Pitta, Giants
Over the weekend, Chris Wesseling of NFL.com looked at five GMs in need of a strong draft, including Browns GM Ray Farmer. Thanks to the Sammy Watkins trade, Farmer has a pair of first-round picks for the second consecutive year and, as Wesseling notes, he can’t afford to blow them this time around. Here’s a look around the NFL..
- Dennis Pitta said at an event for special Olympics tonight that his goal is to play this season, but it’s still too early for him to know, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. The Ravens tight end has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons but is among the most productive offensively when healthy.
- The Giants‘ problems are far from fixed, but they don’t have as many glaring holes to fill as they did when last year’s draft rolled around and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com thinks they should consider moving up. If a defensive difference-maker such as Leonard Williams or Dante Fowler Jr. slips past the top four or five, Graziano would support Big Blue moving up, so long as the cost was reasonable. Unfortunately, Williams looks like Oakland’s top choice at No. 4 and Fowler looks like Washington’s top choice at No. 5.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com if he thinks the Titans might cut or restructure running back Shonn Greene and guard Andy Levitre. Green is due $3.25MM in 2015 and would only leave $833K in dead money, so he could very well get cut if and when Antonio Andrews beats him out in camp. Cutting Levitre, meanwhile, wouldn’t save the Titans all that much money, so he’s not a likely cut for them.
Latest On Titans, Philip Rivers
Alex Flanagan of NBC Sports (on Twitter) is hearing from more and more people who believe the Philip Rivers trade rumors have legitimate legs. Peter King of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link), meanwhile, seems to be sensing the same thing, though he says nothing is certain regarding the No. 2 pick at this time.
As Flanagan tweets, the Titans have a clear need for Rivers and the Chargers could get out of their financial obligation to him with a trade. Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota would be marketable in Los Angeles, if the Bolts do wind up moving there. Meanwhile, Flanagan (link) isn’t so sure that the Buccaneers won’t want Mariota, which would throw a wrench into things. For his part, King (link) still sees Jameis Winston going No. 1.
All eyes will be on the Titans and their No. 2 pick heading into the draft on April 30th. Mike Mayock of NFL Network believes that it will be hard for any team to pry that selection away from Tennessee unless they’re offering an established veteran quarterback like Rivers. All in all, the discussions have been shrouded in relative secrecy despite the level of speculation going on. Earlier this week, a source told Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego that the two sides have yet to be in contact with one another. At this stage, however, it’d be surprising if that were still the case.
Draft Links: Cooper, Perriman, Raiders, Ravens
Alabama wideout Amari Cooper figures to be one of the first two wideouts selected in next week’s draft (along with West Virginia’s Kevin White). It seems unlikely that the talented 20-year-old will fall outside the top-10, as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun reports that Cooper met with nine teams drafting within that range.
That list includes Washington, the Buccaneers, Titans, Jaguars, Jets, Bears, Falcons, Giants, Rams and Browns. The Raiders and Vikings were the only teams selecting in the top-12 to not host Cooper.
Let’s take a look at some other draft notes from around the league…
- While Cooper and White are expected to the be the first two receivers off the board, NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell believes Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman could emerge as a top pick. “I think Cooper is the top receiver prospect this year,” Cosell writes for Yahoo! Sports. “But if you asked me who is No. 2 among White and Perriman, that’s a tougher question. I really like Perriman…Perriman is a big powerful, explosive, fast guy. Although he and White are about the same size, on film Perriman looks like the bigger guy. I could see ranking Perriman even with or ahead of White, although I’m in the minority on that.”
- ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson wonders (on Twitter) if Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. could be in play for the Raiders during the first round. The junior compiled 2.5 sacks during the 2014 season, finishing his college career with 14.5 sacks.
- CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown believes the Ravens will make trades during this year’s draft, but not during the first round. The writer wonders if the team could move up during the second round to secure Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams.
AFC South Notes: Colts, Greene, Titans, Jags
The Colts have thought outside the box as they’ve attempted to round out the bottom of their roster. As Stephen Holder of the Indy Star points out, the team currently has four former CFL players, two college basketball players and a Kenyan rugby player under contract.
