March 14, 2024 • 45 mins
Stoney Keeley breaks down all of the 2024 season's free agent signings so far.
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From Sobros HQ and Nashville, Tennesseeto wherever you're cheering on your Tennessee Titans.
The Sobros Network presents the Unofficial TitansPodcast. Welcome back for another episode
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of the Unofficial Titans Podcast right hereon so Bros Network, Mind's right ass
is tight as we get ready totackle free agency for you today, it's
your boy the e C. It'sSobros Network, Big Natural Stony Keeley.
You can follow me on Twitter atStony Keeley. Follow us collectively at Sobros
Network on all major social media platforms. Flying solo this week happens. We
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always record on Thursday or Friday.I didn't know if it was going to
be today. I didn't know ifit was going to be tomorrow. I
checked with Owen to see if hecould do tomorrow. He couldn't do it,
And it immediately just became like,whenever I can squeeze thirty minutes in,
we're gonna record this thing. Likeyou guys know how it is around
so bros HQ. We're just runningaround this bitch like a chicken with its
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head cut off. So I'm herestill recovering from the flu. That's why
there wasn't an episode last week,and I don't know if it. My
wife tells me that I sound alot better, but I don't know if
it. I feel like it comesacross how nasily I still am. It's
fucking crazy, Like talking to Seanabout it at our OSCARS live stream on
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Sunday and he brings it up likeI'm amazed at how sick you get,
and it's it's true. I don'tknow ever since I had COVID. I
had COVID in December of twenty twenty, and ever since then, like I
get just like these crippling, cripplingviral infections, and last week it was
the flu and it kicked my ass. I mean, at this point,
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this is day nine, I think, and I'm still on some cough medicine
crazy stuff. I was practically bedriddenfor for five days. You know.
I've always tried to like power throughand just say like if I can go,
I'm gonna go. But I couldnot go for like five days.
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It was crazy. I didn't havean appetite. I got winded walking from
bed to the bathroom. Wild shit. So I don't I don't know what's
gonna become of me. I thinkeventually my lungs are just gonna be like
you're you just you're gonna die,like we can't keep doing this over and
over stony, so we quit.We're out of here, because that's what
happens. That's what happens when youyou push people, you push your organs,
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you push them too too far,too hard and too long. Eventually
they're just gonna be like I'm out. And I think that's what's gonna happen.
So just enjoy me while while yougot me. That's all I'll say
about that. Making my apologies aboutthe way my voice sounds. I feel
like when I'm sick, I soundlike the Tennessee comes out in me a
little bit more. And I don'tknow if it's a like my wife says
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that I don't sound country, butto me, I think I sound country,
and from a young age I madea concerted effort like I don't want
to sound like that. So I'vebeen doing this my whole life, and
it's like when my nose gets stoppedup like this, there's just nothing I
can do about it. Anyway,I've been talking about myself for three fucking
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minutes, wasting all the time inthe world when you guys are excited to
talk about free agency. At leastI hope you're excited. I still see
some people on Twitter scrolling through myfeed, just doom scrolling because I hate
myself. I'm just like, howcan people not be happy about what the
Titans are doing. I don't understandthe philosophy. It just feels totally different.
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And our our buddy Easton Freeze talkedabout how weird it was seeing like
a new regime of Titans coming inand just how different everything feels, and
I'm like, yeah, this islike what we're watching right now with the
twenty twenty four Tennessee Titans is likewatching Fear the Walking Dead. It's like,
you know, this is set inthe same universe as what you've been
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watching for the last five years,but everything is different and you can't place
it. You can't make sense ofit all. I gave up on Fear
the Walking Dead after a season.I'm told I shouldn't have, but it's
just too much. It's like theMarvel stuff at this point, like it
just nobody there's too much. There'sjust nobody cares anymore. I'm straying from
my point. But the point isthis is our same beloved team that made
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a clear and dynamic shift in philosophy, and now they're supplementing the roster,
spending the money that they have,and like this narrative that the Titans are
cheap. It just come on,y'all. I mean, the money they
shelled out for Calvin Ridley alone shouldhave told you that Lloyd Cushionberry getting paid.
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It's just, you know, it'sit's the dawning of a new era.
And for everything that we went throughwith the firing of John Robinson last
year, with the firing of MikeRabel this year, and just bringing in
Brian Callahan and just kind of wondering, like, what is it all gonna
look like? Well, we're startingto get answers to that. We're starting
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to get answers, And to me, I love it. I think this
is the exact thing that Brian Callahanwas brought in here for. I love
that all of a sudden, likeRan Carthon's doing press conferences, He's gonna
be on one oh four five withRamon Kayla and will RK dub in the
morning, like he's out there.It kind of feels like there's a bit
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of a weight off of his shoulders. Like I don't know, I get
the sense that the tones of hispress conferences are a little bit different now
than they were last year. Notthat I have any idea what could have
been the cause of that, butthis really, to me does feel like
a situation where I know the memehas let Ran cook, but it kind
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of feels like Ran Carthon's kind ofstepping into his own here as the GM
of the Tennessee Titans, with theinput of Brian Callahan, this new coaching
staff, this new all star coachingstaff, and now we're starting to see
the players, and we're starting tobe able to kind of configure a profile
for what this regime is looking for. Right they want athletes. They want
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athletes. Everybody that they've signed sofar has had like a tremendous relative athletics
score, and their thinking is gethim in the building and we'll coach them
up. So I think it helpsus kind of start to project a little
to once the season starts, whatis this offense going to look like,
what's the defense going to look like? And by all accounts from today's press
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conferences, I think the main takeawayif you stayed awake for all of them,
was that the vibes are just kindof different this year. And we've
heard some people in the media saythat it's not you know, I always
laugh because these things are like carefullycrafted as to not take a shot at
like Mike Rabel. But then they'rejust like, oh, well, you
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know, it's not that there wereanything wrong with the vibes last year or
anything, but just everybody seems soenergetic and smiling and happy and collaborative and
all this stuff that I'm just like, what are you really saying, Like,
just just say it. We canstill like Mike Rabel and appreciate what
he did for this organization, butwe don't have to act like everything he
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touched turned to gold. Maybe thereis like a new air in the organization,
because that was something that we heardwith the Diana Russini or deal,
was that Rabel kind of sucked theair out of the room, right,
alpha male, big dog coming inthere, my way or the highway kind
of deal. Maybe that's different now. I don't know, but I want
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to dig into these free agents becauseI by and large like what they've done
before. I think the philosophy hereis get athletes that can do a bunch
of things. Dynamically. Is dynamicallyeven a word, but I think they're
getting dynamic athletes in there. Isthey want to be a speedier, more
explosive organization roster from top to bottom. So the first domino to fall was
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Tony Pollard. And I know therewere a lot of people matt out there.
I said, you're out in yourselfif you don't think this is tai
J Spears' backfield. I still thinkit's Taj Spears's backfield to lose. I
think he's going to be the focalpoint of this offense, but I think
it's important to get a piece alongsidehim. And this isn't to say like,
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oh, well it's gonna be eightytwenty ty J Spears. It may
be like sixty forty or something likethat. But I still think he's gonna
be the predominant ball carrier for thisoffense. But it's important to get a
guy next to him that can kindof do it all. And the thing
that I'm gonna by the way,like I'll get into my tape studies on
all of these prospects, prospects allof these players throughout the summer. Right
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now, we're getting our initial evelstogether. Everybody's breaking them down. I'll
back that up with film over thecourse of the summer. During the dead
period, when there's nothing else goingon, it's usually when I go back
and do the film study. Soit's a good time, listen, it's
a good time to subscribe to Stackingthe inbox right now anyway, because all
of my NFL draft coverage is upthere. I've got a Kamari Lassiter film
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study droping tomorrow. I've done atthis point like two hundred prospects that I've
written about. That's all up therefilm stuf. He's the whole thing,
and then we're going to get intoit in the summertime as well. So
Tony Pollard, you get a guythat can do a little bit of everything.
You're no longer in this situation whereyou're not necessarily tipping plays, but
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you're not in a situation where yourpersonnel limits what you can call on offense.
Because tay J. Spears, Imean, if you paid attention to
Zach's coverage of the draft last year, we were both enamored by tay J.
Spears, coming out of Tulane andZach's komp for tay J. Spears
was Tony Pollard. So listen,it only makes sense to bring him in
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here, and there's going to bea time share. I think the days
of any particular running back getting twentytwenty five thirty carries in a game are
long gone. I think this offensewants to pass the ball. I think
the personnel decisions that they've made haveshown that they are placing an emphasis on
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protecting will Levis but also doing whatit takes to secure playmakers. And I
think this is an offense that just, bottom line, bottom line, they
need playmakers. Tony Pollard is aplaymaker, and people kind of get hung
up on the injury thing, Butif you look at some of the numbers
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that friend of the Show, JamesFoster at No Flags film on Twitter posted,
Tony Pollard was like a completely differentrunning back the first half of the
season compared to the second half ofthe season. So this guy is coming
back from a broken leg, hitshis stride and became one of the more
efficient, prolific running backs in theleague down the stretch of the twenty twenty
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three season. Assuming he can stayhealthy and there's no issues there. I
think this is going to be anexplosive spark plug for this offense. I
loved the signing Lloyd cushion Barry MikeWill made it baby because we on that
good cushion alcohol Lloyd Cushion Berry topof the market center and this is a
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good get right here because he's oneof the best centers in the game.
