On Tuesday, we received the exciting news that the Tennessee Titans and former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair reached a mutual agreement.
Today, we finally got some new details on the reported detail. The Florida Atlantic product agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The “worth up to part” means there are incentives to get to that $6 million, but specifics weren’t immediately given as far as that is concerned.
It’s pretty clear that Al-Shaair is essentially betting on himself in hopes of significantly improving his market value now that he’s been given the opportunity to start full-time.
Tennessee’s new general manager Ran Carthon previously worked with the talented linebacker ever since he entered the league in 2019.
If there is anyone in the NFL who knows not only how capable Al-Shaair is, but how underutilized he often was in San Fran, it’s definitely Carthon.
More contract details:#Titans signing LB Azeez Al-Shaiir to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million#Cardinals signing K Matt Prater to a two-year, $7.5M deal with $4M guaranteed
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 15, 2023
For that reason, he deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his decision to sign a familiar face over re-signing David Long Jr., who ended up getting a relatively similar deal from the Dolphins in terms of average.
Long’s deal works out to $5.5 million annually over two years, while Al-Shaair is capable of making $6 million on his one-year deal.
Only time will tell how that decision plays out, but if everything goes according to plan, Tennessee should have an incredible playmaker in the middle of its defense who can put himself in position for a major payday in 2024.
Thankfully, we can worry about that if/when we get there.
