While some other Tennessee Titans free-agent signings haven’t exactly gotten the fan base excited, one that did have that effect was the team inking former Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher, Arden Key.
The Titans saw first hand just how good Key can be in 2022 when he notched 10 pressures and one sack in two games against Tennessee, including a Week 18 contest that saw him tally seven pressures.
In a recent episode of “The Install with Greg Cosell”, the NFL analyst went into detail about what makes the Key signing so attractive for Tennessee.
“Really liked Arden Key, going back to when he was with the Niners a few years ago,” Cosell said. “We saw the same thing in Jacksonville this year; he’s multi-positional — you can line him up inside, you can line him up outside — he’s got length, he’s got quickness, he’s a good pass-rusher.
“I think he’s one of those guys that you don’t think about because he’s not going to get 15 or 18 sacks, but he’s a really valuable piece of a defensive front with his position versatility. And I think that length is really important.”
.@gregcosell explains why free agent pass rusher Arden Key makes so much sense for the #Titans defense
🏈: https://t.co/E0e1rWMQNG pic.twitter.com/p63d7ecm0Z— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) March 16, 2023
The versatility is important to note here, as we know head coach Mike Vrabel loves to have so-called chess pieces he can move around the defense.
As Cosell mentions, Key spent one year in San Francisco, which is where Titans general manager Ran Carthon was at the time. The LSU product tallied a career-high 6.5 sacks that season.
His time in San Fran, combined with the Titans’ experience playing him when he was with the Jags, means there’s plenty of familiarity here.
Key figures to at least be a good contributor for the Titans in a rotational role in 2023, but at the age of 26 he still has room and time to grow, making it possible he ends up as a long-term solution in Nashville.
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