Forget like available in free agency asa qualifier just you pull the centers together,
and Lloyd Cushion Berry was one ofthe best to begin with. I
did not think the Titans would bein on him because I thought they would
be trying to go for a linebacker, go for a top of market corner,
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top of market edge rusher as wellpotentially, and I kind of felt
like they would make do with someof the value options either in free agency
or they would draft their guy tobe the cornerstone. But they weren't afraid
to spend that money. They wentout there, they did what it took
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to get Cushion Berry here in Nashville. And now this is a building block
piece. And to me, thesekind of situations are rare in free agency
because this is reminiscent of the BenJones deal for me, a guy that
I don't remember how old Ben Joneswas when he actually came to the Titans,
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but he was an established guy thatstill had a lot left in the
tank. Cushion Berry, I feellike has established himself as one of the
best sinners in the game coming intohis own You're getting a guy in his
prime, So it's okay you paythe top of market prices for that.
No issue with that whatsoever. Ismy expectation is this guy's going to be
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here for years to come, andyou needed an upgrade. I'm intrigued that
Aaron Brewer got a spot in Miamibecause, you know, while I was
kind of tired of watching him getblown up at least once or twice a
game with the Titans, I kindof feel like the way Mike McDaniel does
things down there in his offense athletic, getting to to get out there and
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move side to side. I'm kindof intrigued by Aaron Brewer in Miami.
But comparing the two options, it'sa clear upgrade for the Titans. This
is from Warren Sharp on Twitter.Lloyd Cushion Barry rank number three in pass
blocking. Last year, Aaron Brewerranked twenty seventh. Cushion Berry allowed just
fourteen pressures, number two fewest forany center playing at least fifteen games.
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I can't wait to get into thetape study on this guy. I'm gonna
do a little bit more diligence onhim because I'd love watching the offensive lineman
play. It's like big three hundredpound boys doing kung fu out there,
so I'm excited to dig into it. But I think this could be a
massive signing for the Titans, andit's checked a huge box crossed, a
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huge need off of the list now, Like I don't think they even need
to be thinking about center in thedraft. I think you might have a
versatile piece in Daniel Brunskill on theroster that could fill in, maybe be
your backup. I think you mightbe able to get a UDFA that could
come in here and maybe you developand see what he is years down the
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road. But I think Cushion Barryis gonna have that slot on lock for
years to come. Chittaba, Chitaba. I've watched the press conference's watched him
pronounce it, and I'm still gonnafuck it up. Chittaba a woozier Cheeto.
Just call him Cheeto. That's whathe said at the presser today.
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I've been a fan of his eversince his draft class. I wanted the
Titans to draft him instead of aDori Jackson. But folks, they don't
listen to me. They don't listento me. We could have had him
this whole time if they had justbeen picked up the phone said, Stony,
what do you think we should dohere at cornerback? I like a
woozy A. I actually did cheata little bit and go ahead and watch
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some of his tape when I waspreparing for free agency, because he's a
guy that I've had circled for aslong as I can remember, like twenty
seventeen was his draft class, andI've been a fan of him ever since.
And like you know, you coverthe draft long enough, like you
start to pick up on your favorites, and you have favorites out of each
draft class, and when you finda player like that, you tend to
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kind of keep tabs on them throughouttheir career to see how it's going.
Right now, Bo Melton, thePackers wide receiver, is one of those
guys. For me. Cheeto hasbeen one of those guys for me as
well, so I've kind of keptan eye on him. I like.
I think he's got a natural,fluid backpedal change of direction, good and
man where he can stick to guys, he can force tight windows. I
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think he had a bad game againstAJ Brown in the playoffs. I hope
that's not what you guys remember abouthim, where AJ Brown would flare his
route out a little bit before breakinginside and Cheetoh would bite on it pretty
big and let AJ Brown get open. AJ Brown had a few big catches
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on Cheeto, but let's not thinkabout that. I think he's instinctive,
decisive, willing as a tackler.I think he's kind of a tone setter
in the locker room as well.I think this is a good addition.
This is a really good addition,and I'm kind of chomping at the bit
to see what he can do underDenard Wilson's tutelage, because I think he
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can be the top cornerback on thisteam in twenty twenty four. I don't
think the Titans are done at theposition in free agency. Maybe they trade
for Lagarious Need, maybe they don'tbut I think they're gonna add another guy,
probably draft another guy as well.I mean that group needs complete overhauling.
But I think he's capable of beingone of the guys. When I
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talked about this being Fear of theWalking Dead earlier, Cheeto is one of
those characters that kind of comes inand you can kind of see the vision,
like, Oh, we're gonna buildthis whole story, build this whole
thing. He's one of those guys. He's one of the culture setters,
tone setters, and I really likedthe signing. He was one of my
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guys in this free agent class,and I'm happy that the Titans landed him.
Kenneth Murray is where you kind oflose me a little bit. I
admitted to Zach and Easton and JTin the group chat, like, haven't
done a lot of tape study onKenneth Murray because I just, quite frankly,
I didn't think he would be onthe Titans radar. And he kind
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of admitted it in his press conferencetoday a little bit like there's been some
ups and downs to his career.I think that it's putting it nicely.
I feel like he's a guy thathas struggled to come into his own.
And the optimistic view of that isthat he is coming into his own and
in this defense, maybe with alittle more, you know, better coaching,
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the presence of Frank Bush coaching legend, maybe you continue to lean into
that and you can get the mostout of this guy. But when I
prepared for the Chargers game way backin the beginning of last season, the
only notes I really made about himwere just like and talk about not living
up to the potential. This wasa first round pick. And I made
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a joke on Twitter earlier this weekwhen like, the first thing that comes
up about a player is how manygames they started and that they were a
former first round pick. That's notgood. That's not good. But with
Murray watching him specifically, I justkept laughing, thinking, like, I
don't know what he's doing out there, and that's kind of been the book
on him from people that have putin the film work steadily, Chargers fans
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were kind of happy to see himgo. I think that's pretty telling from
a fan base, not that allof the NFL fan bases are full of
incredibly sma aren't gifted football knowers,like the Titans fan base is. But
you know, I think it's itsays something about the general sentiment about a
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player when the fans are like,yep, don't let the door hit you
on the backside. So I've gota lot of catching up to do on
Kenneth Murray. I know Zach's writtena fantastic profile of Kenneth Murray up on
Stacking the Inbox dot com. Youcan go check that out. That was
the first one that that came inthat I was just like, oh boy,
I don't I don't see it here, guys. And then we start
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reliving the relative athletics scores. MikeHerndon retweets a bunch of stuff about him,
you know, crashing gaps and againstthe run and just you know,
downhill thumper type, and I think, uh, the more we have the
conversation about him, I think ifyou are going to look at this as
a positive signing, your hope isthat he is not going to be the
green dot linebacker. He's not goingto be the guy that's the centerpiece of
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the defense. It's kind of droppingback and tracking what's happening in front of
him and reacting to it, identifyingroutes and covering accordingly that sort of thing.
If you want him to succeed,you get him in there and you
just have him chase running backs,chase quarterbacks, that sort of thing.
But the tools are there, AndI think that's another interesting part of this
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discussion is that Rand Carthon, BrianCallahan, whoever's making the calls up there
is Rand Carthon. I don't knowwhy I said that. Rand Carthon's looking
at this like, let's get athletesin here. It's Kenneth Murray has all
the athletic ability in the world,really really good talented athlete. I might
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go back and watch some of hisOklahoma tape and just see what they got
there, Like, let's really diginto this guy. But he wants athletes
there that he can mold and say, you've got the abilities, You've got
the traits that you can't coach.You can't coach up athleticism, folks,
you got those traits, we canwe can take it from here. We
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got Frank fucking Bush here. Allright, we're gonna we're gonna turn you
into a field general out there,Kenneth Murray, If if you're excited about
this signing, then I would saythat is the optimistic approach here, and
maybe it is. Maybe I'm wrong, Like I said, like I haven't
caught up on Kenneth Murray's twenty twentythree season. I have no issue with
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admitting that to you guys, justsaying at the time we were prepping for
the Chargers game, I kind offelt like, this guy is this guy
is something else? Uh, SadiqCharles offensive line depth, guy that has
played some left tackle, played someright guard, played some left guard,
Like he got the bulk of hissnaps at left guard in twenty twenty three.
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Sorry, it just flew nine daysinto this thing. Is still fucking
with me. I can't talk right. I made a joke at some point
like, oh, Sadiq Charles leftguard, Peter Skoronski left tackle. We're
just leaning into the bit at thispoint. Though. They've told they told
y'all Skoransky's gonna be a guard.So I think this is just depth.
