Salary cap expert suggests Titans should try to acquire QB that is a former first round draft pick
The Tennessee Titans have a lot of important decisions to make this offseason and one of those decisions is who their starting quarterback will be. Ryan Tannehill, who will turn 35 this summer, is under contract through the 2023 season. The Titans, however, can release Tannehill this offseason and face a deadcap hit of only […]
The Tennessee Titans have a lot of important decisions to make this offseason and one of those decisions is who their starting quarterback will be.
Ryan Tannehill, who will turn 35 this summer, is under contract through the 2023 season.
The Titans, however, can release Tannehill this offseason and face a deadcap hit of only $18.8 million (if they designate him as a post-6/1 release the dead cap hit would be $9.6 million in 2023 and $9.2 million in 2024).
If Tennessee wants to move on from Tannehill, they can easily go in that direction this offseason unlike last year (the dead cap hit last offseason would've been $57.4 million).
Of course, the big question if the Titans move on from Tannehill is "who does Tennessee then pursue?"
Spotrac's Mike Ginnitti, the internet's resident salary cap guru, appeared on 104.5 The Zone's "Ramon, Kayla, and Will" on Tuesday to discuss the Titans. He thinks Tannehill is probably the Titans' best option in 2023. But if the Titans decide to move on from Tannehill and look for another quarterback, he thinks they should target Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love in a trade.
Here's what Ginnitti had to say about the Titans and Love on Tuesday:
"The one player I have targeted for this roster that I think could at least give them a chance to have a higher ceiling — because I agree with you, I think Ryan Tannehill's been underserved on a national landscape. His comeback from what he was in Miami to what he was able to be in Tennessee was remarkable in a lot of cases. Jordan Love to me is the one player I'd be targeting if I'm going to look and try to acquire a quarterback. Because there is a ceiling there that has not been untapped. You can get a year and a half. You can play the Sam Darnold game that Carolina just played. Which is we've got a year and a half, in terms of guaranteed money, what can we look at internally to try to get out of that player and maybe have a four to five-year window with, without having to give up too much. I don't know where things are heading in Green Bay, but to answer your question, there just isn't an option right now, sitting out there that to me is markedly better than what Ryan Tannehill can give you next year. It's just not sitting there."
If Aaron Rodgers returns to Green Bay in 2023, there's a very good chance Love is traded.
The former Utah State standout is about to enter his fourth year in the NFL and he has one start under his belt.
Folks in Green Bay have raved about Love this season and they seem to think he's progressed significantly over the last year. There's no doubt he looked good in relief of Rodgers in the Packers' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season.
The Titans could probably get Love for fairly cheap. But the bigger question is whether or not they'd feel comfortable going all-in on a quarterback that has a high ceiling but very little NFL experience. That's a gamble that Tennessee's new general manager (whoever that ends up being) might not be willing to take. Tannehill is the safer bet, even though his ceiling is lower.
It's far too early to determine what kind of decisions the Titans will make at quarterback this offseason — a general manager needs to be hired first — but it'll be interesting to see if any Titans/Jordan Love rumors emerge in the coming weeks/months.
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
