The Tennessee Titans have a new need to address this offseason as of Friday morning after news broke that the Tennessee Titans were planning to release long-time center, Ben Jones.
The move was surprising to say the least, as it was thought the only way Jones wouldn’t be back in Nashville was if he retired, which was always possible after the veteran suffered a pair of concussions in 2022.
But, at 33 years old, Jones is clearly intent on playing again in 2023 after he chose to be released rather than retire. The Georgia product now heads to free agency, where he figures to have plenty of suitors.
As Jones is cut loose, the Titans now have a huge hole to fill at center, but they’ll have multiple avenues to go about replacing him, whether it be free agency, trade, the draft, or some combination of those three.
Here’s a breakdown of all the avenues Tennessee has, and how likely they are to take each.
In-house
The Titans have two in-house centers in Corey Levin and Aaron Brewer, but both are set to hit free agency on March 15, with Levin being unrestricted and Brewer being restricted, which gives Tennessee some control over him.
Levin stepped in for Jones while he was injured in 2022 and did a good job, but chances are the Titans don’t suddenly view him as a starter after he’s served as a backup his entire career.
And then there’s Brewer, who played at left guard and struggled last season. While that doesn’t give much hope for him as a potential solution, it’s possible the team believes he’ll be better at his natural position.
Brewer also figures to come cheap. He should only see a minimal raise from the $898,334 he received in 2022. His price tag, along with the $4.5 million in dead money from releasing Jones, should come in a few million cheaper than it would’ve cost to keep the 33-year-old.
2023 NFL draft
While a crapshoot, the Titans have an opportunity to address their need at center in the 2023 NFL draft, where the team has one pick in every round except for the fourth.
The problem with drafting a center is that he may not be ready to start in Year 1 (and really, if ever). That will be an issue if the plan is for the Titans to retool instead of tearing it all down and rebuilding.
In the event the Titans do draft a center with the intention of making him a long-term solution, Tennessee must have an option outside of the rookie just in case, which is where Brewer and Levin might factor in.
Ultimately, I think the move will be to draft one after bringing back Brewer and/or Levin in free agency to serve as insurance policies.
The graphic above is a ranking of the best interior offensive linemen in this year’s class, courtesy of our Shaun Calderon. The list includes five centers who could be available to Tennessee in the second round or later when centers are expected to start coming off the board.
Free agency
Chances are if the Titans bring in a starting center via free agency, he’ll be around the same price as Jones, and perhaps more expensive depending on who they target.
That would make absolutely no sense for Tennessee, as the team would then be paying an uncertainty in a veteran free agent on top of Jones’ $4.5 million dead-cap hit, making the position more expensive and the move to cut Jones harder to justify.
If idea is to go cheaper, which is a far more likely scenario than the one just mentioned, the team will likely just look to bring back Brewer.
Trade
As unlikely as it is for the Titans to sign an established veteran replacement for Jones, it’s even more unlikely they trade for one, if for no other reason than trades are rare in general in the NFL.
The same price situation as the one we talked about with free agency applies here, but now include draft pick compensation. Unless Tennessee can get a good center for pennies on the dollar from a team looking to dump salary, there’s no chance the answer comes from this route.
