Titans notes-Stingily, Harris, Stevens

Life continues apace. Blogging progresses accordingly.

Since I last updated the status of things, the Titans have re-signed two of their own players from last year and restructured the contract of a third.

The first move came when they re-signed offensive tackle Byron Stingily. The Titans told me all they needed to about what they thought of Stingily’s long-term potential last offseason, when they drafted Taylor Lewan in the first round and made Michael Oher their biggest free agent signing. As I covered in the OT positional analysis, though, beyond Lewan the tackle position was in an incredibly parlous state. Stingily gives them a player with some experience (four years with the team, 242 snaps last year). I don’t think the Titans are or should be done at right tackle, but this is a solid move that at least gives them some cover they needed and didn’t have. I’m guessing we’ll see a right tackle chosen in the second or third round.

The second re-signing was cornerback Brandon Harris. A waiver claim at the end of last preseason from the Houston Texans, Harris played a modest 106 snaps, with 42 of those coming in the Week 5 loss to the Browns. He was not particularly effective that game, but did much better on Odell Beckham in his 24 snaps Week 14 against the Giants. His success against Beckham was a good demonstration of where he wins, to steal a phrase-his agility was a much better match of Beckham’s game than Jason McCourty’s. His biggest issue is long speed, which some receivers (but not Beckham) are able to exploit. His deal is apparently a one-year one for the league minimum; I don’t think that makes him a lock for the team, let alone a role on the field. Like Stingily, though, he gives them some cover they could use and lacked.

The Titans also once again re-structured tight end Craig Stevens’ contract, reportedly dropping his salary from the $3.5 million he was scheduled to make to something more like the $1.5 million he made after last offseason’s restructure. The most interesting implication of this signing is what it means for the tight end position and the shape of the roster in general. I thought after they signed Anthony Fasano in free agency that Stevens was toast and they would carry the normal three tight ends. I wouldn’t say the restructure makes him a lock for the roster unless the terms are other than what I’m expecting (significant guaranteed salary, yeah, he’s a lock), but that the Titans were willing to restructure tells me they wanted him back. With Delanie Walker and Taylor Thompson, that gives them four tight ends I see as pretty likely to make the team. Whisenhunt has kept four tight ends on the roster before, including with the Cardinals in both 2011 and 2012. While keeping four tight ends is a shift from what the Titans have done in the recent past, I don’t see any reason it couldn’t happen.

A common reaction to Stevens’ restructure and the Titans likely keeping four tight ends has been this means the Titans are not keeping a fullback. Thompson and the re-signed Klug are both capable of playing fullback, this line of thinking goes, and the league-wide trend is away from having a specific fullback. To me, though, Ken Whisenhunt’s history says the Titans will have a fullback. He’s had a true fullback on the team every single year he’s been a head coach or offensive coordinator, including when the 2011 and 2012 Cardinals kept four tight ends. The general devaluation of the position in general means that they aren’t highly coveted and it should not be too difficult to find one coming out of college or among veterans who are still free agents. That the Titans don’t have a true fullback on the roster as of April 2 is not sufficient evidence there won’t be one there come Week 1. If they make it to training camp without adding a fullback or two or having a position switch, then I’ll re-evaluate, but not until then.