The Tennessee Titans’ brass and players have publicly displayed their support for quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the right guy to lead the team under center.
We recently discussed several ways the organization can set the 33-year-old up for success next season. One of those methods would be adding talent at the wide receiver position.
In an article naming the ideal trade scenario for each team this offseason, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggests the Titans trade for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who was a teammate of Tannehill’s during their time with the Miami Dolphins.
In recent years, they’ve drafted A.J. Brown and traded for Julio Jones. That gives them two big-bodied receivers who can win on the outside and down the field. The final piece they are missing to round out the unit is a chain-mover who can win in the slot.
Jarvis Landry fits that bill, and some of his most successful seasons have come with Ryan Tannehill as his quarterback.
Landry, 29, was hampered by a knee sprain in Week 2 of the regular season and was limited to 12 games.
When healthy, the LSU product is one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, but he was not targeted as much in 2021 as in previous seasons, registering career-lows in catches (52), yards (570), and touchdowns (two) in 2021.
The Metairie, Louisiana native is set to enter the final year of his contract in 2022, with a cap hit of $16.4 million, but there is a strong feeling out there that Landry will be a cap casualty, which would free up approximately $15 million for Cleveland to use how they see fit.
Under that umbrella, the Titans wouldn’t need to package a trade together to acquire Landry. If he remains on the Browns’ roster, Tennessee would have to tread carefully in terms of the financials and draft capital if interested.
Titans general manager Jon Robinson gave up a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft to get Julio Jones. The team is also over the salary cap by about $7 million heading into the offseason, although there are avenues to clear cap space.
At any rate, if the Titans were to acquire Landry, Tannehill would have three legitimate weapons on offense, with Landry, Jones and A.J. Brown.
Again, the Browns may attempt to find a trade partner this offseason for Landry, but if the league knows Landry is trending towards being released, any interested parties will wait it out and try to sign him instead.