The Titans signing Gabe Davis would create an immediate problem, but could help avoid a DeAndre Hopkins repeat situation
What do the Titans want their WR room to be?
The Jacksonville Jaguars released veteran WR Gabe Davis on Wednesday, making him one of the most attractive receiver options not currently under contract. He played just one season with Jacksonville after signing a 3yr/$39,000,000 contract last spring.
This is likely a post-June 1st move, which will split up a $20.3M dead cap charge over the Jaguars books the next two seasons. Davis still had $25.5M left on his contract that he was owed, including $11M fully guaranteed in 2025. So why did new GM James Gladstone decide to cut bait?
Clearly the new regime in Jacksonville wasn’t exactly enamored with Davis and the bloated contract Trent Baalke foolishly handed out to him. In his one and only year with the Jags, Davis recorded career lows across the stat sheet. At just 26 years old, however, fans of teams across the league have taken to social media to discuss the possibility of adding him to their squad.
When I floated the idea on X, the response from Tennessee Titans fans was… not great.
But I think people are being way too dismissive of what Davis could bring to the table for his next team. He’s far from a no-brainer fit for the Titans, but I do think this is a guy they should at least kick the tires on. Here’s why:
Why Tennessee Should Consider Gabe Davis
For starters, this feels like a classic case of one crappy season on a crappy team causing folks to swing way too far in the opposite direction on a player. I’m old enough to remember what Buffalo Bills WR Gabe Davis was in the public eye just one (1) year ago: a very useful player! Was he ever worth that contract Baalke gave him? No. But is he a lower-end starter in the NFL? Yes he is.
Before his lackluster 2024 season in Jacksonville, Davis was solid every season of his rookie contract. He put up 2,730 yards and 27 TDs in those four years, which is how he managed to get the contract that he did. And if you take his old teammate’s word for it, he’s a strong team guy who was injured the entire time he was in Jacksonville.
But this goes much further than the suspicion of recency bias. This is where I want to divert the attention away from Davis and onto the Titans wide receiver room for a moment. Remember what happened with DeAndre Hopkins last August? He got hurt in Training Camp, missed a lot of practice, and very slowly eased back into the rotation the first month of the season. He was practically a non-factor for the team the majority of his time in Nashville last year before being traded.
Consider for a moment what a similar situation might look like with Ridley this year, God forbid. Calvin is not a young receiver anymore. He turns 31 this season. He is easily the best receiver on this roster, and it’s not particularly close. Since adding Tyler Lockett and the trio of rookies, fans have largely relaxed on the five-alarm fire at receiver. The room looks serviceable enough now, at least on paper. But I think an outsized portion of that calm is held up by the 30 year old receiver at the top of the list! If he goes down—especially early in the year—this room enters scary territory in a hurry.
Along that line, the final reason why adding Davis would make sense is to really solidify the group of veterans you’re surrounding Cam Ward with. I really like the potential that the Titans three rookies bring. I’m as big a proponent of Elic Ayomanor’s potential as you’ll find. But the sober reality is that rookies often take time. Around 1-in-10 Day 3 receivers manages to tally 500+ yards in their first season. Relying on them to get up to speed immediately is a real risk.
With somebody like Davis, he’d provide what Ridley and Lockett will: Comfort. Assuredness. Experience. They know what they’re doing already. Somebody like Davis in particular knows what it’s like to play for a great team, as well as what it’s like to play for a very bad team. Davis is comfortably a better player than Van Jefferson, who many fans point to as the third veteran in this room. Frankly, I think Davis could actually be the safety net that many fans are thinking Jefferson could be. I’m rooting for Jefferson, and acknowledge he wasn’t in the most friendly WR environment last year. But what I see on tape isn’t anything close to quality starting receiver play. I think Davis actually offers that.
There’s no doubt that adding Davis would create new problems the Titans don’t currently have. What role would he play? How many opportunities is he taking away from Dike, Ayomanor, Oliver, and Restrepo?
What matters more to this team: setting up Cam for maximum success this year, or setting up the future of their WR room to make the most progress in the rookie year of Cam’s contract? This is a question the Titans have had to ask themselves this offseason, and one they’ll continue to reckon with.
Why Tennessee Shouldn’t Consider Davis (And Probably Won’t)
Ultimately, I don’t have any reason to believe the Titans would sign Davis. I’d be surprised if they did. In fairness, there are some good reasons not to. He’s not a perfect fit for this team. He doesn’t match the speed profile they’ve laid out in their young additions to the position already this year. He may be somebody a contenting team is more interested in due to the phase of team-building that they’re in. A team in the phase Tennessee is in could easily be more interested in leaning on their rookie QB to give those reps to his fellow rookies, in hopes that their development is swift.
As we’ve already covered, determining the role he would play isn’t a simple answer. This receiver room isn’t exactly crowded with high end proven talent; but it is crowded. I could argue that more competition is always a good thing, but ultimately there are players on this roster I think the team already has plans for. And adding a receiver as competent as Davis would shift the pecking order in a real way.
Not to mention… how expensive is he going to be? He’ll still be getting paid 8 figures by the Jaguars this year, but it’s hard to say how much he’ll demand on top of that on the free market. If the Titans could get him for somewhere in the ballpark of 1yr/$5,000,000, that’s where I would be interested. Significantly more money—and especially a demand for a longer term—would turn me off to this possibility.
An addition like Davis would also complicate how many receivers actually make this roster. Here are three different permutations of a 7-man receiver room this season (rather loosely in order):
- Calvin Ridley
- Tyler Lockett
- Van Jefferson
- Chimere Dike
- Elic Ayomanor
- Bryce Oliver
- Xavier Restrepo/James Proche
- Calvin Ridley
- Tyler Lockett
- Gabe Davis
- Chimere Dike
- Elic Ayomanor
- Bryce Oliver
- Xavier Restrepo/James Proche
- Calvin Ridley
- Tyler Lockett
- Chimere Dike
- Elic Ayomanor
- Bryce Oliver
- Xavier Restrepo
- James Proche
Between options 1, 2, and 3, which makes the most sense for this team? Option 1 is what feels most likely to actually happen right now. Option 2 is what I think sets the Titans up best to support Cam Ward and safeguard against not being able to lean on Ridley. And Option 3 is what I think would be best for the future of the Titans’ wide receiver room. It sets the young players up to shine and develop. But it does put more strain on Ridley, and more importantly, on your franchise rookie under center.
In the end, I supposed what I’m arguing doesn’t hinge entirely upon signing Gabe Davis or passing on Gabe Davis. Perhaps it’s really about the Tennessee Titans picking a lane with their WR build, and the risks each path presents.
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