The Tennessee Titans have a significant number of players set to be free agents in 2022. Their biggest challenge will be on defense, as their most notable free agents are on that side of the ball. The Titans have a horrible cap situation, which presents quite the challenge for their front office to manage.
Tennessee Titans free agents in 2022
Following the conclusion of the 2021-22 NFL season, the Titans have 28 players with expiring contracts; 20 will be unrestricted free agents, three are exclusive rights free agents, and five are restricted free agents. All players are unrestricted free agents unless stated.
Top Titans offensive free agents
The Titans have a ton of pass catchers set to hit free agency. Fortunately, their top two WRs, A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, are under contract. It’s doubtful they bring all of their impending free-agent weapons back, which means they will need to find depth in free agency or the draft. Let’s take a look at the most prominent free agents on offense.
Ben Jones | C
The top priority for the Titans offensively should be bringing back their high-quality center, Ben Jones. Even though he’s entering his age-33 season, there’s no reason to think Jones can’t continue to play at a high level.
Jones made $6.75 million last season. The problem for the Titans is they are currently $6+ million over the salary cap, according to Spotrac. Their front office needs to get to work on manipulating figures in order to make Jones an offer. If they can’t bring him back, he’s almost certainly going to get a raise somewhere else.
Anthony Firkser, Geoff Swaim, and MyCole Pruitt | TE
No one is mistaking Anthony Firkser or Geoff Swaim for some incredibly dynamic tight end duo. Nevertheless, they are the Titans’ top two tight ends, and both are competent players. They made a combined $5.5 million in 2021.
MyCole Pruitt was the third-string tight end. He sustained a horrific ankle injury and is no guarantee to be ready for the start of the 2022 season. Pruitt is athletic, but he’s unlikely to ever be a primary tight end. If he’s not healthy, the Titans will not bring him back.
Firkser is 27 years old and Swaim is 28. The former has been with the Titans his entire career, while the latter signed a one-year deal this past offseason. Neither was overly impressive in 2021. As a result, I would not expect the Titans to go out of their way to try and re-sign either one.
Both will definitely have a job this season, but the Titans would be better served to try to upgrade the position.
The Titans’ ancillary wide receivers
Marcus Johnson, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Chester Rogers, and Cameron Batson are all hitting free agency this March. Each one of them has flashed at some point during their Titans tenure.
Westbrook-Ikhine is an ERFA. He played well enough in 2021 to warrant a veteran’s minimum contract. Even if the Titans don’t extend him, he’s likely to be back regardless.
Batson is a restricted free agent and coming off a torn ACL. He just hasn’t been productive enough to expect a big market for his services. The most likely scenario is a cheap contract and a return to Tennessee.
Johnson and Rogers are both veterans and solid rotational options off the bench. If not in Tennessee, they will latch on somewhere as WR4/5s. I expect both to sign with whatever team offers them the most money. It probably isn’t going to be the Titans.
Top Titans defensive free agents
The Titans have real problems on defense if they can’t bring back their top guys. Two of their most talented players are set to hit free agency.
Harold Landry III and Jayon Brown | LB
The Titans actually have a total of six linebackers set to be free agents in March. Harold Landry III and Jayon Brown are the most important for them to re-sign.
Landry has missed just one game in his four-year career and made the Pro Bowl in 2021. Brown has a 100-tackle season on his résumé and is a stabilizing force over the middle.
The Titans almost lost Brown last offseason, but they were able to bring him back on a team-friendly one-year deal. He dealt with some injuries in 2021, but I imagine he’s looking for a long-term extension.
Landry is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He and the Titans have already had discussions regarding an extension, but it hasn’t happened yet. Given how important he is to Tennessee’s defense, I would be surprised if they didn’t ultimately work something out.
The Titans have special teams free agents as well
I typically don’t bother discussing special teams, but Tennessee’s two kickers are both free agents.
Randy Bullock and Sam Ficken | K
The Titans obviously need a kicker. They gave Randy Bullock a one-year deal prior to the 2021 season. He made 84% of his field goals and 93% of his extra points. Is that good enough to earn him an extension? That’s up to the Titans.
If Tennessee doesn’t bring Bullock back, I don’t expect them to turn to Sam Ficken. Ficken was decent with the Jets in 2020, but he was unable to get a starting job in 2021. He’ll likely bounce around between teams and eventually pop up in the regular season when someone needs a kicker.
The Titans’ other free agents in 2022
What other Titans players are free agents in 2022? Some of these players inevitably won’t return next season.
- Rashaan Evans | LB
- Morgan Cox | LS
- Nick Dzubnar | LB
- Matthias Farley | S
- Ola Adeniyi | LB
- Greg Mabin | CB
- Trevon Coley | DT
- Kyle Peko | DT
- Khari Blasingame | FB (RFA)
- B.J. Bello | LB (RFA)
- David Quessenberry | OT
- Teair Tart | DT (ERFA)
- Logan Woodside | QB (ERFA)
- Dane Cruikshank | CB
- Derick Roberson | LB (RFA)
- Avery Gennesy | G