Ever since news leaked revealing Tennessee Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard declined the team’s request to take a pay cut, reportedly leaving the two sides “at a crossroads,” fans and media members of other teams have speculated about possibly trading for the superstar safety.
With the pay-cut request now public knowledge, head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Ran Carthon have done their best to do damage control by attempting to quiet the noise, often emphasizing how there were no current conflicts between both parties. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop people from creating their think pieces over it.
You can now add Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report to that list. In a recent article discussing one player each team should trade, he named Byard as the player the Titans should part ways with before Week 1.
Knox’s main reason revolves around the fact that Byard skipped voluntary workouts, which naturally leads people to assume his absence solely revolves around the fact that he was asked to take a pay cut, and not because, well, it’s voluntary.
Not to mention, the All-Pro safety is an established veteran who doesn’t have to learn an entirely new defense like the other side of the ball does, but I digress.
Knox even went as far as to say, “this doesn’t feel like a situation that will simply resolve itself.”
Ironically, just 24 hours later, this situation appears to have simply resolved itself.
Just like Vrabel and Carthon repeatedly stated, there was seemingly no problem between the Titans and their star safety when he arrived at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and participated in practice.
The former Middle Tennessee State star did not “hold in” or anything of that nature, as he was clearly out there with his unit preparing for the upcoming season.
.@KevinByard back on the field on Tuesday for @Titans minicamp. pic.twitter.com/FbbQsbnbyQ
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) June 6, 2023
Even if the Titans are heading toward a rebuild as Knox indicated, if anybody genuinely expects a Vrabel-led football team to wave the white flag before the season even begins, they’re probably going to be very disappointed.
If Tennessee is going have a fire sale in 2023, it’s more likely to happen in the middle of the season should things go south and desperate contenders around the league start to emerge.
Therefore, barring an unforeseen trade offer the Titans simply can’t refuse, I wouldn’t expect to see Byard in another uniform on opening weekend.
