Tag: Harold Landry

Harold Landry named Titans’ most overpaid player

In an article listing the most overpaid player for every team in the NFL, Harold Landry was the choice for the Titans.

In an article listing the most overpaid player for every team in the NFL, outside linebacker Harold Landry was the choice for the Tennessee Titans, according to Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon.

Gagnon writes that Landry is “good but not great” and that he’s tallied sack numbers that “make him look like a more impactful player than he is.”

Here’s Gagnon’s entire write-up:

Good not great, and with sack numbers that make him look like a more impactful player than he is. The 27-year-old has had one standout season out of five, and he’ll cost an average of just under $24 million against the cap in the next three seasons. 

After signing a five-year, $87.5 million deal during the 2022 offseason, it’s been hard to truly gauge just how much Landry has been worth it.

After all, he suffered a torn ACL prior to the first season of his new deal, and spent the second campaign trying to round back into form from it, which he appeared to do down the stretch.

Landry finished with 10.5 sacks, the second-most of his career. Also bear in mind, he got the contract coming off a season in which he had a career-high 12 sacks.

Knowing all that, it’s really unfair to call him overpaid quite yet — but if not Landry, then who?

On the lower end, you could go with either cornerback Caleb Farley or wide receiver Treylon Burks, both of whom are making first-rounder salaries but haven’t done much of anything. However, neither one costs very much, as Farley accounts for a cap hit of $4.2 million in 2024, and Burks is $3.9 million.

In terms of the big-salary players, an argument can be made for safety Amani Hooker, who has failed to play an entire slate in each of the past three years.

Hooker, who accounts for a cap hit of $9.3 million in 2024, was awarded with a three-year, $30 million deal in 2022. Since then he’s missed eight and four games the past two seasons. Before that, he missed five games in 2021.

Since signing his deal, he has just two picks and 10 passes defensed in that span, including one interception and seven passes defensed in 2023, which was the first year of his new deal.

That said, Hooker has been one of the bright spots for the Titans in their secondary when on the field and has been one of the lone sources of turnovers (he has two forced and recovered fumbles since 2022).

However, the bar has been quite low to stand out in the Titans’ secondary the past few seasons, so that isn’t saying much.

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Titans OLB Harold Landry’s highlights from 2023 season

There were few better stories on the 2023 Titans than outside linebacker Harold Landry.

There were few better stories on the Tennessee Titans in 2023 than that of outside linebacker Harold Landry.

After signing a massive five-year, $87.5 million contract extension with the Titans in 2022, Landry suffered a torn ACL before the start of the season and was forced to miss the entire campaign.

He was able to return in 2023 but got off to a slow start, which was to be expected. However, Landry really began finding his footing in the second half of the season, tallying 5.5 sacks over the final six games.

His best showing came in Week 14 against the Miami Dolphins, when he registered three sacks in the upset victory. Landry ultimately finished with 10.5 sacks, the second-most in a single season of his career.

Looking ahead to 2024, Landry will once again play a key role on the Titans’ defense, and if he can carry over the momentum he finished with last season, Landry is a good bet to break his 12.5-sack mark that he reached in 2021.

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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.

Titans’ top-20 cap hits going into the 2024 offseason

The Titans’ top-20 cap hits for 2024 ahead of free agency.

After an offseason in which the Tennessee Titans had limited funds to work with, the team is now loaded with cap space going into the 2024 offseason.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans have $68.1 million to work with, which is the second-most in the NFL behind only the Washington Commanders.

The Titans will be able to open up even more cap space if they decide to cut some players who are under contract. We recently went over who some of the biggest candidates are that fit the bill.

When it comes to Tennessee’s biggest cap hits for 2024, four of the players in the top 20 are pending free agents who still count against the cap because of void years added to their contracts.

Of course, this list will change once free agency comes and goes, but for now this is the list of the Titans’ top-20 cap hits going into the offseason.

Note: Contract figures are courtesy of Over the Cap.

Titans’ Harold Landry joins exclusive group with double-digit sack season

With a double-digit sack season, Titans OLB Harold Landry has achieved something only two other veterans have since 1982.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry has had an impressive 2023 season in his return from a torn ACL that prevented him from playing in 2022.

As is expected with a player coming back from such a serious injury, Landry got off to a slow start this season, with the edge rusher having just one sack over his first five games.

But since then, Landry has really turned it up, with the Boston College product notching 9.5 sacks over his last 11 games — and he’s been especially hot in his last four, with Landry tallying five sacks in that span.

The result is Landry posting 10.5 sacks going into Week 18, which marks the second time in his career he’s totaled double-digit sacks in a season. His first came in 2021, when he finished with a career-high 12.

With the double-digit sack season under his belt, Landry is just the third player (rookies excluded) since 1982 to achieve that feat after missing the previous season.