The mix of different backgrounds isn’t unusual to general manager Ryan Grigson, who is willing to look anywhere to make his team better:
“If you have elite athletic traits, you can do this. This isn’t one of those specialized sports, like golf. If you have a level of toughness and you can move and you have instincts, if you have those at an elite level, you’re going to get a chance.”
Let’s take a look at more notes out of the AFC South, including additional whispers from Indianapolis…
- The Colts may have a tough time retaining both Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, but ESPN.com’s Mike Wells opines that the team should hold on to the tight end pair. As the writer points out, the best case scenario would be for the duo to establish themselves as one of the best pairings in the league, forcing the team to re-sign both players.
- If Antonio Andrews has a solid showing in minicamp, Paul Kuharsky would anticipate the Titans cutting veteran running back Shonn Greene.
- NFL Network’s Mike Mayock believes it would be difficult for a team to acquire the Titans first-round pick unless an established veteran quarterback becomes available. “Trading up to 2 is a big deal, because if you look at the old trade value chart, 1 through 4 have by far the highest values, and then there’s a precipitous drop to No. 5 and it gets a lot easier to start trading,” Mayock said (via Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean). “So trying to get up to 2 is really hard, unless you have an existing player like San Diego has with Philip Rivers or perhaps Philadelphia has with Sam Bradford.”
- Michael DiRocco is the under the impression that Jaguars wideouts Tandon Doss, Bryan Walters and Ace Sanders will all be fighting over one roster spot, with the writer giving punt return specialist Doss the early advantage.
Draft Notes: Collins, Mariota, Parker
The draft position of LSU cornerback Jalen Collins could be an indicator of how the NFL feels about drug use in 2015, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. Collins, according to sources with four teams, has failed multiple tests in college. Collins is projected by many to be a first-round choice. Here’s more draft news..
- The likelihood now is that Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota goes second overall, Breer tweets. His personal feeling is that Tennessee likes him more than most think and Breer feels he could very well could be a member of the Titans.
- Breer (on Twitter) says that DeVante Parker is one to watch and some prefer him to Kevin White because he’s more NFL-ready. Parker, he says, is closer to White and Amari Cooper than the rest of the pack at wide receiver.
- Cooper could go anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6, Breer tweets. White and Parker, meanwhile, have a good shot at the top ten. After that, it’s wide open at wide receiver and Nelson Agholor could be the next one off the board.
- Cooper has emerged as the consensus No. 1 player at his position, according to GMs and scouts that spoke with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter). White is a close second.
- The running back class is outstanding and that could hurt those guys’ first-round chances since teams believe that they can get a solid player later, Breer tweets.
Draft Rumors: Clemmings, Mariota, Gregory
Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings is the latest prospect to discover an injury during a team visit. A source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) that Clemmings was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot, despite not feeling any pain. It remains to be seen how the injury will affect the draft position of Clemmings, who is viewed as one of the best offensive lineman in the draft.
More on next week’s draft:
- Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report spoke to five NFL personnel men, and all five believe that Marcus Mariota will be drafted by the Titans, either at No. 2 or at No. 5 (following a trade with Washington). Some of those execs points to the Jets as another strong contender for Mariota, but they don’t believe New York will move up, a belief supported by GM Mike Maccagnan‘s comments today.
- Of course, even if the Titans select Mariota, it doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of Tennessee trading him to another team. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com takes a look at how a Mariota trade could potentially happen after the draft.
- Randy Gregory may take a fall in the first round, but one exec tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that Gregory won’t fall out of the first round. Personally, I’d be surprised if the Nebraska pass rusher is still on the board after the first 15 picks of the draft.
- One football executive tells Bob McGinn of the Journal-Sentinel that he sees a lot of former Raiders bust JaMarcus Russell in presumptive No. 1 pick Jameis Winston. “Lack of focus by JaMarcus is what I see in Winston,” the personnel man said. “They’re physically talented, but during the course of a game they kind of lose their focus and just put the ball up for grabs. I see the body. I see the lack of focus. I see the same coach and system. Only Winston’s not as good an athlete and his arm isn’t as strong as JaMarcus‘.”
- In addition to his previously-reported visits, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper also paid visits to the Buccaneers, Bears, Falcons, Giants, and Washington, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- Wilson also provided an update on Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith, writing that the Cowboys, Saints, and Panthers were among the teams to meet with intriguing deep threat.
Zach Links contributed to this post.