Pair of Packers veterans generating trade interest before deadline

Teams are interested in Packers DE Preston Smith and OT Andre Dillard ahead of the NFL’s Nov. 5 trade deadline.

The Green Bay Packers don’t fit the typical look of a seller at the NFL’s trade deadline, but two of their veteran players along the line of scrimmage are generating interest ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, teams have inquired or have interest in edge rusher Preston Smith and offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

Smith is on “several teams’ radar,” while Dillard is viewed as a “stop-gap option” for teams in need at offensive tackle.

Would the Packers even consider trading either player?

Smith turns 32 next month and is a valuable leader in the locker room. He’s been on the field for 59 percent of the defense’s snaps, down from 66 percent last year and 80 percent in 2022. The Packers have 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and third-year defensive end Kingsley Enagbare behind Smith on the depth chart.

Dillard was signed post-draft and made the 53-man roster as a backup offensive tackle. He’s appeared in three games but hasn’t played a snap on offense in 2024. Dillard has 19 career starts. Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom are entrenched at offensive tackle, but having Dillard does provide valuable depth at a premier offensive line position.

What if the Packers are buyers? Rapoport began his report with the possibility of the Los Angeles Rams trading receiver Cooper Kupp, but the Packers are mostly set at receiver. Mike Williams of the New York Jets is also believed to be available. Other players generating interest include Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari and Browns defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson.

Packers sign former 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard

The Packers announced the signing of OT Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick who spent last season with the Titans.

The Green Bay Packers announced the signing of offensive tackle Andre Dillard on Thursday, just one week out from the 2024 NFL draft. Dillard, 28, was the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

In Dillard, the Packers are getting a potential swing tackle option behind Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom and a potential roster replacement for Yosh Nijman, who departed in free agency.

Dillard was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019. He spent his first four seasons in Philadelphia before signing a multi-year deal with the Tennessee Titans last offseason. The Titans released him in March. Dillard has played in 59 NFL games with 19 starts. He’s been on the field for 1,276 career snaps.

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In 2023, Dillard allowed 12 sacks and 41 pressures while committing five penalties across 562 snaps at left tackle for the Titans. He was one of the worst graded offensive tackles at Pro Football Focus last season.

Dillard also has limited professional experience at left guard, right guard and right tackle. He missed his entire second season with a biceps injury and has battled injury throughout his professional career.

An athletic offensive tackle with 26 starts, Dillard fit the Packers preferences coming out of Washington State in 2019. His Relative Athletic Score at offensive tackle was 9.81 out of 10.0, with elite speed and elite agility measures.

The Packers were about to enter the draft needing major depth help at offensive tackle. Signing Dillard lessens the immediate need but shouldn’t prevent general manager Brian Gutekunst from adding a long-term developmental offensive tackle in what appears to be a great draft class at the position.

Packers sign former Titans OT Andre Dillard

Former Titans left tackle Andre Dillard has landed on his feet with the Packers.

Former Tennessee Titans left tackle Andre Dillard has found a new home with the Green Bay Packers. The team announced on Thursday that it has signed Dillard, but the length and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Originally a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, Dillard signed a three-year, $29 million deal with the Titans last offseason after Philly didn’t retain him. The deal proved to be disastrous for Tennessee.

Dillard appeared in 10 games as Tennessee’s blindside protector and gave up a league-high 12 sacks and surrendered 41 total pressures. He was benched on multiple occasions because of his putrid play.

While it took much longer than expected, the Titans finally cut Dillard back in March, absorbing a dead-cap hit of $7.7 million this year while only saving $2.8 million.

It remains to be seen how Dillard will fit with the Packers, but after what we saw in 2023, they better hope he doesn’t see the light of day upfront.

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Titans release offensive tackle Andre Dillard

The Titans announced on Friday that they have released OT Andre Dillard.

The Tennessee Titans have finally made the move everyone was expecting: the team announced on Friday it has released offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

Dillard was signed by the Titans during the 2023 offseason to a three-year, $29 million deal to play left tackle, but the move proved to be disastrous, as Dillard was the worst player at his position in the NFL.

The former Philadelphia Eagle surrendered 12 sacks, tied for the most in the NFL, and 41 pressures. Bear in mind, Dillard only started 10 games after being benched on multiple occasions.

