The Tennessee Titans have a major question mark at the quarterback position this offseason, but could they answer it with franchise-tagged Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson?
While there has been nothing to link the Titans to Jackson, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (H/T Bleacher Report) reports that there are league executives who believe Tennessee would be a good fit.
Here’s what Fowler is hearing from those unnamed execs:
And then when you talk about good fits, I asked some executives around the league what teams would make sense. They mention Tennessee, who just cleared some cap space. They have a new GM Ran Carthon, who’s working on the roster. They could use a running quarterback; they have experience with that in the past. And even a wild card like Minnesota. Kirk Cousins has one year left on his contract if they want to reestablish their identity there.”
If the Titans do have interest in Jackson, they’ll have to pry him away from the rival Ravens, who slapped the non-exclusive franchise tag on their quarterback.
The Titans can make Jackson an offer, but if he agrees to it the Ravens will have the opportunity to match. If Baltimore doesn’t, Tennessee would land Jackson but have to give up their first-round picks in 2023 and 2024.
Tennessee’s offer would have to be substantial, not only to make the Ravens balk at matching it, but to make Jackson happy enough to agree to it. That could take a deal that has north of $200 million guaranteed, just like the contract the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson.
Tennessee’s limited cap space could be a problem in a pursuit of Jackson, but the team could conceivably structure a deal for him that has a low Year 1 cap hit, pushing the money to future years.
The Titans are set to be loaded with cap space in 2024, so they’ll be in a better position to absorb big cap hits as soon as next year.
I’d have a tough time not getting on board with bringing in one of the most electric players in the NFL to pair him with Derrick Henry, but that’s not to say Jackson wouldn’t come with some massive concerns.
The Titans will have to break the bank and give a ton of guaranteed money to a player who, while very, very good, has injury concerns and question marks as a passer.
In the last two seasons alone, Jackson has seen his campaign end early with knee injuries, missing a total of 11 contests in that span, one of which was a playoff game.
That’s particularly troubling for a quarterback who relies on his legs as much as Jackson does.
Jackson is the type of talent who can help change a franchise, but I don’t see the Titans opening their wallets up enough to bring him in, nor do I see any team out there giving him the kind of guaranteed money he wants.
