The initial free agency period has officially come and gone, and although the Tennessee Titans didn’t make any true splash signings by today’s standards, they seemingly got tons of value at positions of need.
Rather than overpaying for someone on the open market, general manager Ran Carthon chose a methodical approach that mostly revolved around betting on talented young players who have tons of untapped potential.
Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus recently wrote an article discussing a positive takeaway for each team’s offseason, and he agreed with the logic of Carthon’s approach.
Here is what Buday had to say about the Titans’ “good value signings”:
Although the Titans might not have signed true difference makers in the first week of free agency, their under-the-radar acquisitions have relatively high upside and come at a low cost. Edge defender Arden Key had his two best seasons in 2021 and 2022, yet the Titans were able to sign him to a three-year contract for just $21 million.
While Andre Dillard might have been considered a bust in Philadelphia, getting a projected starting tackle for three years for $29 million is good value for the Titans. Finally, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair struggled to get onto the field in San Francisco behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, but he flashed ability whenever he got playing time. so getting him for one year for $5 million is a good business decision by Tennessee.
Truthfully, only time will tell if this was the right approach.
If it works, Carthon will be labeled as a genius by the fanbase. If not, chances are the narrative will be that he shouldn’t have gone the cheap route when the roster obviously needed true difference-makers.
Regardless, it’s still early in the offseason, so we’ll simply have to patiently wait to see how these next couple of months play out to truly get an idea of what the 2023 Titans will look like.