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I think this is them kind ofsaying. But you know, it was
kind of a strike against my ideathat, oh, you know what,
maybe they can just reserve the JalenDuncans, the John adjuk Wu's, the
Andre Dillard's, the npfs, theDylan Raidins can reserve those guys to depth
pieces, like no, they're addingdepth to to the offensive line, Like,
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I don't think anybody's safe at thispoint. So I'm interested. A
former fourth round pick played on thatmagical twenty nineteen LSU team. I'm I'm
kind of excited to see to diginto his tape a little bit because I'm
going in completely dark on Sadik Charles. Well, let's talk about the big
one. Let's talk about Calvin riddAnd everybody's making fun of the Titans because
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they're paying Calvin Ridley twenty three milliona year. There's no way pays attention
to how contracts work. I mean, we know, like props to Zach
at f words Pot on Twitter forkind of breaking down that contract in a
more digestible way. But the bulkof that money is going to come over
the next two years with a potentialout after that twenty twenty five seasons.
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So like, y'all just need tochill and wait till the contract details come
out before you start talking about that. But my voice saying holding up this
week not well at all. Isaw I was trying to say, Damn,
I might have to shut this thingdown soon. I saw one of
the meme accounts post about, youknow, twenty three million a year with
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clips of Calvin Ridley not making catchesor fumbling dropping the ball, that sort
of thing, and I just Ilaughed so hard because people want to hate
this move so bad. But mytakeaway from watching that clip, I don't
know if you guys saw it.I didn't retweet it, so I don't
know. I don't know where youcan find it, and I don't remember
the account that it's from. ButI'm watching that those clips picturing like this
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twelve year old kid that runs thisstupid ass account like just thinking, oh,
gotcha, the stupid Titans. CalvinRidley sucks. But I'm watching it
and I'm actually thinking, damn,I don't think Trevor Lawrence is good.
Like there's a lot of balls thatare like way too high for Calvin Ridley
to catch. There were a lotof balls that were like two or three
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feet off the mark where you know, couldn't like rifle a laser down the
middle in between two defenders. Andwe're talking about Calvin Ridley. That's not
my takeaway. I watch it andI'm like I've been on this Trevor Lawrence
is a little overhyped train for quitesome time. And I'm not gonna say
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that there's a quarterback controversy in Jacksonville, but I'll just say I don't think
you invest in the backup the waythey did with Mac Jones if you feel
completely one hundred comfortable that Trevor Lawrenceis capable of staying healthy for a full
season and playing at a high level. So we'll just say that. We'll
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just say that I like the movefor Calvin Ridley. Brian Callahan made it
clear he wants guys that can goto work on the outside. Calvin Ridley's
a guy that can go to workon the outside, able to release from
multiple positions, good salesman. Idon't think you want him like breaking across
the middle and trying to be ayak guy or anything like that. Just
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just win the matchups. And Ithink that's what Calvin Ridley is. Absolutely
torched the Titans last season. Isaw somebody say that those were the only
two games that he has, Like, I don't understand where the hate for
this signing is coming from, becauselike this is the market every year,
every year, Like we talked aboutthe Christian Kirk signing. Christian Kirk has
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gone on to be a pretty goodwide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's,
you know, like you can't comparewhat Calvin Ridley is making to like
what Justin Jefferson's making, Like thatdeal hasn't come yet, or maybe I'm
thinking of Jamar Chase. I can'tremember one of them signed and one of
them's not. Like Calvin Ridley isthe best available on the market. Calvin
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Ridley is going to be paid topof market money. Is it an overpay?
Yeah? Probably, But like that'swhat you have to do to secure
talent. If they didn't go outand get Calvin Ridley, some of these
Titans fans would be out there bitchingabout how the owner's cheap and they don't
want to spend money and all thisstuff. And I'm it just it just
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drives me up a fucking wall.Just like watch the tape. And if
you just want to watch the tapefrom those Titans games, more power to
you, because guess what, it'sfucking March. Okay, we got six
more months before we're we're gonna evenanswer questions about these guys, so just
enjoy it, like your team wentout and got the best wide receiver on
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the market. This changes everything abouttheir draft strategy. That is no longer
a dire need that they're going tobe forced to address with an early round
pick, like they're setting themselves upto go best player available in these spots.
So I look at it as likesome fans just are are never going
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to be happy. The national medialaughing at the Titans for overspending for Calvin
Ridley is just tone deaf. It'sit's silly to me, and I have
been saying for years, who givesa fuck what the national people say about
the Titans because they out themselves asnot watching the Titans. Right. These
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are the same people saying, oh, Tony Pollard, it's over for ty
J. Spears. The same peoplethat you know say, well, oh
gosh, Ryan Tannehill's racist. RyanTannehill's racist because he's not gonna mentor Malik
Willis. You know, these peoplethat don't pay attention, that just chime
in with shit like this. Sorry, I get a little passionate because I
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think it's a perfectly reasonable deal,especially now that we've seen the contract details.
For the talent and the skill setthat Calvin Ridley presents for this offense.
You got two guys that are dogsnow, DeAndre Hopkins Calvin Ridley.
Imagine if they add Romadunze to thiswide receiver room, and imagine if they
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do kind of make a concerted effortto get trailing. Burke's juiced up.
Let's move him back into the slotand have him do some things there.
Tony Pollard and ty J Spears bothcatching passes. Now, Josh Wiley's healthy.
What is this new offense going tobe for Chicka koon Quill? Like
all of a sudden, Will Levishas fucking weapons and you're narrowing down your
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needs on offense where we got singularfocus on the offensive line. They might
add another wide receiver too, bythe way, I don't know that they're
done there. My inclination would beto draft two, bring in two in
undrafted free agents to really deep classday three guys. You get a Roma
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Duneesa, you get a Ryan FlornoyBoom. We're cooking with peanut oil,
baby. But I like the CalvinRidley move on the surface, it was
another one that I was not Theyhave so many needs that I was not
expecting them to get multiple top ofmarket caliber guys and they got two,
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and I think you could argue threewith Pollard, Cushion, Berry, Ridley,
And like I said, I thinkPollard was among the best running backs
available and they went out and gothim. So I think this is exciting.
I think this offense has new juiceagain. It's like a TV show
set in the same universe as amovie you saw before, Like the characters
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are different, but it's the samevibe. It feels like I just I
feel like they're crushing it in freeagency, and I don't understand the hate.
The Mason Rudolph signing is fine.I think he's great as a backup.
I think you want somebody that's gonnacome in and not shit the bed,
somebody that you can actually throw theball with, not to take shots
(31:41):
at anybody. But you know thathadn't been the case for the Titans recently
necessarily, so I like the MasonRudolph signing. Keeping Nick Folk was imperative
to me. I talked about ita little bit on a football show with
Zach on Monday, like it's justmaybe it's just battered Titans fan syndrome,
(32:04):
but like going through what this teamhas gone through at Kicker the last several
years of just hey, we'll bringin a couple of undrafted free agents and
let him sort it out in thesummer and it'll be fine. Like that
didn't work, and then you finallyhad something that worked. You can't let
him walk, and they didn't lethim walk. They tendered doctor Gibby.
Jack Gibbons is back man. Iuh, you root for a guy like
(32:30):
doctor Gibby, right, and Ithink he's been good for what he is.
I just I'm still to be critical. I worry about the linebacker spot
because right now they've got Kenneth Murray, Jack Gibbons and Otis Reese. So
you got two young developmental guys anduh, Kenneth Murray, who hasn't exactly
(32:54):
had the most polished, proven careerso far. I thought it was something
that they were going to invest heavilyin. I wanted Patrick Queen. Patrick
Queen's a steeler. Patrick Queen alsodidn't make near as much money as I
thought he would, so I'm youknow, I watched his tape this season
and kind of felt like the RoquanSmith merchant narrative was unfair. I felt
(33:19):
like he was coming into his owna bit before Roquan Smith got there.
But it did kind of make mewonder if maybe the NFL felt like Queen
was more of a byproduct of hissurroundings than a driver of his success,
if that makes sense, And youknow, if the Titans weren't in on
(33:40):
him at all. With Dinard Wilson, who was on that staff, got
an up close and personal look athim, I don't know, you know,
I feel like the writing's on thewall, right, you don't necessarily
have to say it when you canread the tea leaves like that and stony.
Maybe you were just wrong about PatrickQueen and they just didn't they didn't
(34:02):
want him at all. But tosee Josie Jewel, Franky Louvu go.
There are a couple of other namesthat I mentioned on the podcast a couple
of weeks ago that this market withfor the linebackers has just dried up.
It's just dried up completely. AndI know that they've been linked to Jerome
Baker. To me like, ohgosh, like we're getting down to Devin
(34:25):
White. I think Devin White hasbeen inconsistent but probably better than what you
got in house. Can he becan he be the field general? Can
he be the green dot linebacker?I don't know. Are they setting themselves
up to take a linebacker earlier inthe draft, then we think maybe I
(34:46):
think it's the one position that theyhaven't really checked that box yet, and
it kind of makes me nervous basedoff of what's what's left available to him.
