It said in this space not long ago that the Titans should do what they need to do to keep tight end Jonnu Smith, give big money to Matt Judon and be wary of Bud Dupree, coming off an ACL tear and productive seasons that must have had a lot to do with playing on the other side of T.J. Watt.
But hey, it said in this space a year ago that signing Jadeveon Clowney was a big win for GM Jon Robinson and that, “You can count on Clowney making it more likely, consistently, that the Titans will bother quarterbacks without having to blitz.”
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And we know how that worked out. The 2020 Titans could have snuck three extra people on the field on a third-and-15, blitzed everyone and still watched the opposing quarterback comfortably select a target. So Monday might go down as a huge day for a beleaguered defense, the day — in moves a source confirmed — that the Titans fixed their pass rush with Dupree and gave Jeffery Simmons the perfect veteran partner up front in Denico Autry.
It also might go down as the day an elite Titans offense was downgraded to good because tight end Jonnu Smith moved on to fulfill his starring destiny in New England, and No. 2 receiver Corey Davis opted for a big deal with the Jets. Both might end up being true, but Monday’s moves made Robinson’s viewpoint clear: He found it more urgent to try to fix the defense than to keep the best offense in the Titans era intact. (He did help the offense, by the way, by adding Cleveland offensive tackle Kendall Lamm on a reported two-year, $8.5 million deal, giving the Titans three starter-quality tackles again as they had from 2016-19.)
Robinson is rolling with Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and the next player he is all but certain to give a big second contract, receiver A.J. Brown. Run it back with a strong offensive line, count on Darrynton Evans to emerge healthy in his second year, sign/draft more help at receiver, and this offense isn’t necessarily getting downgraded. Davis is a pro who fit perfectly in this offense and had a terrific 2020 season, but that’s not a disastrous loss. And his reported three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Jets is too steep.
Too steep applies as well to Smith’s deal with the Patriots (four years, $50 million, $31.25 million fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter), but man, that’s a loss. Smith was central to the Titans’ rushing and passing efforts, and he was on his way to a breakout 2020 season as a receiver before left tackle Taylor Lewan was lost to an ACL tear. Unfortunately for the Titans, Bill Belichick noticed how good Smith was even though he hasn’t yet had top-tier receiving numbers at his position. Tight end is the biggest need for the Titans, and that starts with re-signing free agents MyCole Pruitt and Anthony Firkser.
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The biggest move is Dupree. The biggest hope is that Dupree and Autry do for this defense what Clowney and Vic Beasley very much didn’t do in 2020. Robinson ended up with a final bill of $21.75 million for them, both edge guys, and in return got a combined zero sacks and a few moments of impact from Clowney before he was lost to a knee injury. Beasley came with red flags and was so bad, the Titans waved the white flag and cut him after five impact-free games.
Now it’s $44 million guaranteed for the combination of 28-year-old Dupree on the edge and 30-year-old Autry up front next to his fellow Mississippi State alum, Simmons. That’s a lot of money. You can bet it’s structured to accommodate for the dip in the NFL salary cap to $182.5 million this year and that other contract restructurings are part of why the Titans could do this. NFL.com reported the Titans added Dupree on a five-year deal worth $16.5 million a year, with a max of $85 million and $35 million guaranteed, and that Autry received a three-year deal worth $21.5 million, with $9 million guaranteed.
I feel better about the Autry addition, even though he’s turning 31 in July. For one thing, the Titans plucked him from their primary challenger in 2021, the Indianapolis Colts, as they look to defend their AFC South title. For another thing, he’s a load. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Autry, who came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014, has been a consistently strong interior presence for the Colts and Raiders. More help for Simmons up front is the underrated need when it comes to affecting quarterbacks.
The obvious need is on the edge, someone to team up with Harold Landry. Dupree, a 2015 first-round pick out of Kentucky, was having a huge 2020 season before tearing up his knee in his 11th game. That left him with eight sacks, and 19 ½ sacks in 27 games in the past two seasons. As a team, the Titans had 19 sacks in 2020. The 6-4, 269-pound Dupree sets the edge and has 32 quarterback hits the past two years. He also surely benefited from playing across from Watt, with Stephon Tuitt in between them. Now the question is how he’ll handle being more of a focal point.
That and whether he can be healthy, and at his best, in 2021. That was the big question about Clowney entering 2020.
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A source said this of the Autry and Dupree signings: “Both are explosive, high motor, disruptive.”
The Titans have thought that of other players who didn’t show much of any of those traits in a Tennessee uniform. Robinson’s past offseason was, to borrow some March Madness inspiration, one big rim-rattling brick. But say this for him, after Monday afternoon offensive departures turned to Monday evening defensive additions: He’s still launching shots.
(Photo of Bud Dupree: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
