The Tennessee Titans have added a linebacker to their roster in free agency, with the team agreeing to terms with now-former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, Luke Gifford.
Gifford’s deal comes in at a base of two years and $4 million, but he can make up to $5 million with incentives. Check out the full breakdown of Gifford’s contract right here.
The 27-year-old has played predominantly on special teams over the course of his four-year career, but ESPN’s Todd Archer notes that Cowboys coaches believed he could take on more in terms of defensive snaps.
So, with the Titans needing two new starters, it begs the question: is Gifford actually capable of securing and being good in an expanded role on defense in Tennessee?
In order to get an answer to that question and to find out more about the newest Titans linebacker, we turned to Cowboys Wire managing editor KD Drummond and asked him three questions about Gifford.
What is Gifford's biggest strength?
KD: Gifford is a special teams demon and has been for several years. John Fassel has had Dallas’ unit rocking and he’s one of three players at his disposal who excels on coverage units. His standout game, described here, was in Week 10 when he amassed a ridiculous five tackles and a fumble recovery, scoring a 100-point game according to Fassel’s rating system. He will elevate that part of the Titans immediately.
What is Gifford's biggest weakness?
KD: The biggest weakness is the unknown. Dallas has had a myriad of linebacker health issues in the past, but Gifford’s never been able to become a consistent contributor on the defense. 81 defensive snaps across three years is not a lot of work and Dallas has had many opportunities to use him but have gone in a different direction. There’s talk they were thinking of adding him to the rotation if he returned, but fans have been waiting on him to get a chance over the last several seasons and it never materialized.
Is Gifford capable of thriving in a starting or key rotational role on defense if need be?
KD: I’d think thriving is a stretch; he could be that diamond in the rough, but more than likely Tennessee has signed a special teams captain who is capable of logging some defensive snaps. He certainly has the athletic profile to be a player in the league (9.39 RAS) but just needed time to adjust to the size and speed of the league. I wouldn’t doubt him, but I wouldn’t count on it either. Quality upside signing, though.