And I again like, I don'tmean for that to be a slight
at Jack Dibbins, because I thinkfor him to be an undrafted guy and
earn a starting role last year andyou know, not not necessarily the the
(35:07):
All Pro, but you know,reliable enough to get the job done.
Maybe this team, the staff,this regime believes in him. I I
don't know, but uh, I'mkind of looking at the linebacker spot right
now and thinking we're on thin iceguys. And then of course, the
(35:29):
the final signing, unless there's beensomebody signed since I started talking, is
bringing back Nick Westbrook Akine and andhey, man, I ain't gonna hate
on nw I. A man's madea hell of a career. I saw
a tweet earlier that the guy needslike seven hundred yards to uh to crack
the top ten all time on theTitans receiving list. So I'm a I'm
(35:51):
all for it. Like he's proventime and time again that he's reliable as
a fourth or fifth option, maybeeven a sixth option, and you know
what they're there's still the chance that, you know, he doesn't survive training
camp, depending on what happens therest of free agency in the draft.
So I would say, don't overreactto it. But good for Nick Westbrook,
a kine man just hanging around,just hanging around on this roster.
(36:15):
The Titans have been linked to JustinSimmons, Marcus May, Jerome Baker who
I just mentioned, Chase Young,supposedly Mackai Beckton, though it seems like
all of the information on that iscoming out of Becton's camp. I know
Mackay Beckton visited with the Bengals today. He has two more visits this week
(36:35):
lined up. We don't know whatthey are. I'm gonna go out on
a limb and say one of themis the Titans. I would be I
would be in on Mackay Becton.I think the bus talk is kind of
a lazy narrative. I think you'renot digging into the context of his career.
So far, nobody seems to likeKeith Carter. Nobody seems to want
(36:57):
to play for Keith Carter. Idon't know how Keith Carter, oh Gord
just audibly yawning on a podcast.You know, that's the sobro's way.
I guess I just stay tired.I stay tired and run down. My
mother says, that's why I getsick all the time. It's because I
don't take care of myself. Idon't sleep enough because I'm watching Kamari Lassiter
take on the Florida Gators and RickyPiersoll at midnight till one o'clock in the
(37:22):
morning. Anyway. Uh, Idon't know. Like the Keith Carter stuff
is just hilarious to me because he'salways catching strays from players that don't really
like him all that much. SoI think there's an interesting dynamic there.
I think if you watch some ofMakai Beckton's twenty twenty three, I think
(37:43):
there's some pretty good stuff in there. I think with Bill Callahan, not
to overstate the uh, what's becomingcliche at this point, the magic one
that he can just wave and createa good offensive lineman. I think there's
something to work with there. Massivedude, freak athletic profile, gonna be
(38:06):
cheap too, so I'm I'm allfor it. I think if you bring
a guy like that in then itdoes give you a little bit of flexibility.
I'm not saying your left tackle problemsare solved, per se, but
I think it does give you theflexibility to maybe go best player available in
the draft, and I think that'sultimately the goal of what they're trying to
(38:27):
do. A couple of safeties,Justin Simmons, Marcus May Simmons would be
my preference there. They've got ameeting with Jerome Baker, assuming he makes
it out of his meeting with theBrowns, remember who he's meeting with,
and then Chase Young, which listen. They the defensive tackle market is drying
up as well, and if theydon't land Chase Young, I feel like
(38:52):
that edge rusher market is going tostart to dry up as well. Young
guy. I don't think he's gonnabe as expensive as he would have been
had he lived up to the numbertwo overall pick billing, So I would
be interested in adding a little morejuice a little more teeth to the pass
rush. I kind of like ChaseYoung. I kind of like the idea
(39:14):
of just getting these freak athletes inhere, and these these guys that had
pedigrees as college players and either youknow, as a reclamation project or just
giving them their fair share, likelet's go with it. I think that's
kind of the mindset you need ifyou're where the Titans are at right now,
because you're gonna have to take somegambles if you're gonna be good in
(39:36):
twenty twenty four. Not too bigof a risk to to risk long term
damage to the franchise or anything likethat. But I like the players where
it's like, you know what ifwe if we hit on their upside,
we've we got foundational pieces here.So I think that's what your your line
of thinking is for guys like KennethMurray, for a guy like potentially Mackai
(40:00):
Beckton, and even Chase Young toa certain extent. So I'm excited about
what they're doing. There's still someguys out there. I mentioned adding another
wide receiver, I'd be okay witha kJ Osborne coming into this receiving corps.
I'd be okay with a Marquez Valdezscantling who's still out there mvs even
(40:21):
you know at this point, likethrow Hollywood Brown into this room. Calvin
Ridley kind of changes how I'm lookingat the wide receiver position. It's awesome,
Like just maybe add another guy.Tyron Smith is still out there.
I don't know. I don't know. Just immediately I say his name and
I think about the meme of youknow, taking backshots in the locker room,
(40:45):
and people tagged me in the accountthat says it's Tyron Smith. It
said he debunked the the idea.That's not the point of the meme.
First of all, the point ofthe meme is to make a joke.
You're making jokes about people taking backshots. It's in the locker room. I
also, I don't think that's reallyTyron Smith. Guys, I think it's
(41:05):
a fake account. That's just mytwo cents. But Tyron Smith old injured.
Depending on the price, I'd beokay with it as maybe a stop
gap competition again, like a boxyou could check so that you're more flexible
in the draft. But I don'tthink Tyron Smith. I don't think he's
going to be on their radar atthis point, because that's like for a
(41:30):
team that might be tackle depth awayfrom competing for a Super Bowl. I
don't think he's in a rebuilding team'splans. I wouldn't think, but I
you know, I could be wrong. And you know, if if they
don't have somebody to spend this moneyon, yeah fuck it. Give him
like a one year deal and payhim to come to camp, and you
(41:51):
know, maybe he can be ifhe could stay healthy, maybe he can
be your your lockdown left tackle.I'm just not really counting on it.
I mentioned Devin White to rel Dotson'sout there Orren Burks is out there safety
position. I think there he shouldadd Cam Curl has some history with Chris
Harris in Washington. Add Cam Curlto the safety room. If they miss
(42:15):
out on Justin Simmons. I kindof feel like Marcus May, they're interested
in him, but I kind offeel like that ship might have sailed,
like he might be entering the twilightof his career, kind of like what
I said with with Tyron Smith.I don't know if May is necessarily the
guy for the future. I thinkSimmons still could be, and I think
(42:37):
a guy like Cam Curle could beentering that conversation as well. Nobody seems
to be talking about a Kello Weatherspoon, but a guy that had some quality
reps at cornerback for San Francisco fora number of years. He's on the
market. I think they could addanother corner and then Stefan Gilmour. You
know, if this team doesn't tradefor Lagarious Need, they missed out on
(42:58):
Kendall Fuller. Like, now we'regetting to that tier of guys, Like,
you know what, maybe we dojust throw a contract at Stefan Gilmore
so that we've got a capable corneropposite Cheeto and suddenly like you're feeling a
lot better about that cornerback spot.A couple of guys that have departed departed
(43:21):
the Titans or our free agents.I should say that I'm really really intrigued
by you haven't heard Ryan Tannehill's name, and you haven't heard Christian Fulton's name.
And I thought Christian Fulton was supposedto be one of the best young
corners in the game, but haven'treally heard a lot about him. So
I just find that interesting. It'slike a Z's was snatched up. Deniko
(43:43):
was snatched up, but Ryan Tannehill, after a year of being told there
are tons of teams that would loveto have him, a reliable starter,
gonna get another shot. Maybe hesigns with Like Minda or Las Vegas,
but I don't know. Vegas gotGardner Minshew, so I kind of feel
(44:07):
like that's out the window. Idon't think Minnesota is gonna sign him.
What's gonna happen? Well, that'sgonna do it for me today, my
voice is giving out. If youcan't tell, been a long week,
been a rough week, Been beena rough ten days for your boy.
So I'm gonna go make dinner,get some rest tonight. But I will
(44:30):
continue to post incessantly about Titans freeagents and dumb shit on Twitter at Stony
Keeley Rate Review. Subscribe to theUnofficial Titans podcast wherever you take in your
podcast, and be sure to checkout Sobrosnetwork dot com for all of our
work and Stacking the Inbox dot comfor my NFL Draft coverage. Until next
(44:53):
time, you stay classy Titans fans
From Sobros HQ and Nashville, Tennesseeto wherever you're cheering on your Tennessee Titans.
The Sobros Network presents the Unofficial TitansPodcast. Welcome back for another episode
(00:33):
of the Unofficial Titans Podcast right hereon so Bros Network, Mind's right ass
is tight as we get ready totackle free agency for you today, it's
your boy the e C. It'sSobros Network, Big Natural Stony Keeley.
