With the legal tampering period only a few days away, these five players could find their way to the Tennessee Titans in 2020 NFL free agency.
The Tennessee Titans are fresh off of an impressive playoff run that ended just a game short of being the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance since 1999. Despite the recent playoff success and coming off of their fourth consecutive winning season, there are obvious holes this team has to fill if they are going to compete for championships on a consistent basis moving forward.
The Titans are faced with a substantial amount of key players with expiring contracts who contributed in some form or fashion to the team’s success. Pivotal players such as Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Jack Conklin and Logan Ryan, among others, are scheduled to hit the open market in 2020 NFL free agency.
While it’s unclear who the team is going to re-sign or place a tag on, there are players who the team can acquire this offseason to not only fill those holes left by these players but help add a new dynamic this team has been missing.
Since taking over the personnel decisions in 2016, general manager Jon Robinson has displayed some consistent patterns in the free-agent market. The first thing that comes to mind is how heavily Robinson relies on relationships from his previous stops. Ex-Patriots such as Ryan, Malcolm Butler and Dion Lewis are obvious due to Robinson’s time in the personnel/scouting department for New England — but it doesn’t stop there.
If it weren’t for the few years Robinson spent as the Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team probably wouldn’t have been able to land Adam Humphries over other suitors like the Patriots. Both Robinson and Humphries cited their relationship in Tampa Bay as a reason for reuniting in Tennessee, while offensive lineman Kevin Pamphile was also brought in due to the GM’s time with the Buccaneers.
Robinson doesn’t only lean on his own connections but the connections of his coaches as well. Cameron Wake was signed last year, who spent time with defensive line coach Terrell Williams in Miami.
Although he is scheduled to be a free agent, edge defender Kamalei Correa was acquired from Baltimore, where recently retired defensive coordinator Dean Pees spent a large chunk of his accomplished career. Tight end MyCole Pruitt (a potential free agent as well) also spent time with head coach Mike Vrabel in Houston — and the list goes on.
While not all of the free-agent additions have some sort of established relationship with somebody in the building, it was definitely something important to keep in mind while compiling this list along with the holes that will be left to fill due to the long list of players scheduled to hit the open market March 18. And with that, let’s get into five realistic free agent targets for the Tennessee Titans in 2020.