Making both of these trades would instantly turn Tennessee’s defense into a Super Bowl-caliber group.
With the NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching on November 3, the Tennessee Titans could look to bolster their roster as they prepare for the stretch run of the 2020 NFL season.
The No. 1 position the Titans could stand to improve is cornerback, but adding depth at wide receiver and a starter along the defensive line wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
You could theoretically add outside linebacker to that list with how badly Jadeveon Clowney, Vic Beasley and Harold Landry have underperformed in the sack department, but chances are the Titans believe the solution to that is simply having the trio play better.
However, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar doesn’t think the Titans should stand pat, and instead he has suggested that Tennessee trade for Washington Football Team EDGE, Ryan Kerrigan, in one of two moves.
Here’s what Farrar had to say about that potential deal:
The Titans stand at 5-1 despite a defense with a deadly combination: Very little pass rush, and slow cornerbacks. You can scheme up the latter to a degree, but with just seven sacks and 50 pressures on the season despite a blitz rate of 29.7%, something’s got to be done in that department. Kerrigan will be a free agent after the 2020 season, Washington has four other first-round picks on its defensive line, and the veteran has four sacks and 10 total pressures on just 81 pass-rushing snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus. He can still get it done in a rotational sense.
With what the Titans have gotten from the position thus far, Kerrigan would certainly seem to be an upgrade. After all, his four sacks are more than Clowney, Landry and Beasley combined.
But, as we already mentioned, it’s doubtful the Titans will make a move to add to a position that already has a load of talent. Instead, the Titans will likely wait things out and hope for improvement.
The more intriguing of the two trades Farrar suggested for Tennessee had to do with dealing for Miami Dolphins cornerback, Xavien Howard.
Farrar says the following about that:
Before we get rolling on this one, we are NOT in favor of this potential trade. The Dolphins are 3-3 and have a decent shot of sneaking into the new seventh playoff spot if everything goes right, and Howard has been one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks this season — he’s given up just 12 catches on 26 targets for 220 yards, 95 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions (tied with Washington’s Kendall Fuller for the league lead), and an opponent passer rating of 49.0. But the rumors are flying in Miami, and Howard does have some pretty big cap hits over the next few seasons. Tennessee would have to do some work to fit Kerrigan and Howard under their cap, but it might be the difference between a Super Bowl berth or not.
There was a rumor out there that the Dolphins were listening to offers for Howard, but the team quickly came out and shot those down, which makes sense for a team that is playing well and currently in the thick of things with a 3-3 record.
Womp, womp…
If the Titans did have an opportunity to make a trade for Howard, they shouldn’t hesitate. The former second-round pick has been sensational this season, posting an elite Pro Football Focus grade of 80.0, with four interceptions and a ridiculous passer rating allowed of 46.9.
Howard would be an instant upgrade over everyone in the cornerbacks room not named Adoree’ Jackson and would allow the Titans the kind of flexibility to move Jackson to the inside in some situations. And, having a 1-2 punch of Jackson and Howard on the boundary is the stuff dreams are made of.
Making both of these trades would give the Titans a Super Bowl-caliber defense, but the bigger difference-maker of the two would be the one for Howard.
We’d like to think that general manager Jon Robinson has something big up his sleeve like either of these deals, but we certainly won’t hold our breath.
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