Tag: Jayon Brown

Jayon Brown talks returning to Titans, 2020 communication issues, more

Jayon Brown says he took the questions about the Titans’ 2020 communication issues personally.

For the first time since re-signing with the Tennessee Titans, inside linebacker Jayon Brown addressed the media on Friday.

It was a bit surprising to see Brown return to Nashville, as the common thought was that Tennessee couldn’t afford him because he’d make upwards of $10-11 million per season in a new contract in free agency.

However, the market for Brown must not have been as robust as we thought it would be, and instead the UCLA product is coming home on a three-year, $5.3 million deal.

The pact was originally reported as a one-year deal, and it still essentially is, but the Titans added two voidable years to spread out the signing bonus and cap hit. Brown will cost just $3.49 million in 2021.

Here’s what Brown had to say in his first Zoom meeting with the media since striking a deal.

Note: All quotes are courtesy of Jim Wyatt of Titans Online unless otherwise noted.

Contract details for Titans’ deals with Bud Dupree and Jayon Brown

The Tennessee Titans got creative with the contracts of Bud Dupree and Jayon Brown.

Like most of the NFL, the Tennessee Titans have had to get creative with the contracts they’re handing out this offseason, and two examples of that are the deals for inside linebacker Jayon Brown and outside linebacker Bud Dupree.

For Dupree, it’s officially a five-year deal worth $82.5 million, with $35 million guaranteed. However, the former first-round pick carries a reasonable cap hit of just $5.1 million in 2021, giving the Titans some flexibility.

The contract also contains a yearly sack incentive of $500,000, although it isn’t clear how many sacks Dupree needs to reach that.

The Titans could get out of the deal after Year 2. If the Titans cut Dupree in 2023 they’d save $10.6 million instead of incurring a cap hit of $20.2 million, and then a $12.8 million savings instead of taking a cap hit of $19.2 million in 2024.

Here’s a look at the full breakdown, per Spotrac:

Year Base Salary Signing Roster Cap Hit Dead cap
2021 $1.75 million $3.2 million $171K $5.1 million $33.7 million
2022 $16 million $3.2 million – $19.2 million $28.8 million
2023 $17 million $3.2 million – $20.2 million $9.6 million
2024 $16 million $3.2 million – $19.2 million $6.4 million
2025 $15.5 million $3.2 million – $18.7 million $3.2 million

Brown’s contract is a bit more creative. It was originally reported as a one-year, $5.3 million deal, but it’s officially a three-year deal.

Tennessee added void years to spread out the signing bonus and lower the 2021 cap hit to just $3.49 million. Of course, they’ll still be paying Brown beyond this season if he doesn’t stick with the team.

Here’s a look at that full breakdown, per Spotrac.

Year Base Signing Roster Cap Hit Dead Cap
2021 $2.05 million $666K $781K $3.497 million $3.25 million
2022 – $666K – $1.3 million $1.3 million
2023 – $666K – $666K $666K

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Grades for Titans re-signing Jayon Brown, Anthony Firkser, Geoff Swaim

The Titans hit a home run with the re-signing of Jayon Brown in particular.

The Tennessee Titans have seen some key players depart in free agency this offseason, but the team has managed to bring back some of its own in the last few days.

Among those players are inside linebacker Jayon Brown, and tight ends Geoff Swaim and Anthony Firkser, all of whom have inked one-year deals.

Brown is re-signing on a one-year deal worth $5.25 million in what was a surprise to say the least. Swaim is back on a one-year, $2.5 million pact, while the details of Firkser’s contract are not yet know.

So, what grade do the Titans get for bringing these players back? Let’s take a look.

Twitter reacts to Tennessee Titans re-signing Jayon Brown

There was one common thread in the reactions to the Jayon Brown deal with the Titans.

After seeing several key players depart this offseason, the Tennessee Titans were finally able to keep one of their own, as the team will reportedly be bringing back Jayon Brown on a one-year deal.

The deal will pay Brown $5.25 million, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, and he also notes that the UCLA product turned down other offers.

That price is far below his estimated market value of $11 million per. At this price, the Titans have hit a home run with this re-signing and now have one less hole to fill in the process.

On the surface, it would appear Brown’s value wasn’t as strong as expected, which could be a result of his 2020 campaign ending early due to injury in what was a contract year for him.

Since being taken by the Titans in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft, Brown has become a vital piece to the team’s defense and has developed into one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL.

There was one common thread from the reactions on Twitter: this is a great deal for the Titans.

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Titans were among teams with most interest in Benardrick McKinney trade

The Dolphins ended up landing McKinney in a trade with the Texans.

The Tennessee Titans were reportedly among the teams with the most interest in trading for inside linebacker Bernardrick McKinney before the Houston Texans traded him to the Miami Dolphins for defensive end Shaq Lawson.

The deal between the Texans and Dolphins also reportedly includes a swap of late-round picks, with Houston getting a sixth-rounder while sending back a seventh-rounder to Miami.

The Titans’ mere interest in McKinney could say a lot about what the future holds for inside linebacker Jayon Brown, who is set to be a free agent this offseason.

If the plan was to bring Brown back, chances are the Titans wouldn’t have been in on a trade for the veteran linebacker, who would have been a solid replacement for Tennessee’s former fifth-round pick.

We’ll see if that notion holds true in the days ahead with the legal tampering period beginning on Monday, March 15, and the official start of free agency landing on Wednesday, March 17.

