Tennessee Titans

Harold Landry's future remains unclear ahead of 2022 NFL free agency.

The Tennessee Titans will not use the franchise tag to retain Landry, according to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, though the team "still hopes to re-sign Landry to a long-term deal."

Landry, 25, had a career year for the Titans in 2021, notching career highs in sacks (12), tackles (75), tackles for loss (14) and quarterback hits (22). After posting a total of 19 sacks in his first three seasons, Landry became a more consistent force off the edge this past year. 

The front four—Landry, Bud Dupree, Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry—was a huge reason why the Titans earned the top overall seed in the AFC Playoffs last year, even if they were eliminated by the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round. That foursome combined for 32.5 sacks. 

"It was fun to watch last year and to see how all of that kind of came together," Titans general manager Jon Robinson told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I think that all of those guys benefitted from each other. I thought the rush was coordinated. I thought Denico's presence along with Jeffrey's presence helped Harold. I thought Harold's presence helped Jeffrey. And that's what you want from them. But it is a balance of trying to keep that thing together, and working through Harold's contract and you know being mindful of players that we kind of have coming down the pike too that we want to try to keep there as well."

ESPN's Kevin Seifert ranks Landry as the No. 12 free agent in 2022, noting he was "No. 34 among edge rushers in ESPN's pass rush win rate (13.8 percent). 

If Landry does hit the market, he'll have suitors. Edge-rushers always hold value.

But there is depth at the position in both free agency and the draft this season. The former looks to have players like Von Miller, Randy Gregory, Chandler Jones, Jadeveon Clowney and Haason Reddick available, among others.

And Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Devin Lloyd, Travon Walker, Jermaine Johnson II, George Karlaftis, David Ojabo, Boye Mafe and Arnold Ebiketie are all edge-rushers who could be off the board in the first round of this year's NFL draft, with a lot of top-end talent at the position.  

Still, Landry has proven he can get to the quarterback in the NFL and appears to be squarely in his prime. If Tennessee wants him back, it won't come cheap. 

Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson confirmed the team has held "very preliminary" talks with star wide receiver A.J. Brown about an extension.

Robinson added that Brown "knows how we feel about him" as the 24-year-old enters the final year of his rookie contract.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in January the two sides had mutual interest in a deal that "would no doubt make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL."

After making the Pro Bowl in 2020, Brown saw his numbers dip slightly in 2021. He caught 63 passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games. A chest injury briefly sidelined him in the second half.

Still, Pro Football Focus' Anthony Treash ranked him as the 14th-best wideout from this past year:

Brown was again one of the most productive wide receivers in the league. His 2.50 yards per route run ranked inside the top 10 among qualifying wide receivers in the regular season. Brown was actually one of eight receivers to record over 2.0 yards per route run in the slot and out wide this season. And he did all that while battling injuries at four different points from the preseason to the regular season’s end.

After Ryan Tannehill (four years, $118 million) and Derrick Henry (four years, $50 million) were rewarded by the Titans with long-term extensions, Brown will understandably believe it's his turn now.

The fact that Tennessee is looking to win a Super Bowl should provide him with some leverage. The underwhelming initial returns from the Julio Jones trade might heighten the need to keep Brown around, too.

Jones had the worst season of his career (31 catches, 434 yards, one touchdown) in 2021, and the 33-year-old is hitting free agency in 2023.

With Jones potentially on the decline, losing Brown would be a massive blow to the offense.

Beyond the traditional levers at his disposal, it may not be a coincidence Brown is flirting with a return to baseball. Although he didn't play baseball in college, he played in the prestigious Under Armour All-America game in high school. The San Diego Padres selected the outfielder in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB draft.

Will Brown leave the NFL at his peak in order to toil in the minor leagues for a few years while earning much less than he would in football? Probably not, but it's a plausible enough outcome.

In the event the Titans fail to strike an agreement with Brown's representatives over a new contract, the franchise tag will be there for Robinson. That might make it more expensive to keep him around beyond 2023, though.

The fact the two sides are at least talking is a positive sign regarding negotiations.

The family of former Houston Oilers wide receiver Ken Burrough said Thursday he had died at his home in Florida, according to Reuters. He was 73. 

