After ending their 2022 season on a seven-game losing streak, the Tennessee Titans have moved on from several veteran players this offseason.
There have been significant cuts on every level of the team. It didn’t matter if they were franchise staples like Taylor Lewan and Ben Jones, or a disappointing offseason addition such as Robert Woods and Bud Dupree.
New general manager Ran Carthon has already made a significant amount of changes to the roster he inherited, but could there be a few more on the horizon?
Rumors and speculation have swirled around the Titans potentially moving on from both Derrick Henry and Kevin Byard.
Truthfully, there has been no real indication as to the validity of said rumors, but if the Titans were to move on from two of their most legendary players, they would likely do so via trade.
Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus recently released an article discussing a few landing spots for potential trade candidates, including Byard and Henry.
Monson believes the Mayor of Murfreesboro’s best fit if traded is with the Philadelphia Eagles. Here is what he had to say about the situation:
Byard may be a casualty of a rebuild that the Tennessee Titans seem very close to pulling the trigger on. He has been one of the best safeties in the league since he came into the NFL and is particularly adept in coverage.
With a significant contract, he may not have a red-hot market, but if a deal can be done to minimize his cap hit to a new team, Byard could transform a secondary in an instant. He is still on the right side of 30 years old, though this will be the last offseason where that is true.
Aside from the Eagles, Monson suggests the New England Patriots and New York Giants as possible landing spots.
Monson then discussed Henry’s situation while declaring that the Chicago Bears would be the best fit for the future Hall of Fame running back. He also mentions the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills as possible landing spots.
Trying to find willing trade partners for a 28-year-old running back with almost 2,000 career carries and a salary cap number in excess of $16 million this season is a major challenge, but there are teams out there that could see it as the kind of move that puts them over the top.
Henry is the kind of unicorn at the position that changes the rules of everything we know about running the football in the modern NFL, which could well extend to the kind of career lifespan he will have as a running back.
In today’s arms race of elite teams looking to win a Super Bowl, there may be a side willing to do what would seem reckless in the past to get over the hump. Henry has averaged 3.7 yards per carry after contact for his entire career.
These types of conversations aren’t going to make many Titans fans happy, but now that Pandora’s box has been opened with these rumors, you can be sure that they won’t be going away anytime soon.
