There was no shortage of frustration from the Tennessee Titans’ fan base after the team traded safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the 2023 NFL trade deadline.
Tennessee received safety Terrell Edmunds and 2024 draft picks in the fifth and sixth rounds, which was thought to be a lackluster package at the time.
However, after Byard struggled during his stint with the Eagles, that return is looking much better.
The 30-year-old saw his completion rate allowed go up from 72.7 percent in six games with the Titans to 75.6 percent in his 10 regular season games with the Eagles, and his passer rating allowed went from 99.8 to 103.3.
In total, Byard gave up completions on 74.6 percent of the passes thrown his way, the highest of his career, and his total passer rating allowed was 102.1, the second-highest of his career.
As a result of his lackluster showing with the Eagles, Nick Shook of NFL.com recently listed Byard as a cut candidate this offseason.
Philly traded for the former All-Pro safety in October … and its secondary only got worse. Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio need to retool this unit as soon as possible, and releasing Byard and his $14.4 million cap hit should be one of the first steps. The move would open up a robust $13.3 million in cap space, and while Byard is still a starting-caliber player, that money could be invested much more effectively elsewhere.
After trading Byard, the Titans deployed a combination of Elijah Molden and K’Von Wallace. Both had their issues but were OK overall. It’s important to note that 2023 was Molden’s first playing safety.
Wallace is a pending free agent, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be back, which leaves Molden as the lone in-house option to start alongside fellow safety Amani Hooker.
It remains to be seen if the Titans will stick with Hooker and Molden/Wallace as their starters or if they’ll make a significant addition at the position.
If Byard gets cut by the Eagles, I don’t think a reunion is impossible, but it’s far less likely now that Mike Vrabel is no longer the head coach. His return would also depend on the price, which will have to come down significantly.
