Tag: Arden Key

Jaguars awarded 2 compensatory picks, ending 13-offseason drought

The Jaguars received compensatory draft picks for the first time in a long time.

For the first time since 2010, the Jacksonville Jaguars were awarded compensatory draft picks.

On Friday, the NFL announced that the Jaguars received a third-round pick (No. 96 overall) and a sixth-round pick (No. 212 overall) for the losses of Jawaan Taylor and Arden Key, respectively. Taylor joined the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency on a four-year, $80 million contract while Key signed with the Tennessee Titans on a three-year, $21 million deal.

Compensatory selections are awarded to teams that suffer net losses in free agency. While the Jaguars have lost plenty of other players in the last 13 offseasons, the team’s frequent spending nullified the opportunity to receive picks for those losses. For example, when wide receiver Allen Robinson and cornerback Aaron Colvin left the Jaguars in 2019, big contracts for offensive lineman Andrew Norwell and wide receiver Donte Moncrief erased the chance to get 2020 draft picks.

In 2023, the Jaguars largely stood pat in free agency, opting to focus their efforts on retaining their own players rather than hunting through the market. Jacksonville narrowly missed earning two more compensatory picks too, as tight end Chris Manhertz and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. both received qualifying contracts that weren’t quite lucrative enough to earn a seventh-round pick.

With the addition of the two selections, the Jaguars have nine selections in the 2024 NFL draft.

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5 Titans who could get a contract extension in 2024

A look at five Titans who are under contract for 2024 that could get an extension this year.

The Tennessee Titans have a slew of free agents to make decisions on this offseason, but there are also some players who are under contract for 2024 that could become candidates for an extension at some point, either before or during the upcoming season.

While the Titans will re-sign some of those pending free agents, I wouldn’t exactly consider that an extension, thus none of the 27 players set to hit the open market in March will be included in this list.

With that in mind, here’s a look at five players who are under contract for 2024 that could be candidates for a contract extension at some point before they hit free agency in 2025.

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

In our latest offseason preview for theTitans, we take a look at the outside linebacker position.

The Tennessee Titans saw a solid year from their outside linebackers group, which was led by Harold Landry and Arden Key. However, things certainly could’ve been better.

As expected, Landry got off to a slow start in his return from a torn ACL, but the fact that he played as well as he did down the stretch was great news for his outlook. Ultimately, he finished with 10.5 sacks, the second-most of his career.

Key proved to be a serviceable starter with six sacks, the second-most of his career, but he wasn’t as consistent as we would’ve hoped for. If not for a six-week stretch with zero sacks, he would’ve had a career year.

Despite his flaws, Key is good enough to roll with once again in 2024.

Beyond those two, there wasn’t much to talk about. Trevis Gipson and Caleb Murphy barely played, and Rashad Weaver was very disappointing. Gipson’s one sack was the only one to come out of that trio.

In our latest offseason preview, we take a look at the outside linebackers who are under contract and pending free agents, and we go over Tennessee’s biggest needs at the position and how they should approach it.

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.

Titans are only team to have 2 players with double-digit sacks

The Titans are the only team in the NFL to sport two players with double-digit sacks.

While a lot has gone wrong for the Tennessee Titans this season, the team’s group of edge rushers hasn’t been among the negatives.

The Titans’ trio of Arden Key (6.0), Denico Autry (11.5) and Harold Landry (10.5) have combined for 28 of the team’s 45 sacks this season, which is tied for the 10th-most in the NFL going into Week 18.

Taking it a step further, the Titans are the only team in the league to sport a pair of pass-rushers (Autry and Landry) with double-digit sacks entering the final week of the campaign.

Autry’s total is a new career-high for him, and this is the second double-digit sack campaign of Landry’s career and he’s 1.5 shy of his single-season best. Key sits just a half of a sack shy of his career-best mark.

After a slow start to the season upon his return from a torn ACL suffered last year, Landry has really picked it up over the last five games and has looked like his old self, tallying 5.5 sacks in that span.

Autry has been sensational in each of his three campaigns since being signed as a free agent in 2021. Key hasn’t been as much of a standout as Landry and Autry, but he’s no doubt made an impact in his first season in Tennessee.

Landry and Key are under contract for 2024, but Autry is set to hit the free-agent market in a matter of months. The Titans should be very interested in bringing Autry back to keep this trio together.

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What Titans are saying about Colts ahead of Week 13

What the Titans are saying about the Colts ahead of Week 13.

The Tennessee Titans will meet the Indianapolis Colts for the second time this season when they do battle at Nissan Stadium in Week 13.

The Titans are looking to avenge their loss to the Colts from Week 5. The Titans’ offense struggled in that game, as it has for much of the campaign.

Earlier in the week, running back Derrick Henry reflected on the loss in which he tallied just 43 yards on the ground.

“43 yards makes you want to cringe,” Henry said, per Jim Wyatt. “I have to be better. I have to play better. And that is going to be my main focus this whole week, just playing better and being efficient in the run game.”

Now, a look at what else the Titans are saying about the Colts ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

Titans’ PFF grades and OL, coverage, pass-rush stats from Week 12

The Titans’ OFF grades and offensive line, coverage and pass-rush stats from Week 12.

With the Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers in the books, it’s time to take a look at the Pro Football Focus grades and offensive line, coverage and pass-rush stats from Week 12.

