Latest Chicago Bears move will help the Tennessee Titans re-sign David Long Jr.
How the Chicago Bears signing LB T.J. Edwards to a three-year contract can help the Tennessee Titans come to terms with David Long Jr.
Just 16 minutes after the NFL legal tampering window opened, the Chicago Bears agreed to terms on a three-year/$19.5 million contract with LB T.J. Edwards.
Edwards, 26, is coming off of a career season, finishing sixth in the NFL in solo tackles (83) and seventh in combination tackles (159). Edwards also had two sacks, seven passes defended, and a career-best 10 tackles for loss.
In a market loaded with off ball linebackers, Edwards' deal could point to a much lower price tag for Titans' LB David Long than originally expected.
Edwards was originally projected by PFF to get three-years and $40.5 million in free agency. Remarkably, he didn't even get half of that in his deal with Chicago, potentially a sign that a saturated linebacker market is driving the prices of this free agent class down.
Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, Bobby Okereke, Drue Tranquill, and Kyzir White are some of the names available in free agency that will competing with Long for a deal.
PFF had originally projected Long to get four years and $55 million ($13.75M per year) with $33 million total guaranteed. The new contract projection for David Long Jr. according to Spotrac.com is now a two-year/$9.8 million contract.
While these projections are just a general estimate for what a player's market could be, Edwards' deal with Chicago coming in well short of what was expected could be a sign that all free agent linebackers are going to come in under their estimated value.
It would be surprising if Long got more money than Edwards, who is far more decorated over the last two seasons. So it may be possible that the Titans are poised to bring back Long after all.
That's a really positive development.
Image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