Dillard was due to account for a $10.6 million cap hit in 2024. It appears he was not cut with a post-June 1 designation, which would have saved the Titans more money while also incurring a smaller dead-cap hit.

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With the pre-June 1 cut, the move nets the Titans a savings of $2.8 million while totaling a dead-cap charge of $7.7 million, according to Over the Cap.

Either way, this was a move the Titans needed to make, and while it took longer than expected, they finally got it done.

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Report: Titans expected to keep OT Andre Dillard

The Titans are reportedly expected to keep Andre Dillard in 2024.

Just about everyone on the planet thought the Tennessee Titans would cut left tackle Andre Dillard after a disastrous 2023 campaign, but it appears that may not be the slam dunk we all expected it would be.

In fact, according to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network, the Titans are expected to keep Dillard around for 2024. And, Caplan adds that if Dillard sticks around, the team could hold a competition at right tackle between Jaelyn Duncan and Nicholas Petit-Frere.

While their plan could change, Tennessee is currently expected to retain veteran LT Andre Dillard, league sources said.

Dillard, who signed a three-year, $29 million deal last March, started 10 games last season for the Titans but was benched for some others. It’s worth noting that $6 million of his $9 million base salary for this season becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the new league year, a league source confirmed. The new league year opens at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

If the Titans stick with Dillard, it would be expected that third-year OT Nicholas Petit-Frere and second-year OT Jaelyn Duncan would compete for the starting RT job. But even so, that wouldn’t preclude Tennessee from drafting a left tackle or adding competition to that position in free agency.

If Dillard is the starting left tackle for Week 1, there might be a mutiny in Tennessee. Keeping him would be much more digestible if the plan is to leave him on the bench as a backup on a reduced salary — and even then I’d have nightmares about the possibility of him getting into an actual game.

After all, he was the worst left tackle in the sport after signing a three-year, $29 million deal, and was so bad that we longed for the days of Dennis Daley.

Just in case you thought there was some hope that Dillard could be fixed by an elite offensive line coach like Bill Callahan, bear in mind that the former first-round pick was once coached by Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who is equally respected around the NFL.

As for the other part of this report, you can’t talk about an in-house battle at right tackle without mentioning Dillon Radunz as a candidate after the former second-round pick finished the 2023 season strong at the position.

Some believe Radunz is best suited to be a guard, and that may very well be true. However, he should be considered the favorite for the right tackle job if the Titans don’t make a big splash at the position in free agency and don’t plan on moving Radunz to guard.

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Titans’ biggest cut candidates for 2024 offseason

A look at some potential cap casualties for the Titans in 2024.

The Tennessee Titans enter the 2024 offseason flush with cap space, but they will have an opportunity to clear more money if they decide to cut some players from last year’s team.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans are sitting with $68.1 million in cap space, the second-most in the NFL behind only the Washington Commanders.

That’s a far cry from last year, when the Titans were strapped for cash, even after cutting some players. That also forced Tennessee to bet on upside with some of their free-agent signings.

But things are very different this year with the Titans having a ton of money to spend. And, as a result, their need to cut players isn’t as dire as it was last year, although the team still figures to part ways with at least a few players.

Here’s a look at the Titans’ biggest cut candidates for the 2024 offseason, and we’ve included a prediction for what will happen with each.

Titans offseason preview at OT: Pending free agents, biggest needs

In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the team’s offensive tackle situation

The Tennessee Titans are staring down the barrel of an offensive line rebuild in 2024 after the team was absolutely putrid in that area last season.

The Titans surrendered a total of 64 sacks in 2023, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. It was also the third consecutive season in which Tennessee finished top seven in that category.

The weakest link was no doubt at left tackle, where the Titans saw veteran Andre Dillard give up 12 sacks and rookie Jaelyn Duncan surrender nine. Dillard’s 12 were tied for the most in the league, and Duncan was ranked fourth.

The right side wasn’t as bad thanks to Chris Hubbard and a late surge by Dillon Radunz, but both had their issues, also.

While left tackle is the biggest gaping hole upfront for the Titans, right tackle is also a question mark going into 2024. We’ll take a look at both spots in our latest offseason preview for Tennessee.

