What the new CBA means for the Tennessee Titans

The new CBA has been agreed to and signed, so now the Tennessee Titans know what’s at play ahead of free agency and what they’ll need to do.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement has been signed by the players, and now the new rules will go into effect starting at the beginning of free agency, and it will be the new rules through 2030. The new rules could cause some issues for the Tennessee Titans.

Many players throughout the NFL did not approve of the new CBA, and that showed in the vote between the players. The players passed the new CBA by a slim 60 votes.

"“NFL players have voted to approve ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement by a vote of 1,019 to 959,” the NFLPA said in a response on Twitter. “This result comes after a long and democratic process in accordance with our constitution. An independent auditor received submitted ballots through a secure electronic platform, then verified, tallied and certified results.”"

So with the new CBA being approved ahead of free agency, how does this affect the Titans and the future of Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill in Nashville?

Well, the new CBA offers more flexibility for teams like the Titans to create more cap space, which could be much needed for Tennessee. The Titans did free up $64.1 million in cap space this past week to give themselves more flexibility, and the new CBA offers a bit more comfort.

The Titans now only have one franchise tag with the new CBA, which could limit who the Titans might want to bring back. I would like to see the Titans use its franchise tag to keep as many important players in Nashville as they can.

If the Titans resign Tannehill and Henry, then they could franchise tag Jack Conklin and try to give him the contract he deserves next year.

Fifth-year options also have been adjusted. Fifth-year options will now be fully guaranteed, however, the salary a player gets will be determined by performance, not draft position, which is what it has been in the past.

The NFL season will also be adjusted some as well. The NFL regular season is expected to expand to 17 games in 2021 and one more team will be added to the playoffs starting this season.

This could offer more potential for playoff runs like the Titans had last year where they weren’t expected to do anything, but they upset the Patriots and Ravens to make it to the AFC Championship.

The Tennessee Titans will probably be big beneficiaries of the new CBA, and I think they can work it to their advantage if general manager Jon Robinson can work some more magic.