You can follow me on Twitter atStony Keeley. Follow us collectively at Sobros
Network on all major social media platforms. Flying solo this week happens. We
(01:00):
always record on Thursday or Friday.I didn't know if it was going to
be today. I didn't know ifit was going to be tomorrow. I
checked with Owen to see if hecould do tomorrow. He couldn't do it,
And it immediately just became like,whenever I can squeeze thirty minutes in,
we're gonna record this thing. Likeyou guys know how it is around
so bros HQ. We're just runningaround this bitch like a chicken with its
(01:21):
head cut off. So I'm herestill recovering from the flu. That's why
there wasn't an episode last week,and I don't know if it. My
wife tells me that I sound alot better, but I don't know if
it. I feel like it comesacross how nasily I still am. It's
fucking crazy, Like talking to Seanabout it at our OSCARS live stream on
(01:44):
Sunday and he brings it up likeI'm amazed at how sick you get,
and it's it's true. I don'tknow ever since I had COVID. I
had COVID in December of twenty twenty, and ever since then, like I
get just like these crippling, cripplingviral infections, and last week it was
the flu and it kicked my ass. I mean, at this point,
(02:07):
this is day nine, I think, and I'm still on some cough medicine
crazy stuff. I was practically bedriddenfor for five days. You know.
I've always tried to like power throughand just say like if I can go,
I'm gonna go. But I couldnot go for like five days.
(02:27):
It was crazy. I didn't havean appetite. I got winded walking from
bed to the bathroom. Wild shit. So I don't I don't know what's
gonna become of me. I thinkeventually my lungs are just gonna be like
you're you just you're gonna die,like we can't keep doing this over and
over stony, so we quit.We're out of here, because that's what
happens. That's what happens when youyou push people, you push your organs,
(02:52):
you push them too too far,too hard and too long. Eventually
they're just gonna be like I'm out. And I think that's what's gonna happen.
So just enjoy me while while yougot me. That's all I'll say
about that. Making my apologies aboutthe way my voice sounds. I feel
like when I'm sick, I soundlike the Tennessee comes out in me a
little bit more. And I don'tknow if it's a like my wife says
(03:15):
that I don't sound country, butto me, I think I sound country,
and from a young age I madea concerted effort like I don't want
to sound like that. So I'vebeen doing this my whole life, and
it's like when my nose gets stoppedup like this, there's just nothing I
can do about it. Anyway,I've been talking about myself for three fucking
(03:35):
minutes, wasting all the time inthe world when you guys are excited to
talk about free agency. At leastI hope you're excited. I still see
some people on Twitter scrolling through myfeed, just doom scrolling because I hate
myself. I'm just like, howcan people not be happy about what the
Titans are doing. I don't understandthe philosophy. It just feels totally different.
(04:00):
And our our buddy Easton Freeze talkedabout how weird it was seeing like
a new regime of Titans coming inand just how different everything feels, and
I'm like, yeah, this islike what we're watching right now with the
twenty twenty four Tennessee Titans is likewatching Fear the Walking Dead. It's like,
you know, this is set inthe same universe as what you've been
(04:24):
watching for the last five years,but everything is different and you can't place
it. You can't make sense ofit all. I gave up on Fear
the Walking Dead after a season.I'm told I shouldn't have, but it's
just too much. It's like theMarvel stuff at this point, like it
just nobody there's too much. There'sjust nobody cares anymore. I'm straying from
my point. But the point isthis is our same beloved team that made
(04:49):
a clear and dynamic shift in philosophy, and now they're supplementing the roster,
spending the money that they have,and like this narrative that the Titans are
cheap. It just come on,y'all. I mean, the money they
shelled out for Calvin Ridley alone shouldhave told you that Lloyd Cushionberry getting paid.
(05:15):
It's just, you know, it'sit's the dawning of a new era.
And for everything that we went throughwith the firing of John Robinson last
year, with the firing of MikeRabel this year, and just bringing in
Brian Callahan and just kind of wondering, like, what is it all gonna
look like? Well, we're startingto get answers to that. We're starting
(05:40):
to get answers, And to me, I love it. I think this
is the exact thing that Brian Callahanwas brought in here for. I love
that all of a sudden, likeRan Carthon's doing press conferences, He's gonna
be on one oh four five withRamon Kayla and will RK dub in the
morning, like he's out there.It kind of feels like there's a bit
(06:02):
of a weight off of his shoulders. Like I don't know, I get
the sense that the tones of hispress conferences are a little bit different now
than they were last year. Notthat I have any idea what could have
been the cause of that, butthis really, to me does feel like
a situation where I know the memehas let Ran cook, but it kind
(06:24):
of feels like Ran Carthon's kind ofstepping into his own here as the GM
of the Tennessee Titans, with theinput of Brian Callahan, this new coaching
staff, this new all star coachingstaff, and now we're starting to see
the players, and we're starting tobe able to kind of configure a profile
for what this regime is looking for. Right they want athletes. They want
(06:47):
athletes. Everybody that they've signed sofar has had like a tremendous relative athletics
score, and their thinking is gethim in the building and we'll coach them
up. So I think it helpsus kind of start to project a little
to once the season starts, whatis this offense going to look like,
what's the defense going to look like? And by all accounts from today's press
(07:12):
conferences, I think the main takeawayif you stayed awake for all of them,
was that the vibes are just kindof different this year. And we've
heard some people in the media saythat it's not you know, I always
laugh because these things are like carefullycrafted as to not take a shot at
like Mike Rabel. But then they'rejust like, oh, well, you
(07:34):
know, it's not that there wereanything wrong with the vibes last year or
anything, but just everybody seems soenergetic and smiling and happy and collaborative and
all this stuff that I'm just like, what are you really saying, Like,
just just say it. We canstill like Mike Rabel and appreciate what
he did for this organization, butwe don't have to act like everything he
(07:54):
touched turned to gold. Maybe thereis like a new air in the organization,
because that was something that we heardwith the Diana Russini or deal,
was that Rabel kind of sucked theair out of the room, right,
alpha male, big dog coming inthere, my way or the highway kind
of deal. Maybe that's different now. I don't know, but I want
(08:15):
to dig into these free agents becauseI by and large like what they've done
before. I think the philosophy hereis get athletes that can do a bunch
of things. Dynamically. Is dynamicallyeven a word, but I think they're
getting dynamic athletes in there. Isthey want to be a speedier, more
explosive organization roster from top to bottom. So the first domino to fall was
(08:39):
Tony Pollard. And I know therewere a lot of people matt out there.
I said, you're out in yourselfif you don't think this is tai
J Spears' backfield. I still thinkit's Taj Spears's backfield to lose. I
think he's going to be the focalpoint of this offense, but I think
it's important to get a piece alongsidehim. And this isn't to say like,
(09:00):
oh, well it's gonna be eightytwenty ty J Spears. It may
be like sixty forty or something likethat. But I still think he's gonna
be the predominant ball carrier for thisoffense. But it's important to get a
guy next to him that can kindof do it all. And the thing
that I'm gonna by the way,like I'll get into my tape studies on
all of these prospects, prospects allof these players throughout the summer. Right
(09:26):
now, we're getting our initial evelstogether. Everybody's breaking them down. I'll
back that up with film over thecourse of the summer. During the dead
period, when there's nothing else goingon, it's usually when I go back
and do the film study. Soit's a good time, listen, it's
a good time to subscribe to Stackingthe inbox right now anyway, because all
of my NFL draft coverage is upthere. I've got a Kamari Lassiter film
(09:50):
study droping tomorrow. I've done atthis point like two hundred prospects that I've
written about. That's all up therefilm stuf. He's the whole thing,
and then we're going to get intoit in the summertime as well. So
Tony Pollard, you get a guythat can do a little bit of everything.
You're no longer in this situation whereyou're not necessarily tipping plays, but
(10:16):
you're not in a situation where yourpersonnel limits what you can call on offense.
Because tay J. Spears, Imean, if you paid attention to
Zach's coverage of the draft last year, we were both enamored by tay J.
Spears, coming out of Tulane andZach's komp for tay J. Spears
was Tony Pollard. So listen,it only makes sense to bring him in
(10:39):
here, and there's going to bea time share. I think the days
of any particular running back getting twentytwenty five thirty carries in a game are
long gone. I think this offensewants to pass the ball. I think
the personnel decisions that they've made haveshown that they are placing an emphasis on
(11:00):
protecting will Levis but also doing whatit takes to secure playmakers. And I
think this is an offense that just, bottom line, bottom line, they
need playmakers. Tony Pollard is aplaymaker, and people kind of get hung
up on the injury thing, Butif you look at some of the numbers
(11:20):
that friend of the Show, JamesFoster at No Flags film on Twitter posted,
Tony Pollard was like a completely differentrunning back the first half of the
season compared to the second half ofthe season. So this guy is coming
back from a broken leg, hitshis stride and became one of the more
efficient, prolific running backs in theleague down the stretch of the twenty twenty
(11:43):
three season. Assuming he can stayhealthy and there's no issues there. I
think this is going to be anexplosive spark plug for this offense. I
loved the signing Lloyd cushion Barry MikeWill made it baby because we on that
good cushion alcohol Lloyd Cushion Berry topof the market center and this is a
(12:05):
good get right here because he's oneof the best centers in the game.