Burrough, the last NFL player to wear No. 00, was selected 10th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1970 NFL draft. He spent one season with the franchise, catching 13 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games, before being traded to the Oilers ahead of the 1971 season. 

The NFL prohibited players from choosing No. 00 as their jersey number in 1973. However, Burrough and former Raiders center Jim Otto were allowed to continue wearing it through their careers. 

Burrough made a name for himself in Houston over 11 seasons. He caught 408 passes for 6,906 yards and 47 touchdowns in 144 games. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 1975 after catching 53 passes for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games. 

The Texas Southern product caught 43 passes for 816 yards and eight touchdowns in 14 games in 1977 to earn his second Pro Bowl honors. 

Burrough retired from the NFL after the 1981 season. He ranks third in Oilers/Tennessee Titans history in receiving yards. He also ranks second in touchdown catches.

Tennessee Titans pass-rusher Bud Dupree turned himself in Friday at the Metro Nashville Police Department after being cited for an altercation at a Walgreens drug store in January.

According to TMZ Sports, Dupree was booked on a misdemeanor assault charge Friday before being released from custody.

Police allege that Dupree attacked a Walgreens employee and tried to take his phone on Jan. 2 and fled the scene before they arrived. Security camera footage appears to show Dupree grabbing and struggling with the employee.

Per TMZ, sources close to Dupree said the altercation happened because the Walgreens employee "heckled" Dupree and "threatened to spit on the women [Dupree] was with and kick Bud in the knee."

The 29-year-old Dupree recently completed his first season with the Titans after spending his first six NFL seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite suffering a torn ACL that cut his 2020 season short, the Titans signed Dupree to a five-year, $82.5 million contract prior to the 2021 campaign.

An abdominal injury limited Dupree to 11 games this past season, and he finished with just 17 tackles and three sacks, both of which were career lows. He also had one sack in Tennessee's AFC Divisional Round playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dupree now has 42.5 sacks during his NFL career, including a career-high 11.5 in 2019.

While the Titans have yet to make an official statement regarding Dupree turning himself in, TMZ noted that the organization said in January it was "aware of the situation and are gathering additional information."

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry believes Ryan Tannehill will come back better in 2022 after a poor performance in the team's 19-16 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Speaking to Mike Florio and Chris Simms on PFT Live, Henry said Tannehill will use that game as "fuel" for next season:

One game doesn’t define a player. It’s not just one person playing out there by himself. It’s a team effort. Things like that happens sometimes. At the end of the day, I know who Ryan is. I know the type of player that he is that he’s going to let that fuel him and not get down on himself. We’re all back and we’re all behind him. We’re all going to stick together and come back better.

Expectations were high for the Titans coming into the playoffs. They earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record, despite needing to use an NFL-record 91 players in games during the regular season because of injuries. 

Things went awry for Tennessee right from the start of its divisional-round game against Cincinnati. Tannehill threw an interception on the first play of the game. He was picked off a total of three times, including one at the Bengals' 9-yard line on a quick screen intended for Chester Rogers that Mike Hilton hauled in after tipping the ball into the air. 

Tannehill's final interception came with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to set up Evan McPherson's game-winning 52-yard field goal for Cincinnati as time expired. 

The three turnovers in the AFC divisional round for Tannehill were as many as he had in the previous six games combined dating back to Week 12. 

Mike Vrabel has been honored as the NFL's Coach of the Year for the 2021 season.

The 46-year-old is the first in Tennessee Titans history to receive the award. This comes after they finished 12-5 and earned the top seed in the AFC playoff field.

Entering the year, a 12-win season and an AFC South title wouldn't have felt like monumental achievements for the franchise. The Titans went 11-5 and clinched a division title in 2020 and reached the AFC Championship Game in 2019.

But Tennessee's season wasn't looking good after Derrick Henry suffered a foot injury in a Week 8 win over the Indianapolis Colts. That was the star running back's last appearance of the regular season.

To that point, Henry had run for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns, not only putting him on pace to lead the NFL in rushing for the third straight year but also insert him into the MVP discussion.

Without Henry in the backfield, the Titans still won six of their final nine games. D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard combined to run for 916 yards and five touchdowns over that stretch.

