Losing Logan Ryan hurts, but the Tennessee Titans made the best decision for its long-term future by not paying him his desired $10M per year.
As we all know by now, the Tennessee Titans andLogan Ryanagreed to part ways this offseason. It’s a tough pill to swallow, as Ryan not only had a great season for the Titans in 2019, he was the true definition of a leader on the Titans and in the Nashville community.
One notable highlight of his season was his stat line of 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, and four forced fumbles. That made him one of the only players since 2000 to record at least four sacks, interceptions, and forced fumbles in a season.
Just typing this out makes me realize how much he will be missed. And to make matters worse, Ryan revealed that the Titans didn’t even talk to him about an extension or free agency!
Ryan says the#Titansnever really talked a new deal with him. Multi-year options he got "didn't feel right to me." Said he went back to Tennessee and said he'd come back for one-year on his same salary as the year before and the Titans didn't bite.@nflnetwork
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi)May 11, 2020
That’s a bit odd. I thought the Titans have would at least given him the time of day given the season he had. It seems Jon Robinson and company just did not want to keep him around any longer. It goes back to the ole cliche: it’s a business!
Now, fans have expressed their disgust in the organization for letting such a good player and leader walk without trying to keep him. Let me assure you that the Titans made the best decision, albeit a tough one.
Two of the Tennessee Titans’ glaring needs heading into the offseason on defense was pass rush and cornerback, with the former being a bigger need. Looking at it from Jon Robinson’s perspective, there were two ways he could handle this.
The first way is to keep your secondary in tact and pay Logan Ryan $10M per season (which is a really expensive price tag for an aging defensive back) and sign cheaper options in the pass rush department. Taking this route would mean noJadeveon Clowney, noJurrell Casey, and probably noVic Beasley.
There is really no telling how many solid seasons Ryan, 29 years of age, has left. So we would be right back at square one when he reaches the decline with a need at cornerback, and our now-young defensive backs would be getting up there in age as well by this point.
Let’s say it takes Ryan three more seasons before he hits the decline.Adoree’ Jacksonwould be 27,Kevin Byardwould be 29,Malcolm Butlerwould probably no longer be on the team, andKenny Vaccarowould be 32. We would have an aging secondary, and probably still zero pass rush.
The other option is letLogan Ryanwalk (save yourself $10M per season), use that money to lock up key role players, draft a younger cornerback and hope he can come and settle in well, and keep yourself open for Clowney, who, no matter what you may think about him, would greatly impact the Titans pass rush.
Now, in this scenario, your secondary consists of a 26-year-old All-Pro safety, a 24-year-old developing cornerback inAdoree’ Jackson, a 21-year-old promising rookie in Kristian Fulton, and three veteran leaders inMalcolm Butler, Jonathan Joseph, andKenny Vaccaro. The future is looking a bit more bright with that second option, not to mention guys likeDane Cruikshank.
Option two is the route Robinson took. Getting younger and saving yourself the $10M is the right choice, and it was obviously a tough choice to make. Letting go of the cap space by trading Casey and letting Ryan walk gives the Titans some money to try and land a guy like Clowney and re-sign their franchise savior inDerrick Henry.
Ryan’s leadership will be sorely missed on defense, but I think this move was best for the long-term future. Let’s hope guys like Fulton andDane Cruikshankcan step up in the secondary.
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