The other two are former New Orleans Saints defenders Joe Johnson (12 sacks in 2000) and Charlie Clemons (13.5 sacks in 2001), who actually achieved the feat in back-to-back seasons.

A few more nuggets about Landry:

  • Since Week 6, Landry’s 9.5 sacks are tied for sixth in the NFL.
  • Since Week 6, Landry’s 13 tackles for loss are tied for third-most in the NFL.

Hats off to Landry, especially considering the circumstances. And, it’s a great sign for Tennessee’s defense moving forward, as Landry will play a big role in the unit once again in 2024.

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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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Titans’ Harold Landry wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Titans OLB Harold Landry was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after tallying three sacks in Week 14.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry is being recognized for his impressive Week 14 showing against the Miami Dolphins.

The league announced on Wednesday that Landry is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after tallying a career-high three sacks and five QB hits against Miami in what was his best game of the 2023 campaign.

Landry was a menace all game long, and his third and final sack sealed Tennessee’s improbable win.

The Boston College product is coming off a torn ACL suffered prior to the 2022 campaign and got off to a slow start to the season. However, since the team’s bye, Landry has been excellent.

Through Week 6, Landry had four pressures and two sacks, but since then he’s tallied a whopping 27 pressures and seven sacks (H/T James Foster of No Flags Film).

In all, Landry has 8.5 sacks, which is a half of a sack shy of his second-best mark in a single season, and 3.5 shy of his career-high with four games left to play.

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Titans’ Harold Landry is looking like his old self since the bye

Titans OLB Harold Landry appears to be back to form since the bye week.

Going into the 2023 season, Tennessee Titans pass-rusher Harold Landry was someone I was high on. I knew it would take him some time to get back to form, but there was never a real doubt in my mind that he would.

Admittedly, it took a little longer than I expected, but ever since the bye in Week 7, we’ve gotten the chance to see Landry getting back to his old ways.

When comparing Landry’s impact from before the bye (six games) and after (seven games), there has been an undeniable increase in production.

Landry has increased his quarterback pressures from four to 27, and his sack totals from two to seven while also increasing his pass-rushing grade by 21.1 points, per Pro Football Focus (H/T James Foster of No Flags Film).

As I mentioned in Monday’s truths and overreactions article, the part that really got me excited about his Week 14 outing was how explosive he looked.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen that Gumby-like bend along the edge that leads to him explosively dipping under the offensive tackle’s punch and getting after the quarterback like a NASCAR driver turning the corner.

That ability makes it a nightmare for offensive tackles to beat him to the junction point because he’s able to set the defender up with his hand usage before dipping underneath the blocker at a moment’s notice.

For context, the junction point is the area on the field where the tackle and defender are trying to get to so they can put themselves in position to win the rep.

For a tackle, it’s getting to the JP and preventing the defender from turning the corner. For a defender, it’s trying to get to that point on the field where they can turn the corner and get to the quarterback.

When the Boston College product is on his game, it truly is a sight to behold. There aren’t many pass-rushers who have the ankle flexion and natural athleticism to produce lethal ghost rushes the way Landry does.

Despite his slow start, Landry is still on the verge of producing a double-digit sack season. The thought of what he could be next year when he’s two years removed from his ACL surgery is something that should have Titans fans salivating.

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Titans’ Harold Landry ‘feeling better and better’ as season progresses

After a two-sack game in Week 8, Titans OLB Harold Landry admitted he’s “feeling better and better” as the season progresses.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry hasn’t looked like himself this season, which was to be expected with the Boston College product coming back from a torn ACL suffered before the 2022 campaign.

However, Landry showed he might be getting back on track in Week 8 after tallying two sacks in the 28-23 win. That performance followed a Week 6 effort in which Landry tallied one sack.

After the game, Landry admitted he’s feeling better every week and an injury earlier in the season slowed his progression.

“I forgot who I told, but I felt like I’ve been feeling better and better,” Landry said. “In the first three weeks, I was dealing with something else that kind of didn’t allow me to practice as much as I wanted to.

“In these past two weeks, I’ve been able to practice full speed every day, and work on my rush plan and everything that I want to do in the game. So that’s a big factor for me, being able to practice and work on my stuff.

“And yeah, the NFL, this is a long season, and I’m saying I don’t ever get too high or too low. I just keep working, trying to improve, and that’s what I’m gonna do following this game.”

If the former second-round pick can get back into form moving forward, it’ll be a huge lift for the defense.

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Colts vs. Titans: Keys to victory in Week 5

Here’s how the Colts can beat the Titans in Week 5.

The Indianapolis Colts continue their homestand in Week 5 with an AFC South rivalry game against the Tennessee Titans.

The division is currently a very contested race. All four teams hold the same record entering this week and need a win to continue their push for the South’s best. The Colts, in particular, are looking to right the wrongs of several games past and break a five-game losing streak against Tennessee.

Here are the keys to victory for overcoming the prowess of the Titans: