NFL Free Agency Preview 2012: Tennessee Titans
By Zac Snyder
The Titans have some key holes that need to be filled and free agency may be the route they take to fill them. They finished second to last in the league in sacks. Karl Klug led the team with seven sacks. They obviously need some more help there. There should be a few decent defensive ends that hit free agency that the Titans could look at bringing in. Mario Williams, Cliff Avril, Robert Mathis, and John Abraham top off the list.
It’s likely that the Titans take the free agency route, as the draft seems to lack talent at the defensive end position. All the top defensive ends have question marks surrounding them and the Titans are still a little gun shy after pulling the trigger on Derrick Morgan a couple years ago only to see him fall to injuries. They still have faith in Morgan, they’ve just have to find him some help on the other side of the line.
Another position of need is safety. This ones kind of up in the air. There has been serious talk of bringing Michael Griffin back with the franchise tag. Griffin’s not the best but the market for safeties is pretty bad and he’s about the best option out there. He’s got the talent. We’ve all seen it. Griffin just needs to get back on track. It also sounds like Babineaux should be back, though the Titans aren’t allowed to re-sign him till March 13th because of a loophole they used this last season to make his salary have less of an impact on their cap.
That still leaves a lot of space at both the safety positions, especially if they don’t bring back Griffin. One of the best options out there is LaRon Landry of the Washington Redskins. His biggest problem: injuries. There have been pictures circulating of his impressive muscular frame. As impressive as he may look, he’ll have to answer for why he didn’t have his ACL surgically repaired and how he expects to remain healthy for the next season and those that follow. Tyvon Branch is another safety out there that the Titans could look at bringing in, but I wouldn’t put money on it.
In the end, the Titans probably won’t make a big splash in free agency. They never have and I see no reason for things to change now. Do look for them to bring in a defensive end that can start across from Morgan, they need all the help they can get.
Preview provided by Justin Stewart. Check out Titan Sized for more on the Tennessee Titans.