Forget like available in free agency asa qualifier just you pull the centers together,
and Lloyd Cushion Berry was one ofthe best to begin with. I
did not think the Titans would bein on him because I thought they would
be trying to go for a linebacker, go for a top of market corner,
(12:31):
top of market edge rusher as wellpotentially, and I kind of felt
like they would make do with someof the value options either in free agency
or they would draft their guy tobe the cornerstone. But they weren't afraid
to spend that money. They wentout there, they did what it took
(12:52):
to get Cushion Berry here in Nashville. And now this is a building block
piece. And to me, thesekind of situations are rare in free agency
because this is reminiscent of the BenJones deal for me, a guy that
I don't remember how old Ben Joneswas when he actually came to the Titans,
(13:13):
but he was an established guy thatstill had a lot left in the
tank. Cushion Berry, I feellike has established himself as one of the
best sinners in the game coming intohis own You're getting a guy in his
prime, So it's okay you paythe top of market prices for that.
No issue with that whatsoever. Ismy expectation is this guy's going to be
(13:35):
here for years to come, andyou needed an upgrade. I'm intrigued that
Aaron Brewer got a spot in Miamibecause, you know, while I was
kind of tired of watching him getblown up at least once or twice a
game with the Titans, I kindof feel like the way Mike McDaniel does
things down there in his offense athletic, getting to to get out there and
(14:01):
move side to side. I'm kindof intrigued by Aaron Brewer in Miami.
But comparing the two options, it'sa clear upgrade for the Titans. This
is from Warren Sharp on Twitter.Lloyd Cushion Barry rank number three in pass
blocking. Last year, Aaron Brewerranked twenty seventh. Cushion Berry allowed just
fourteen pressures, number two fewest forany center playing at least fifteen games.
(14:28):
I can't wait to get into thetape study on this guy. I'm gonna
do a little bit more diligence onhim because I'd love watching the offensive lineman
play. It's like big three hundredpound boys doing kung fu out there,
so I'm excited to dig into it. But I think this could be a
massive signing for the Titans, andit's checked a huge box crossed, a
(14:50):
huge need off of the list now, Like I don't think they even need
to be thinking about center in thedraft. I think you might have a
versatile piece in Daniel Brunskill on theroster that could fill in, maybe be
your backup. I think you mightbe able to get a UDFA that could
come in here and maybe you developand see what he is years down the
(15:11):
road. But I think Cushion Barryis gonna have that slot on lock for
years to come. Chittaba, Chitaba. I've watched the press conference's watched him
pronounce it, and I'm still gonnafuck it up. Chittaba a woozier Cheeto.
Just call him Cheeto. That's whathe said at the presser today.
(15:33):
I've been a fan of his eversince his draft class. I wanted the
Titans to draft him instead of aDori Jackson. But folks, they don't
listen to me. They don't listento me. We could have had him
this whole time if they had justbeen picked up the phone said, Stony,
what do you think we should dohere at cornerback? I like a
woozy A. I actually did cheata little bit and go ahead and watch
(15:58):
some of his tape when I waspreparing for free agency, because he's a
guy that I've had circled for aslong as I can remember, like twenty
seventeen was his draft class, andI've been a fan of him ever since.
And like you know, you coverthe draft long enough, like you
start to pick up on your favorites, and you have favorites out of each
draft class, and when you finda player like that, you tend to
(16:18):
kind of keep tabs on them throughouttheir career to see how it's going.
Right now, Bo Melton, thePackers wide receiver, is one of those
guys. For me. Cheeto hasbeen one of those guys for me as
well, so I've kind of keptan eye on him. I like.
I think he's got a natural,fluid backpedal change of direction, good and
man where he can stick to guys, he can force tight windows. I
(16:38):
think he had a bad game againstAJ Brown in the playoffs. I hope
that's not what you guys remember abouthim, where AJ Brown would flare his
route out a little bit before breakinginside and Cheetoh would bite on it pretty
big and let AJ Brown get open. AJ Brown had a few big catches
(17:00):
on Cheeto, but let's not thinkabout that. I think he's instinctive,
decisive, willing as a tackler.I think he's kind of a tone setter
in the locker room as well.I think this is a good addition.
This is a really good addition,and I'm kind of chomping at the bit
to see what he can do underDenard Wilson's tutelage, because I think he
(17:26):
can be the top cornerback on thisteam in twenty twenty four. I don't
think the Titans are done at theposition in free agency. Maybe they trade
for Lagarious Need, maybe they don'tbut I think they're gonna add another guy,
probably draft another guy as well.I mean that group needs complete overhauling.
But I think he's capable of beingone of the guys. When I
(17:49):
talked about this being Fear of theWalking Dead earlier, Cheeto is one of
those characters that kind of comes inand you can kind of see the vision,
like, Oh, we're gonna buildthis whole story, build this whole
thing. He's one of those guys. He's one of the culture setters,
tone setters, and I really likedthe signing. He was one of my
(18:11):
guys in this free agent class,and I'm happy that the Titans landed him.
Kenneth Murray is where you kind oflose me a little bit. I
admitted to Zach and Easton and JTin the group chat, like, haven't
done a lot of tape study onKenneth Murray because I just, quite frankly,
I didn't think he would be onthe Titans radar. And he kind
(18:36):
of admitted it in his press conferencetoday a little bit like there's been some
ups and downs to his career.I think that it's putting it nicely.
I feel like he's a guy thathas struggled to come into his own.
And the optimistic view of that isthat he is coming into his own and
in this defense, maybe with alittle more, you know, better coaching,
(18:59):
the presence of Frank Bush coaching legend, maybe you continue to lean into
that and you can get the mostout of this guy. But when I
prepared for the Chargers game way backin the beginning of last season, the
only notes I really made about himwere just like and talk about not living
up to the potential. This wasa first round pick. And I made
(19:22):
a joke on Twitter earlier this weekwhen like, the first thing that comes
up about a player is how manygames they started and that they were a
former first round pick. That's notgood. That's not good. But with
Murray watching him specifically, I justkept laughing, thinking, like, I
don't know what he's doing out there, and that's kind of been the book
on him from people that have putin the film work steadily, Chargers fans
(19:48):
were kind of happy to see himgo. I think that's pretty telling from
a fan base, not that allof the NFL fan bases are full of
incredibly sma aren't gifted football knowers,like the Titans fan base is. But
you know, I think it's itsays something about the general sentiment about a
(20:10):
player when the fans are like,yep, don't let the door hit you
on the backside. So I've gota lot of catching up to do on
Kenneth Murray. I know Zach's writtena fantastic profile of Kenneth Murray up on
Stacking the Inbox dot com. Youcan go check that out. That was
the first one that that came inthat I was just like, oh boy,
I don't I don't see it here, guys. And then we start
(20:33):
reliving the relative athletics scores. MikeHerndon retweets a bunch of stuff about him,
you know, crashing gaps and againstthe run and just you know,
downhill thumper type, and I think, uh, the more we have the
conversation about him, I think ifyou are going to look at this as
a positive signing, your hope isthat he is not going to be the
green dot linebacker. He's not goingto be the guy that's the centerpiece of
(20:59):
the defense. It's kind of droppingback and tracking what's happening in front of
him and reacting to it, identifyingroutes and covering accordingly that sort of thing.
If you want him to succeed,you get him in there and you
just have him chase running backs,chase quarterbacks, that sort of thing.
But the tools are there, AndI think that's another interesting part of this
(21:25):
discussion is that Rand Carthon, BrianCallahan, whoever's making the calls up there
is Rand Carthon. I don't knowwhy I said that. Rand Carthon's looking
at this like, let's get athletesin here. It's Kenneth Murray has all
the athletic ability in the world,really really good talented athlete. I might
(21:45):
go back and watch some of hisOklahoma tape and just see what they got
there, Like, let's really diginto this guy. But he wants athletes
there that he can mold and say, you've got the abilities, You've got
the traits that you can't coach.You can't coach up athleticism, folks,
you got those traits, we canwe can take it from here. We
(22:07):
got Frank fucking Bush here. Allright, we're gonna we're gonna turn you
into a field general out there,Kenneth Murray, If if you're excited about
this signing, then I would saythat is the optimistic approach here, and
maybe it is. Maybe I'm wrong, Like I said, like I haven't
caught up on Kenneth Murray's twenty twentythree season. I have no issue with
(22:30):
admitting that to you guys, justsaying at the time we were prepping for
the Chargers game, I kind offelt like, this guy is this guy
is something else? Uh, SadiqCharles offensive line depth, guy that has
played some left tackle, played someright guard, played some left guard,
Like he got the bulk of hissnaps at left guard in twenty twenty three.
