The unofficial start of free agency hit on Monday at noon ET with some of the top names at their respective positions coming off the board already, and the deals some of the top linebackers on the market have agreed to thus far are bad news for Tennessee Titans linebacker, David Long.
Two of the best available players at linebacker, T.J. Edwards and Germaine Pratt, have agreed to terms on deals with the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively.
Edwards’ deal with the Bears is for three years and $19.5 million, which works out to $6.5 million per year. The deal also includes $12 million guaranteed.
Pratt received a slightly bigger deal in his pact with the Bengals, a deal that will cost Cincy $21 million over three years, an average of $7 million per. The guaranteed money has not been revealed as of this writing.
The only players I would expect to garner more in their deals are Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David and Tremaine Edmunds, the top three linebackers available.
Both Pratt and Edwards are at least slightly better all-around players than Long, and they haven’t had the kinds of injury woes he has in recent years.
Knowing all that, Long is likely to make less than both.
Spotrac estimated Long would get a deal that pays him $4.9 million per year, and it’s starting to look like that could be a realistic figure. That’s good news for the Titans, as the cheaper Long gets, the better chance he stays.
