Would you rather: Jadeveon Clowney or Logan Ryan
Today marks the 11th day since NFL teams have been allowed to enter contract negotiations with unrestricted free agents. The fluid market of the free agency pool is constantly changing, which leaves teams that have excess money available to spend in their salary cap scrambling to find the last piece, or pieces, to their roster. […]
Today marks the 11th day since NFL teams have been allowed to enter contract negotiations with unrestricted free agents. The fluid market of the free agency pool is constantly changing, which leaves teams that have excess money available to spend in their salary cap scrambling to find the last piece, or pieces, to their roster.
With the free agent pool thinning out, Tennessee and GM Jon Robinson are left with a little over $24 million left in available cap space according to Spotrac. But there are two specific players that have garnered more buzz and interest from the fan base than others – Jadeveon Clowney and Logan Ryan.
Clowney has reportedly been asking for a contract that pays the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end in the range of a whopping $20 million per year. Logan Ryan is not exactly a cheap option either as he has set his minimum demand at $10 million per season.
You don’t have to be an Ivy League math major to know that those two players alone push the Titans over the salary cap limit, so the likelihood of bringing back a solid cornerback in Ryan AND pulling in Clowney is slim to none.
Robinson could easily find himself in a position where he has to choose one over the other.
Let’s get into what each player could bring to the team and find out how their signing could impact the Titans.
Logan Ryan
Ryan has manned the cornerback position for the last three seasons in Tennessee. He has started in 45 of the Titans’ 48 games during his tenure in Nashville, proving that he can be relied upon.
If the Titans re-sign Ryan, they would retain the exact secondary that they rolled out last season with the 29-year old playing in the slot corner position, or outside in the Titans base defense.
While continuity is key in the NFL, the Titans pass defense was a major liability at times not only last season, but in the three seasons Ryan has spent with the team. Tennessee finished with the 26th ranked pass defense in the NFL last year.
The secondary will be facing an uphill battle again this year as secondary coach Kerry Coombs left to fill the defensive coordinator position at Ohio State. The Titans replaced Coombs with Anthony Midget, who coached the linebackers alongside Mike Vrabel with the Texans before being promoted to Houston’s secondary coach in 2018.
Ryan’s contract demands are more feasible to accommodate compared to Clowney’s. If Robinson were to re-sign him, the team would have the ability to go out and sign an edge rusher in the tier below Clowney where names like Everson Griffin, Derek Wolfe, and Markus Golden could be players to keep an eye on.
Whether Ryan stays home or takes his talents elsewhere, he provided Titans fans with one of the best moments in team history.
Jadeveon Clowney
Some of the NFL's sharpest minds consider Clowney to be a game wrecker. But the stats don’t always reflect the different methods he uses to antagonize opposing quarterbacks.
However, in Clowney’s best year in the NFL statistically, none other than Mike Vrabel assumed the defensive coordinator position with the Texans in 2017. In that season Clowney had career bests in sacks (9.5), tackles (59), tackles for loss (21), and QB hits (21).
That season three years ago is reason enough for Titans fans to drool over the idea of reuniting Clowney with Vrabel in Tennessee.
The landscape in the AFC is rapidly changing. With Brady now playing in Tampa Bay, the two players that pose the biggest problems for teams contending for a title are currently Pat Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
Mahomes has the ability to throw any receiver open, not that Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins need much help to begin with. In 14 games last season, he managed to throw for over 4,000 yards with 26 touchdowns to just five interceptions. If given time to throw, even an All-Pro secondary would struggle to contain this phenom.
Where Mahomes is far more vulnerable than Jackson is mobility. A defense with a sturdy pass rush force quick decisions giving the secondary chances to capitalize on mistakes.
With Jackson, his rushing abilities are second to none. But it was the Titans that exposed the Ravens last year by containing the MVP on the ground with a swarming defensive front and forced him into a one dimensional quarterback.
A good pass rush tilts the scales in favor of an opportune secondary and vice versa. But with the path to the Super Bowl running through Kansas City, and Baltimore putting pressure on the top two signal callers is paramount thus making an edge rusher more of an asset than a cornerback.
Will Robinson roll the dice and fork over the loot to Clowney? Or will he opt to run it back with Ryan while finding an affordable option on the edge?
Only time will tell.
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan of USA TODAY Sports