Henry wasn't the only notable player to miss time, either. A.J. Brown and Julio Jones were unavailable for stretches. Taylor Lewan missed four games. Kevin Byard, Harold Landry and Jeffery Simmons were the only players on defense to start all 17 games.

By November, Tennessee had already used more players (86) over a single season than any other team in NFL history.

Things could've unraveled when the Titans dropped their second straight game—a 36-13 loss to the New England Patriots—heading into the Week 13 bye. Instead, they returned to action with a shutout of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Under no circumstances do you want to give Vrabel and his staff more time to draw up a game plan.

In terms of outperforming preseason expectations, the Cincinnati Bengals' Zac Taylor might have exceeded Vrabel. His team won 10 games and claimed its first AFC North title since 2015.

But using that as the sole barometer in the Coach of the Year race ignores the number of hurdles that were thrown in Vrabel's way. He unquestionably did enough to put himself atop the field.

Titans running back Derrick Henry is in Los Angeles for Sunday's Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, and, understandably, Tennessee's divisional-round loss isn't sitting well with him.

Speaking with Jim Wyatt of the team’s website, Henry said he's still "not over the fact" the Titans lost to the Bengals after they earned a first-round bye with a 12-5 record. 

“I am pissed off about it, and I will be pissed off about it,” Henry said. “... I can’t wait to play football again.”  

Henry added:

“When I see anything about football, whether I am watching TV or see something on my phone about football, it brings that sick feeling back. While I’m here, you just have to deal with it the best you can. It still hurts.

“I am still not over the fact that we lost, and we’re not here. It will replay in my head until we get back to football, which is going to be a while. But yeah, it still replays in my head every single day. I wanted [to win the Super Bowl] bad, and I know all of my teammates wanted it bad. Everybody was shocked when we lost. So that will be in my head until I am able to strap up again and play in a game.”

Henry appeared in Tennessee's first eight games before undergoing surgery after suffering a broken bone in his foot. He didn't return for the remainder of the regular season and appeared in the Titans' 19-16 loss to the Bengals with a steel plate in his foot. 

The 28-year-old was ineffective in that game, rushing for just 62 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. However, the loss wasn't blamed on Henry. 

A lot of the blame fell on Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed just 15 of 24 passes for 220 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. 

Despite the disappointing exit, the Titans have a lot to look forward to in 2022. Henry, who rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021, should again be one of the NFL's best backs.

Tannehill, who has revived his career in Tennessee after six underwhelming seasons with the Miami Dolphins, will be back for at least one more shot at a Super Bowl title, as his contract runs through 2023 but carries a potential out after next season. In addition, wide receiver A.J. Brown and much of the Titans offense will return.  

The Tennessee Titans announced Tuesday that head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson have been rewarded with contract extensions after the team finished as the AFC's No. 1 seed in 2021.

Vrabel and Robinson were set to enter the last year of their contracts in the 2022 season. The lengths of the extensions were not specified.

Vrabel was named Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America this past season after leading Tennessee to a 12-5 record, a third consecutive trip to the playoffs and a second straight AFC South title. The Titans were eliminated in the divisional round by the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on a last-second field goal.

"I am proud to say that Jon and Mike will be leading our football team for years to come," Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said. "I have seen the team improve on a yearly basis under their direction, and I know their singular goal is to deliver a championship for our fans."

She added, "Together they have developed a culture within our organization that has been essential to our success. Their values align with mine and what I want the Titans to be."

Vrabel has coached Tennessee and has a career record of 43-27, including playoff games, for a franchise-best winning percentage of .614. His 43 wins tie Jack Pardee's franchise record through his first four years with the organization.

Since Robinson was hired as general manager in 2016, Tennessee has had a winning record every year. His draft record has been stellar, as he oversaw the selection of eventual Pro Bowlers Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, Kevin Byard, Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry. Robinson's 62 wins as GM rank second in franchise history.

Don't expect the Tennessee Titans to enter the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes.

According to ESPN's Turron Davenport, "A team source confirmed to ESPN that the Titans don't consider Rodgers to be an option for them at quarterback and have full intentions of moving forward with Ryan Tannehill."

