The Tennessee Titans transitioned to somewhat of a new era at the safety position last season after parting ways with a long-time starter.
Tennessee traded Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Terrell Edmunds and two picks in the 2024 NFL draft, one in the fifth and one in the sixth.
At the time, the trade didn’t look all that great, but it looks a whole hell of a lot better after Byard struggled during his 11-game stint with the Eagles, which has led to him being named a cut candidate in 2024.
The reason I said “somewhat of a new era” at safety is because the Titans still had Byard’s running mate, Amani Hooker, who had a solid season but failed to stay healthy for the entire campaign once again.
Tennessee deployed a combination of K’Von Wallace and Elijah Molden in Byard’s stead. Molden was OK in his first season at the position and Wallace was better than expected after being claimed off waivers.
In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the pending free agents, those under contract and what Tennessee’s biggest needs are at the position going into the 2024 offseason.
All contract information courtesy of Over the Cap.
Under contract
Under contract: Amani Hooker, Elijah Molden, Mike Brown, Shyheim Carter, Matthew Jackson
I can see why some people might think Hooker is a cut candidate after his injury issues continued in 2023, but he’s the only established starter at the position on the roster currently and he played well when healthy.
I think he’ll be back, but if the Titans do cut him it would make more sense to do so with a post-June 1 designation, which would save $6.8 million and incur a dead-cap charge of $2.5 million in 2024.
If cut before then, Hooker would cost the Titans more in dead cap ($5 million) than he would net them savings ($4.3 million).
Molden’s numbers in coverage were nothing to write home about, for sure, but it was also his first season playing safety, so that’s not entirely surprising. The 2021 third-round pick, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, was solid against the run and offers versatility with his experience in the slot.
Brown, Jackson and Carter all saw very limited opportunities on defense, with Brown and Carter seeing the most work. If kept, they’ll all be camp bodies whose best-case scenario is landing a spot on the practice squad. Jackson is the biggest wild card of the bunch.
Pending free agents
Pending free agents: K’Von Wallace, Terrell Edmunds
Edmunds came over to Tennessee in the Byard trade and saw fairly significant playing time on defense.
He shined when sent to blitz (2.5 sacks), and his coverage numbers were impressive (54.5 percent completion rate allowed, 36.2 passer rating allowed), but he was also only targeted 11 times.
When it comes to depth options at the position, the Titans could certainly do worse than Edmunds, although I wouldn’t depend on him as a starter.
Wallace’s coverage numbers weren’t good overall, but he did have some good games in the two-tone blue, including multiple in which he was among the Titans’ highest-graded defenders.
While he certainly had his moments and showed some flashes, I wouldn’t consider Wallace for anything more than a rotational role.
Biggest needs
Biggest needs: Starting safety (?)
Assuming the Titans hold on to Hooker, which I think they do, they could very well deploy a duo of he and Molden in 2024 while also adding depth behind those two.
Wallace and/or Edmunds would be fine depth options, giving Tennessee a serviceable but not great group on the back end, assuming Molden doesn’t take an enormous leap in 2024.
If the Titans want to upgrade the position, free agency would be the best way to go about it, and the Titans have a ton of cap space to make a splash.
The top options set to hit the open market include Antoine Winfield Jr., Kyle Dugger, Xavier McKinney and Kamren Curl, although reports suggest Winfield Jr. will get the franchise tag.
Geno Stone is just shy of that group and is someone to keep an eye on thanks to his connection with Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who was his position coach in Baltimore.
The 2024 NFL draft is another option for Tennessee to add a safety, but the fact that the Titans would almost certainly hold off on taking one until Day 3 makes that more of a long-term play, at best, which is fine for the situation the Titans are in.
All that said, Tennessee can’t rebuild every position in one offseason and if I had to choose, I’d much rather see them spend big on offensive line, wide receiver, cornerback and defensive line.
Check out our other offseason previews
