The Tennessee Titans will have to make decisions on the fifth-year options of Corey Davis and Adoree’ Jackson by May 3 — and the new CBA being proposed would change how those options work right away if it is ratified prior to the new league year starting on March 18.
According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the big change in the proposed CBA that has yet to be approved by the players is the fact that fifth-year options will become fully guaranteed.
Worth discussing more: Under the current CBA, the fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only. That's what got the Bucs and Texans off the hook with Vernon Hargreaves. New CBA proposes making it fully guaranteed once exercised. Also $ based on player achievement vs draft slot
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 5, 2020
The current CBA only guarantees a fifth-year option in the event of an injury, so this change would mean that teams are locked into a player no matter what once the option is exercised.
One change that is good news for teams that have a former high pick who is under-performing is that the option’s salary in the new CBA will be based on performance and not draft position.
With Jackson, the Titans are almost certainly going to pick up his option no matter what the rules are. He is the team’s best corner and took a big step forward in his career during the 2019 season.
Davis’ fifth-year outlook is a lot murkier.
The former No. 5 overall pick took a backseat to rookie wideout A.J. Brown, and he took a step back in terms of overall production. As a result, it was thought that the Titans would likely decline his option based on the current rules.
However, a new CBA could change things.
The Titans might be more inclined to pick up Davis’ option if it’s based on performance and there is no risk of having to pay him a hefty salary in 2021 after another down year in 2020.
If Davis has the breakout campaign we’ve all been waiting for, the Titans would likely be happy to keep him around in 2021 and pay him a big salary for at least one more year, via the option.
While a new CBA being passed soon would hurt the Titans by taking away the ability to use both the franchise and transition tag this offseason, it would make picking up Davis’ fifth-year option less risky.