Titans Stuck In Tough Cap Situation As Draft Approaches

The Tennessee Titans are trading for a quarterback. No, they're trading up in the draft to take a quarterback. The truth is, we don't know for sure what they're planning, but some of it doesn't sound too good.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

NASHVILLE - Let's start this Monday morning with some facts we know. 

The Tennessee Titans are struggling to find cash under the salary cap to continue signing players in free agency. Tennessee has $4,384,495 million remaining under the cap after they resigned Corey Levin and added Trevon Wesco on Friday.   

Per Over The Cap, they will need $8,884,495 million to sign their incoming draft class later this month. That means the Titans are currently $4,500,000 million short of having the funds necessary to sign their draft class.   

We've all known for weeks this would be a tough spring for the team's front office as they are now faced with finding a way to clear the cash necessary to finish restocking the roster for 2023. 

However, most fans and likely general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel have hoped for a way to keep from having to trade valuable assets to do it. 

It seems the chance that the team will have to part ways with one or more players from Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, and Jeffrey Simmons is growing larger. 

Before anyone loses their mind, we haven't forgotten Ryan Tannehill and his $36.6 million cap hit. Getting his figures off the books would immediately free up $27 million for them to work with. 

The simple truth here is we don't know what Carthon and his staff are thinking, and we don't know what deals that could already exist but have yet to be announced. We also don't know if one or more of these players could be used in some trades on draft day.       

This might be a stretch, and some might call me crazy here, but the draft could hold the key to the Titans upcoming roster in more ways than just who they draft. 

For example, it's not likely any quarterback-needy team will make a move for Tannehill before the draft. At the same time, if a team cannot find a suitable option in the draft or free agency, the chance exists that they could make a move for the best veteran option not named Aaron Rodgers. 

Even after the draft, clearing Tannehill's cap numbers would allow the Titans to dive back into the free-agent pool to find the remainder of the roster. 

Likewise, draft day trades of Henry, Byard, or Simmons would net new assets and more cap relief.  

Make no mistake, I'm not saying any of these things will happen, but the bottom line is something is going to have to happen, and these are some of the possibilities. 

Of course, there's always the chance that Titans cap guru Vin Marion can find another route to get then the dollars needed, but I wouldn't count on that one happening. 

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