Draft analyst explains why 2024 is a good year to rebuild O-line

With the Titans set to rebuild their offensive line, one analyst says this is the perfect year to do so through the draft.

It’s no secret that the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line struggled mightily in the 2023 season.

Titans quarterbacks were sacked 64 times, which was 15 more than the year prior and tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. Only the Carolina Panthers (65), Washington Commanders (65), and New York Giants (85) allowed more.

Added, the Titans allowed the second-highest sack rate (11.5%) in the league, with the Giants (14.1%) being the only team to sport a worse mark.

After the regular season’s conclusion, Pro Football Network ranked the Titans’ offensive line dead-last in the league, noting Andre Dillard’s first season in Nashville being a significant letdown after signing a lucrative three-year, $29 million contract in the offseason.

According to Pro Football Focus, the former Philadelphia Eagle was responsible for 12 sacks allowed.

It certainly did not help that the Titans were rotating Dillard and rookie tackle Jaelyn Duncan, providing no consistency for anyone. Still, both players left a lot to be desired.

Peter Skoronski, the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, was perhaps the lone bright spot along the Titans’ offensive line, but there is no question that the position needs to be addressed this offseason.

Thankfully, the Titans hold the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, where they should have a plethora of options to grab a player they can plug in immediately.

While not an ideal position to be in, the Titans find themselves in the perfect year to be rebuilding their offensive line through the draft, as NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes this year provides plenty of options throughout the draft for Tennessee to advance its rebuild.

If picks one through six are filled out by offensive skill players, Tennessee could have their crack at Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, arguably the best offensive tackle prospect in the entire draft. 

Alt played in 12 games for the Irish last season, allowing just one sack and two quarterback hurries, according to PFF. The junior was given a 90.7 grade for his 2023 season. Alt played all three years at Notre Dame at the left tackle position, allowing just four sacks during that stretch.

Other options that the Titans can consider with the No. 7 overall pick should Alt be taken by one of the teams within the top six:

  • Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
  • Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
  • Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

Should the Titans wish to address the guard position in the second round with the 38th overall pick, some names to keep close tabs on include:

  • Graham Barton, G, Duke
  • Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State
  • Kingsley Suamataia, G, BYU

And, if this draft is as deep at offensive line as Jeremiah states, Tennessee might be able to find some gems after their first two picks, although they’re lacking a third-round selection.

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Grading Titans’ most notable 2023 free-agent signings after the season

Grades for the Titans’ most notable 2023 free-agent acquisitions following the season.

Ran Carthon was left in a bit of a sticky situation when he accepted the Tennessee Titans’ general manager job last January.

The previous regime, headed by former general manager Jon Robinson, left Carthon with minimal cap space and suboptimal dead-cap figures to work around.

Despite this, Carthon managed to have a pretty active first free agency. The vision was clear: acquire high-level athletes and former top picks who had yet to fulfill their potential.

With one season in the books, we can now start to delve into how those signings performed. Let’s break it down.

2024 NFL Draft: Final compensatory pick projections for the Eagles

Philadelphia will receive a third-round compensatory pick and three fifth-round compensatory picks, according to Nick Korte of OverTheCap after losing Javon Hargrave, Isaac Seumalo, Andre Dillard and T.J. Edwards in free agency.

The Eagles made several critical signings during the 2023 NFL free agency process, with all of the additions being one-year deals.

Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman watched ten contributors leave on the open market.

Thanks to his shrewd maneuvering and roster building, the Eagles are in line for four valuable compensatory picks in 2024, according to Nick Korte of Over The Cap.

The Birds were slated to have six picks in the 2024 NFL draft, but thanks to the compensatory formula, they’ll have 10.

1 Eagles’ own pick
2 Eagles’ own pick
2 From Saints
3 Projected compensatory pick
5 From Vikings (can become fourth-round pick if conditions are met)
5 From Buccaneers
5 Projected compensatory pick
5 Projected compensatory pick
6 Eagles’ own pick, or the Titans’ sixth-round pick, whichever is better
6 Projected compensatory pick

Here’s an early look at the four compensatory picks and how Philadelphia landed the extra assets.