The Green Bay Packers may not be ready for a divorce anyway. The team reportedly is interested in offering Rodgers a "monster deal" to remain in Green Bay going forward, according to Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado.

Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy wrote in his monthly column on Packers.com that the team is hopeful Rodgers will return in 2022:

We are significantly over the salary cap for next year, and will have to make many difficult decisions in order to get under the cap. A key factor will be whether Aaron Rodgers comes back for the 2022 season. Matt, Brian, executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back. He is likely to win his fourth league MVP, is the unquestioned leader of our team and is still playing at a high level at 38.

When Rodgers ended his holdout last summer, however, he agreed on an amended contract worth a massive $46.1 million against the 2022 salary cap. 

That means, in short, that the Packers will almost assuredly either seek a contract extension that will lessen that short-term cap hit and keep Rodgers in Green Bay for several more years, or they'll trade him. In that regard, Rodgers controls his own destiny this offseason. 

As for the Titans and Tannehill, the team has been publicly backing him this winter. 

"Ryan’s our quarterback," general manager Jon Robinson told reporters on Wednesday. "He’s made a lot of plays for us. He’s a great leader. He’s extremely tough. Love what Ryan brings to our football team, love what he stands for. We’re looking forward to him getting back in there, and getting back on track, and keeping this thing rolling."

While Rodgers would undoubtedly be an upgrade over Tannehill, the Titans quarterback has an impressive 30-13 record with the team in his three seasons in Tennessee, leading them to three straight playoff berths. 

Tannehill isn't going to put up MVP numbers—in the past two seasons, his 54 touchdowns and 21 interceptions don't exactly stack up to Rodgers' 85 touchdowns and nine picks—but he's been a solid, if unspectacular, option in Tennessee. 

On the other hand, the Titans would have to at least explore a Rodgers trade if one was available. They'll publicly back Tannehill for now, but Tennessee's title window is open, and Rodgers would give them a better chance to capitalize on it . 

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is reportedly building a home in Tennessee, and he's "open" to joining the Titans during the 2022 NFL offseason.

Jared Stillman of ESPN Nashville reported the update Wednesday:

Rodgers' status with the Packers will be one of the NFL's top stories for the second successive summer. He stayed away from the organization for most of last offseason amid a flurry of trade rumors, but he returned for the start of training camp to end the standoff.

The 38-year-old Cal product is likely set to win his second straight MVP Award after a 2021 campaign in which he threw 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 16 games.

He's under contract with Green Bay for next season as part of a four-year, $134 million deal, but it features a likely untenable $46.7 million cap hit for 2022. The Packers are a projected $50.8 million over the salary cap heading into the offseason, per OverTheCap.

Rodgers made it clear after the Packers were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers he holds no interest in playing for a team not focused on Super Bowl contention.

"I don't want to be a part of a rebuild if I'm going to keep playing," he told reporters.

It creates a complex situation because Green Bay will have limited roster flexibility to retain or sign players if Rodgers remains at his current cap figure.

If he's going to leave, the front office would obviously prefer a multi-team bidding war to maximize the return in a trade, but the quarterback will hold some leverage to pick his new team since he'll probably have to restructure his contract to make it work.

The Titans make sense on paper, as they finished as the top seed in the AFC with a 12-5 record before getting upset by the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round. If you combine a Rodgers-led passing game with a Derrick Henry-led rushing attack, it'll be a nightmare for opposing defenses.

Rodgers' new house isn't directly related to interest in the Titans, though. Brent Dougherty of 104.5 The Zone reported the QB's plan to build in the Nashville area has been in the works for "a while":

The difficulty for Tennessee would be the presence of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who's under contract through 2023 with a potential dead cap of $57.4 million for 2022. That figure could be reduced to $29 million over two years with a post-June 1 trade, but it's unclear whether Green Bay would be interested in him or would want to move forward with Jordan Love in a post-Rodgers era. It could necessitate a third team getting involved.

So there are a lot of moving parts that would need to get resolved before Rodgers could land in Tennessee, and if his sole focus is winning a Super Bowl, the path of least resistance likely resides in the NFC given the incredible amount of young quarterback talent in the AFC.

The Titans would certainly still be a top-tier championship contender if they land the 10-time Pro Bowl selection, though.