(22:55):
Sorry, it just flew nine daysinto this thing. Is still fucking
with me. I can't talk right. I made a joke at some point
like, oh, Sadiq Charles leftguard, Peter Skoronski left tackle. We're
just leaning into the bit at thispoint. Though. They've told they told
y'all Skoransky's gonna be a guard.So I think this is just depth.
(23:15):
I think this is them kind ofsaying. But you know, it was
kind of a strike against my ideathat, oh, you know what,
maybe they can just reserve the JalenDuncans, the John adjuk Wu's, the
Andre Dillard's, the npfs, theDylan Raidins can reserve those guys to depth
pieces, like no, they're addingdepth to to the offensive line, Like,
(23:37):
I don't think anybody's safe at thispoint. So I'm interested. A
former fourth round pick played on thatmagical twenty nineteen LSU team. I'm I'm
kind of excited to see to diginto his tape a little bit because I'm
going in completely dark on Sadik Charles. Well, let's talk about the big
one. Let's talk about Calvin riddAnd everybody's making fun of the Titans because
(24:03):
they're paying Calvin Ridley twenty three milliona year. There's no way pays attention
to how contracts work. I mean, we know, like props to Zach
at f words Pot on Twitter forkind of breaking down that contract in a
more digestible way. But the bulkof that money is going to come over
the next two years with a potentialout after that twenty twenty five seasons.
(24:27):
So like, y'all just need tochill and wait till the contract details come
out before you start talking about that. But my voice saying holding up this
week not well at all. Isaw I was trying to say, Damn,
I might have to shut this thingdown soon. I saw one of
the meme accounts post about, youknow, twenty three million a year with
(24:52):
clips of Calvin Ridley not making catchesor fumbling dropping the ball, that sort
of thing, and I just Ilaughed so hard because people want to hate
this move so bad. But mytakeaway from watching that clip, I don't
know if you guys saw it.I didn't retweet it, so I don't
know. I don't know where youcan find it, and I don't remember
the account that it's from. ButI'm watching that those clips picturing like this
(25:18):
twelve year old kid that runs thisstupid ass account like just thinking, oh,
gotcha, the stupid Titans. CalvinRidley sucks. But I'm watching it
and I'm actually thinking, damn,I don't think Trevor Lawrence is good.
Like there's a lot of balls thatare like way too high for Calvin Ridley
to catch. There were a lotof balls that were like two or three
(25:41):
feet off the mark where you know, couldn't like rifle a laser down the
middle in between two defenders. Andwe're talking about Calvin Ridley. That's not
my takeaway. I watch it andI'm like I've been on this Trevor Lawrence
is a little overhyped train for quitesome time. And I'm not gonna say
(26:03):
that there's a quarterback controversy in Jacksonville, but I'll just say I don't think
you invest in the backup the waythey did with Mac Jones if you feel
completely one hundred comfortable that Trevor Lawrenceis capable of staying healthy for a full
season and playing at a high level. So we'll just say that. We'll
(26:25):
just say that I like the movefor Calvin Ridley. Brian Callahan made it
clear he wants guys that can goto work on the outside. Calvin Ridley's
a guy that can go to workon the outside, able to release from
multiple positions, good salesman. Idon't think you want him like breaking across
the middle and trying to be ayak guy or anything like that. Just
(26:48):
just win the matchups. And Ithink that's what Calvin Ridley is. Absolutely
torched the Titans last season. Isaw somebody say that those were the only
two games that he has, Like, I don't understand where the hate for
this signing is coming from, becauselike this is the market every year,
every year, Like we talked aboutthe Christian Kirk signing. Christian Kirk has
(27:12):
gone on to be a pretty goodwide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's,
you know, like you can't comparewhat Calvin Ridley is making to like
what Justin Jefferson's making, Like thatdeal hasn't come yet, or maybe I'm
thinking of Jamar Chase. I can'tremember one of them signed and one of
them's not. Like Calvin Ridley isthe best available on the market. Calvin
(27:36):
Ridley is going to be paid topof market money. Is it an overpay?
Yeah? Probably, But like that'swhat you have to do to secure
talent. If they didn't go outand get Calvin Ridley, some of these
Titans fans would be out there bitchingabout how the owner's cheap and they don't
want to spend money and all thisstuff. And I'm it just it just
(27:57):
drives me up a fucking wall.Just like watch the tape. And if
you just want to watch the tapefrom those Titans games, more power to
you, because guess what, it'sfucking March. Okay, we got six
more months before we're we're gonna evenanswer questions about these guys, so just
enjoy it, like your team wentout and got the best wide receiver on
(28:18):
the market. This changes everything abouttheir draft strategy. That is no longer
a dire need that they're going tobe forced to address with an early round
pick, like they're setting themselves upto go best player available in these spots.
So I look at it as likesome fans just are are never going
(28:40):
to be happy. The national medialaughing at the Titans for overspending for Calvin
Ridley is just tone deaf. It'sit's silly to me, and I have
been saying for years, who givesa fuck what the national people say about
the Titans because they out themselves asnot watching the Titans. Right. These
(29:02):
are the same people saying, oh, Tony Pollard, it's over for ty
J. Spears. The same peoplethat you know say, well, oh
gosh, Ryan Tannehill's racist. RyanTannehill's racist because he's not gonna mentor Malik
Willis. You know, these peoplethat don't pay attention, that just chime
in with shit like this. Sorry, I get a little passionate because I
(29:26):
think it's a perfectly reasonable deal,especially now that we've seen the contract details.
For the talent and the skill setthat Calvin Ridley presents for this offense.
You got two guys that are dogsnow, DeAndre Hopkins Calvin Ridley.
Imagine if they add Romadunze to thiswide receiver room, and imagine if they
(29:48):
do kind of make a concerted effortto get trailing. Burke's juiced up.
Let's move him back into the slotand have him do some things there.
Tony Pollard and ty J Spears bothcatching passes. Now, Josh Wiley's healthy.
What is this new offense going tobe for Chicka koon Quill? Like
all of a sudden, Will Levishas fucking weapons and you're narrowing down your
(30:14):
needs on offense where we got singularfocus on the offensive line. They might
add another wide receiver too, bythe way, I don't know that they're
done there. My inclination would beto draft two, bring in two in
undrafted free agents to really deep classday three guys. You get a Roma
(30:36):
Duneesa, you get a Ryan FlornoyBoom. We're cooking with peanut oil,
baby. But I like the CalvinRidley move on the surface, it was
another one that I was not Theyhave so many needs that I was not
expecting them to get multiple top ofmarket caliber guys and they got two,
(30:56):
and I think you could argue threewith Pollard, Cushion, Berry, Ridley,
And like I said, I thinkPollard was among the best running backs
available and they went out and gothim. So I think this is exciting.
I think this offense has new juiceagain. It's like a TV show
set in the same universe as amovie you saw before, Like the characters
(31:17):
are different, but it's the samevibe. It feels like I just I
feel like they're crushing it in freeagency, and I don't understand the hate.
The Mason Rudolph signing is fine.I think he's great as a backup.
I think you want somebody that's gonnacome in and not shit the bed,
somebody that you can actually throw theball with, not to take shots
(31:41):
at anybody. But you know thathadn't been the case for the Titans recently
necessarily, so I like the MasonRudolph signing. Keeping Nick Folk was imperative
to me. I talked about ita little bit on a football show with
Zach on Monday, like it's justmaybe it's just battered Titans fan syndrome,
(32:04):
but like going through what this teamhas gone through at Kicker the last several
years of just hey, we'll bringin a couple of undrafted free agents and
let him sort it out in thesummer and it'll be fine. Like that
didn't work, and then you finallyhad something that worked. You can't let
him walk, and they didn't lethim walk. They tendered doctor Gibby.
Jack Gibbons is back man. Iuh, you root for a guy like
(32:30):
doctor Gibby, right, and Ithink he's been good for what he is.
I just I'm still to be critical. I worry about the linebacker spot
because right now they've got Kenneth Murray, Jack Gibbons and Otis Reese. So
you got two young developmental guys anduh, Kenneth Murray, who hasn't exactly
(32:54):
had the most polished, proven careerso far. I thought it was something
that they were going to invest heavilyin. I wanted Patrick Queen. Patrick
Queen's a steeler. Patrick Queen alsodidn't make near as much money as I
thought he would, so I'm youknow, I watched his tape this season
and kind of felt like the RoquanSmith merchant narrative was unfair. I felt
(33:19):
like he was coming into his owna bit before Roquan Smith got there.
But it did kind of make mewonder if maybe the NFL felt like Queen
was more of a byproduct of hissurroundings than a driver of his success,
if that makes sense, And youknow, if the Titans weren't in on
(33:40):
him at all. With Dinard Wilson, who was on that staff, got
an up close and personal look athim, I don't know, you know,
I feel like the writing's on thewall, right, you don't necessarily
have to say it when you canread the tea leaves like that and stony.
Maybe you were just wrong about PatrickQueen and they just didn't they didn't
(34:02):
want him at all. But tosee Josie Jewel, Franky Louvu go.
