The Tennessee Titans lost two of their key free agents on Monday, with right guard Nate Davis agreeing to terms with the Chicago Bears and linebacker David Long agreeing to terms with the Miami Dolphins.
But did the Titans actually lose the pair, or did they let them walk?
That question is easier to answer for Davis, who wasn’t expected to be re-signed as far back as February. Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt didn’t give a reason at the time, but that was all we needed to hear.
The reason behind that, according to a report from Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron, is that Titans head coach Mike Vrabel “hates” Davis, but no specifics were given as to why.
Considering Davis didn’t get himself in any kind of off-the-field issues and was a solid player when on it, it might have to do with his inability to avoid injuries the past few years, something Vrabel hasn’t been shy about calling players out for, often blaming it on a lack of preparation.
Talked to someone close with Titans to get an idea of Nate Davis. His first response:
"Vrabel hates him."
Also noted Titans chose Andre Dillard who is a year older with 45 less career starts to replace him and signed him to basically identical contract that #Bears gave Davis.
— Bill Zimmerman (@ZimmermanSXM) March 14, 2023
“They have to figure out a way to train and act like… this game is played at high speed,” Vrabel said. “Kevin Byard hasn’t pulled a hamstring since we’ve been here.
“There’s a durability factor to playing professional football that we should not overlook. That’s real. There’s guys that are durable and there’s guys that aren’t.”
Long’s chances of returning to Nashville were thought to be better, but based on the very reasonable contract he received (two years, $11 million), one can only assume the Titans weren’t interested in bringing him back, either.
After all, that is not a bad price for Long, even with his own injury woes the past two seasons. I figured if Long came in at somewhere around that amount, the Titans would almost certainly bring him back.
Of course, it’s also possible Long simply didn’t want to return to Nashville, but there’s more smoke to the fire that the Titans didn’t want him back.
Like Davis, Long’s inability to stay healthy the past few years was likely the reason behind his not re-signing in Nashville. Vrabel even mentioned the linebacker by name at the end of the season when talking about repeat offenders with soft-tissue injuries.
“We look at soft-tissue injuries,” Vrabel said. “We look at those soft-tissue injuries of repeat offenders. It doesn’t take too hard to look and see Kristian Fulton and David Long, they were repeat offenders in soft-tissue injuries.”
Ultimately, I can’t say either player not returning is shocking given that the Titans are desperately trying to turn over a new leaf with injuries and Long and Davis were two of many who battled them.
