Salary Cap and NFL Free Agency: Titans Vow to Spend Wisely; Lines Open with Derrick Henry

$72 million is "a lot of cap space," says Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon. "But we have to spend wisely. You don't want just to load up and go spend money. ... We want to build a long-term consistent winner, and you can't do that by spending all your money upfront."

INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon, speaking Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, emphasized the importance of balancing practicality with risk-taking in the free agent market.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Titans will have $72,534,425 in effective cap space. Carthon says having the money doesn't mean spending it all carelessly without a detailed plan. 

"It's a lot of cap space," Carthon said. "I know that's what everyone is talking about regarding how much we have, but we have to spend wisely. You don't want just to load up and go spend money. ... We want to build a long-term consistent winner, and you can't do that by spending all your money upfront."

Carthon mentioned that he wants to keep some money for later in the summer when free agents become available — similar to how the Titans signed wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in July after training camp started. 

"We plan to be active, but we're going to be patient," Carthon said. 

Carthon also said the lines of communication remain open for the team re-signing running back Derrick Henry. 

"Derrick and I had a good conversation on the way out, and he knows where we are, and we know where he is," Carthon told reporters. "I think you guys that have been around know that we don't really talk about a player's contract status in public, but we'll be well positioned to do whatever we need to do, and when those conversations need to be had, we'll have them with Derrick and his team."

Henry, now 30 years old, earned his fourth Pro Bowl last season with 1,167 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Henry's average yards after contact was 3.3, second only to San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. His Pro Football Focus grade of 90.2 was also second-highest in the league.

Titans coach Brian Callahan agreed with Carthon on the possibility of keeping Henry. 

"I think there's a great relationship with him and the organization," Callahan said "I know that he is always going to have the Titans in his heart. So whatever that looks like moving forward, we'll keep working through it. I know what he means to the city and the team, and I am looking forward to getting to know him."

Spotrac, the online team and player contract resource, says that Henry's free-agent contract value would be $10 million per year for two years.

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