There are a couple of other namesthat I mentioned on the podcast a couple
of weeks ago that this market withfor the linebackers has just dried up.
It's just dried up completely. AndI know that they've been linked to Jerome
Baker. To me like, ohgosh, like we're getting down to Devin
(34:25):
White. I think Devin White hasbeen inconsistent but probably better than what you
got in house. Can he becan he be the field general? Can
he be the green dot linebacker?I don't know. Are they setting themselves
up to take a linebacker earlier inthe draft, then we think maybe I
(34:46):
think it's the one position that theyhaven't really checked that box yet, and
it kind of makes me nervous basedoff of what's what's left available to him.
And I again like, I don'tmean for that to be a slight
at Jack Dibbins, because I thinkfor him to be an undrafted guy and
earn a starting role last year andyou know, not not necessarily the the
(35:07):
All Pro, but you know,reliable enough to get the job done.
Maybe this team, the staff,this regime believes in him. I I
don't know, but uh, I'mkind of looking at the linebacker spot right
now and thinking we're on thin iceguys. And then of course, the
(35:29):
the final signing, unless there's beensomebody signed since I started talking, is
bringing back Nick Westbrook Akine and andhey, man, I ain't gonna hate
on nw I. A man's madea hell of a career. I saw
a tweet earlier that the guy needslike seven hundred yards to uh to crack
the top ten all time on theTitans receiving list. So I'm a I'm
(35:51):
all for it. Like he's proventime and time again that he's reliable as
a fourth or fifth option, maybeeven a sixth option, and you know
what they're there's still the chance that, you know, he doesn't survive training
camp, depending on what happens therest of free agency in the draft.
So I would say, don't overreactto it. But good for Nick Westbrook,
a kine man just hanging around,just hanging around on this roster.
(36:15):
The Titans have been linked to JustinSimmons, Marcus May, Jerome Baker who
I just mentioned, Chase Young,supposedly Mackai Beckton, though it seems like
all of the information on that iscoming out of Becton's camp. I know
Mackay Beckton visited with the Bengals today. He has two more visits this week
(36:35):
lined up. We don't know whatthey are. I'm gonna go out on
a limb and say one of themis the Titans. I would be I
would be in on Mackay Becton.I think the bus talk is kind of
a lazy narrative. I think you'renot digging into the context of his career.
So far, nobody seems to likeKeith Carter. Nobody seems to want
(36:57):
to play for Keith Carter. Idon't know how Keith Carter, oh Gord
just audibly yawning on a podcast.You know, that's the sobro's way.
I guess I just stay tired.I stay tired and run down. My
mother says, that's why I getsick all the time. It's because I
don't take care of myself. Idon't sleep enough because I'm watching Kamari Lassiter
take on the Florida Gators and RickyPiersoll at midnight till one o'clock in the
(37:22):
morning. Anyway. Uh, Idon't know. Like the Keith Carter stuff
is just hilarious to me because he'salways catching strays from players that don't really
like him all that much. SoI think there's an interesting dynamic there.
I think if you watch some ofMakai Beckton's twenty twenty three, I think
(37:43):
there's some pretty good stuff in there. I think with Bill Callahan, not
to overstate the uh, what's becomingcliche at this point, the magic one
that he can just wave and createa good offensive lineman. I think there's
something to work with there. Massivedude, freak athletic profile, gonna be
(38:06):
cheap too, so I'm I'm allfor it. I think if you bring
a guy like that in then itdoes give you a little bit of flexibility.
I'm not saying your left tackle problemsare solved, per se, but
I think it does give you theflexibility to maybe go best player available in
the draft, and I think that'sultimately the goal of what they're trying to
(38:27):
do. A couple of safeties,Justin Simmons, Marcus May Simmons would be
my preference there. They've got ameeting with Jerome Baker, assuming he makes
it out of his meeting with theBrowns, remember who he's meeting with,
and then Chase Young, which listen. They the defensive tackle market is drying
up as well, and if theydon't land Chase Young, I feel like
(38:52):
that edge rusher market is going tostart to dry up as well. Young
guy. I don't think he's gonnabe as expensive as he would have been
had he lived up to the numbertwo overall pick billing, So I would
be interested in adding a little morejuice a little more teeth to the pass
rush. I kind of like ChaseYoung. I kind of like the idea
(39:14):
of just getting these freak athletes inhere, and these these guys that had
pedigrees as college players and either youknow, as a reclamation project or just
giving them their fair share, likelet's go with it. I think that's
kind of the mindset you need ifyou're where the Titans are at right now,
because you're gonna have to take somegambles if you're gonna be good in
(39:36):
twenty twenty four. Not too bigof a risk to to risk long term
damage to the franchise or anything likethat. But I like the players where
it's like, you know what ifwe if we hit on their upside,
we've we got foundational pieces here.So I think that's what your your line
of thinking is for guys like KennethMurray, for a guy like potentially Mackai
(40:00):
Beckton, and even Chase Young toa certain extent. So I'm excited about
what they're doing. There's still someguys out there. I mentioned adding another
wide receiver, I'd be okay witha kJ Osborne coming into this receiving corps.
I'd be okay with a Marquez Valdezscantling who's still out there mvs even
(40:21):
you know at this point, likethrow Hollywood Brown into this room. Calvin
Ridley kind of changes how I'm lookingat the wide receiver position. It's awesome,
Like just maybe add another guy.Tyron Smith is still out there.
I don't know. I don't know. Just immediately I say his name and
I think about the meme of youknow, taking backshots in the locker room,
(40:45):
and people tagged me in the accountthat says it's Tyron Smith. It
said he debunked the the idea.That's not the point of the meme.
First of all, the point ofthe meme is to make a joke.
You're making jokes about people taking backshots. It's in the locker room. I
also, I don't think that's reallyTyron Smith. Guys, I think it's
(41:05):
a fake account. That's just mytwo cents. But Tyron Smith old injured.
Depending on the price, I'd beokay with it as maybe a stop
gap competition again, like a boxyou could check so that you're more flexible
in the draft. But I don'tthink Tyron Smith. I don't think he's
going to be on their radar atthis point, because that's like for a
(41:30):
team that might be tackle depth awayfrom competing for a Super Bowl. I
don't think he's in a rebuilding team'splans. I wouldn't think, but I
you know, I could be wrong. And you know, if if they
don't have somebody to spend this moneyon, yeah fuck it. Give him
like a one year deal and payhim to come to camp, and you
(41:51):
know, maybe he can be ifhe could stay healthy, maybe he can
be your your lockdown left tackle.I'm just not really counting on it.
I mentioned Devin White to rel Dotson'sout there Orren Burks is out there safety
position. I think there he shouldadd Cam Curl has some history with Chris
Harris in Washington. Add Cam Curlto the safety room. If they miss
(42:15):
out on Justin Simmons. I kindof feel like Marcus May, they're interested
in him, but I kind offeel like that ship might have sailed,
like he might be entering the twilightof his career, kind of like what
I said with with Tyron Smith.I don't know if May is necessarily the
guy for the future. I thinkSimmons still could be, and I think
(42:37):
a guy like Cam Curle could beentering that conversation as well. Nobody seems
to be talking about a Kello Weatherspoon, but a guy that had some quality
reps at cornerback for San Francisco fora number of years. He's on the
market. I think they could addanother corner and then Stefan Gilmour. You
know, if this team doesn't tradefor Lagarious Need, they missed out on
(42:58):
Kendall Fuller. Like, now we'regetting to that tier of guys, Like,
you know what, maybe we dojust throw a contract at Stefan Gilmore
so that we've got a capable corneropposite Cheeto and suddenly like you're feeling a
lot better about that cornerback spot.A couple of guys that have departed departed
(43:21):
the Titans or our free agents.I should say that I'm really really intrigued
by you haven't heard Ryan Tannehill's name, and you haven't heard Christian Fulton's name.
And I thought Christian Fulton was supposedto be one of the best young
corners in the game, but haven'treally heard a lot about him. So
I just find that interesting. It'slike a Z's was snatched up. Deniko
(43:43):
was snatched up, but Ryan Tannehill, after a year of being told there
are tons of teams that would loveto have him, a reliable starter,
gonna get another shot. Maybe hesigns with Like Minda or Las Vegas,
but I don't know. Vegas gotGardner Minshew, so I kind of feel
(44:07):
like that's out the window. Idon't think Minnesota is gonna sign him.
What's gonna happen? Well, that'sgonna do it for me today, my
voice is giving out. If youcan't tell, been a long week,
been a rough week, Been beena rough ten days for your boy.
So I'm gonna go make dinner,get some rest tonight. But I will
(44:30):
continue to post incessantly about Titans freeagents and dumb shit on Twitter at Stony
Keeley Rate Review. Subscribe to theUnofficial Titans podcast wherever you take in your
podcast, and be sure to checkout Sobrosnetwork dot com for all of our
work and Stacking the Inbox dot comfor my NFL Draft coverage. Until next
(44:53):
time, you stay classy Titans fans
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