The first move the Tennessee Titans made in free agency was striking a deal with former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman, Denico Autry, but as is the case with all contracts this offseason, we’re interested to see the breakdown to really understand how the Titans are making it work.
The deal, which can’t be made official until the start of the new league year on March 17, is for three years and worth up to $21.5 million, which works out to an annual average of $7.16 million. $9 million of Autry’s deal is guaranteed.
Here’s the yearly breakdown, per Spotrac:
| Year | Base Salary | Signing Bonus | Roster Bonus | Cap Hit | Dead Cap |
| 2021 | $1.1 million | $2 million | $437K | $3.53 million | $9 million |
| 2022 | $6.15 million | $2 million | $500K | $8.65 million | $5.9 million |
| 2023 | $6.75 million | $2 million | $500K | $9.25 million | $2 million |
Autry gets a $6 million signing bonus, but the Titans have spread it out over three seasons, and the first year of the deal comes with a very friendly cap hit of $3.53 million, which is perfect for this particular offseason.
Respectively, $1.1 and $1.9 million of Autry’s 2021 and 2022 salaries are guaranteed, and his cap hit jumps to $8.65 million in Year 2 and $9.25 million in Year 3.
Should things go south, there is an out in the deal for Tennessee after Year 2, as the 2023 dead cap number is just $2 million.
All in all, this is a solid deal for one of the best and most underrated interior defenders on the market this offseason, and it didn’t dry up much of the team’s cap space.
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