Tennessee’s highest-graded player on either side of the ball was outside linebacker Arden Key, who notched a 90.3. Key had the biggest play of the day with his strip sack that the Titans recovered and eventually turned into six.

On offense, running back Derrick Henry was the Titans’ highest-graded player with an 82.3. The Alabama product found the end zone twice and finished with 76 yards on 18 carries.

What Titans fans are likely to be most interested in are the pass-block stats from rookie Jaelyn Duncan, who made his first career start at left tackle last week. Duncan got off to a bit of a shaky start with a pair of pressures allowed early on, but he settled in nicely after that.

Now, a look at how Duncan fared and much more from Week 12.

4 Titans producing high win rates through 10 games

Four Titans players rank inside the top 20 in win rates, but one of them is reportedly out for the season.

While this season has mostly been a disaster for the Tennessee Titans, they have had a few bright spots scattered across their roster.

Rookies Peter Skoronski, Will Levis, and Tyjae Spears have shown flashes of potential greatness and appear to have bright futures ahead of themselves. 

Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins are future Hall of Famers who are still performing at high levels when given adequate opportunities.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jeffery Simmons is still a dominant player who needs more consistency around him, while Harold Landry is slowly getting healthier and more productive with each passing week.

Outside of those seven and the specialists, it’s really slim pickings in Tennessee right now.

The Titans do have a few players on both sides of the ball who are doing well in terms of win rates. Per ESPN Analytics, the Titans have four players who rank inside the top 20 at their respective positions.

Unfortunately, one of them — right tackle Chris Hubbard — is reportedly out for the season after suffering a significant injury in the team’s Week 11 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

If you take Hubbard away, the Titans still have three active players who made the cut heading into Week 12, so let’s find out who they are and where they rank.

Trevor Lawrence responds to ‘first read’ criticism: ‘Arden said that?’

Trevor Lawrence was surprised to hear his former teammate, Arden Key, had a pointed critique of his play.

There was a growing narrative surrounding Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in recent weeks.

First, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said his team planned to “try to force [Lawrence] to play quarterback, play the position, go through reads.” Then Tennessee Titans pass rusher Arden Key, who spent the 2022 season with the Jaguars, essentially said the same thing earlier this week.

“If the first read is there, he’s throwing it right there, right now,” Key said, via 104.5 The Zone. “If it’s not, you can kind of see the hesitation, things of that sort.”

But unlike Bosa and the 49ers, Key and the Titans weren’t successful slowing Lawrence. After a blowout, 34-14 win Sunday, Lawrence was asked about the mounting criticism, of which he was evidently unaware.

“I could care less what those guys say, to be honest,” Lawrence said. “That’s really my only response to that. It doesn’t matter. If those guys think I’m the best thing in the world, it doesn’t matter either. So, doesn’t really matter.

“I love Arden, former teammate. It hurts that he said that, but no, I don’t care. It’s about how you perform on Sunday. It’s not about what other people say, but if you want to change the narrative, then change the narrative and play better.”

When the Jaguars posted the clip on social media, Key himself responded with a “I love you TLaw” comment on Instagram.

Lawrence finished the win Sunday with 262 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns.

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Titans’ Arden Key on facing Jaguars: ‘It’s going to be mixed emotions’

Back in March, Titans OLB Arden Key said he felt “disrespected” by the Jaguars after they didn’t re-sign him. Now, he faces them for the first time in Week 11.

When the Tennessee Titans travel to EverBank Stadium on Sunday to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, it will be the first time outside linebacker Arden Key returns to face his old team.

Key spent one season with the Jaguars in 2022 and had one of his best years, tallying 27 tackles and 4.5 sacks. However, he was not re-signed by Jacksonville, which allowed him to make his exit to Nashville.

Upon being signed by the Titans, Key made it clear he felt disrespected by the Jags’ decision not to bring him back.

“With Jacksonville, it was a shock to me,” Key admitted in March, per Paul Kuharsky. “After the year, I thought I was going to be a Jacksonville Jaguar. But I felt disrespected because I came over there, built up the culture, brought a whole lot of energy, changed the city, changed the town, and I felt like — in my rightful mind — I was going to be a Jacksonville Jaguar. That didn’t happen, but I still love the players, love the teammates, love the city, love the fans, but, yeah, we’ve got to see them twice.”

When asked this week about the upcoming game against the Jags, Key said he’s happy to see his old mates and will be feeling “mixed emotions” but it’ll be all business come game time.

“It’s going to be mixed emotions,” Key said on Thursday, per Jim Wyatt. “A lot of those guys I still talk to, a lot of those coaches I still talk to. It’s going to be good to see their faces, to shake their hands pregame.

“But when the game starts, hopefully we can go out there and get this dub.”

Key didn’t shy away from the fact that this game will mean a bit more to him thanks to the way he felt after not being re-signed.

“There is definitely some extra there,” Key said. “I started off with R&B (music), and there’s going to be a lot more R&B this week just to keep the energy sustained into gameday.”

Key has been OK for the Titans this season. He’s notched 2.5 sacks and shown flashes of dominance throughout, but he’s also been inconsistent, something that can be said about the entire pass-rush.

The Titans are going to need a big effort from Key and the rest of the front if they want to walk out of Jacksonville with a win on Sunday.

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