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Patriots free agency targets: Ranking the 11 best options at LB

Here’s who Bill Belichick might be interested in.

Even with the New England Patriots getting Marcus Cannon back from a season away during the pandemic, the team added tackle Trent Brown. And so even with Dont’a Hightower coming back from an opt-out year (just like Cannon), the Patriots could — and should — add more talent at the linebacker spots.

New England has Ja’Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche, Chase Winovich and Terez Hall. Last season, that wasn’t enough. And though Hightower is an excellent player, he won’t fix all their shortcomings at the position. They will need to add more talent in free agency and the draft. So let’s dive into what options they’ll have in free agency.

Report: Titans’ Jayon Brown receives full medical clearance

Jayon Brown suffered the injury during the Titans’ Week 11 win over the Ravens.

Tennessee Titans inside linebacker Jayon Brown, who is soon to be an unrestricted free agent, has reportedly received full medical clearance from an elbow injury that ended his 2020 campaign early.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Brown received the clearance on Friday, which comes at the perfect time with free agency set to begin on March 17, and the legal tampering period two days before that.

Brown suffered the injury during the Week 11 contest against the Baltimore Ravens and was knocked out for the season.

In his stead, the Titans deployed 2019 sixth-round pick, David Long, who played well overall and could be an in-house replacement if Tennessee decides it can’t or doesn’t want to bring Brown back.

Brown will be one of the top inside linebackers available on the open market this offseason if he doesn’t re-sign. Spotrac estimates his market value at a contract worth $11.1 million per year over four years.

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Jayon Brown would be an ideal signing for the Rams, but it’s unlikely

Jayon Brown is one of the top free-agent linebackers, but the Rams may not have the money to sign him.

Inside linebacker wasn’t exactly a strength for the Rams last season after losing Cory Littleton in free agency, starting three different players in his place. Micah Kiser, Kenny Young and Troy Reeder all struggled as starters and they’re not locks to even be on the team in 2021.

As a result, inside linebacker is going to be near the top of the Rams’ offseason priority list and reinforcements are likely on their way to Los Angeles. In free agency, there are several intriguing options, with very few better than Jayon Brown of the Titans.

He’s a young, rangy linebacker who’s excellent in coverage and would be a huge upgrade over what the Rams have at the position currently. Pro Football Focus selected Brown as the perfect free-agent match for the Rams and it’s easy to see why.

Brown does his best work in zone coverage and is agile enough to move around and align in unique positions, as we saw the Rams’ linebackers do in 2020. He had the No. 8 grade among linebackers in 2018 (81.2) before slipping to 20th over the last two seasons, but he’s still a value add for the Rams.

Brown earned a 66.4 overall grade from PFF last season in only 10 games played, but he was even better in 2018 and 2019. Since 2018, he has eight sacks, 278 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 15 QB hits and three interceptions.

He’s one of just eight players in the NFL to record at least 270 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks in that span, putting him alongside players such as Darius Leonard, Demario Davis, Roquan Smith and Jamal Adams, among others.

Brown would immediately improve the Rams defense and shore up what was the weakest part of the unit. But it remains unlikely that Los Angeles will sign him. The front office opted not to keep Littleton a year ago, and given Brown’s age and talent level, he’s not going to come cheap.

Pro Football Focus projects him to sign a four-year deal worth $11.875 million per year with the Titans, and Spotrac puts his market value at $11.1 million per year.

The Rams are currently $35 million over the salary cap and will have to make a bunch of moves just to get under the limit by March 17. Releasing Young, Michael Brockers and Brian Allen could help free up some space, but regardless of how Los Angeles gets under the limit, spending money isn’t going to be in abundance.

The Rams are much more likely to sign a lower-level free-agent linebacker to help than an expensive one like Brown. As impactful as he would be, don’t hold your breath on the Rams giving him a huge contract in free agency. He’s much more likely to earn it elsewhere.

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Spotrac predicts Titans sign Matt Judon, re-sign two of their free agents

The Titans will be on the right track if Spotrac’s predictions come true.

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The Tennessee Titans have a total of seven free agents we would deem as key ones, including Corey Davis, Jonnu Smith, Jadeveon Clowney, Desmond King, DaQuan Jones, Stephen Gostkowski and Jayon Brown.

For five of them — Davis, Smith, Clowney, King and Brown — Spotrac has made predictions or a “best guess” as to where each will land in free agency.

Take a look:

Jonnu Smith: Jets (four years, $32 million)

Desmond King: 49ers (three years, $18 million)

Corey Davis: Titans (four years, $42 million)

Jadeveon Clowney: Packers (one year, $12 million)

Jayon Brown: Titans (four years, $44 million)

As far as signing players on the open market is concerned, Spotrac believes the Titans will ink Baltimore Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon to a four-year, $65 million deal, which works out to $16.25 million per.

Of course, the Titans’ ability to make these moves will depend upon how much the team can clear in cap space. Tennessee is currently set to be $2 million over if the 2021 figures lands at $180.5 million, per Over the Cap.

Another avenue the Titans could take is to structure the contracts so the bigger cap hits lie in the years ahead when it’s figured the salary cap will increase.

Whatever the case may be, if the Titans can secure Davis, Brown and Judon, they’ll be on the right track, but not finished.

We wouldn’t mind seeing a reunion with Clowney, but certainly not at that price after his lackluster 2020 campaign. Anything more than half Spotrac’s estimation would be too much.

As for Smith: the Titans simply don’t utilize him enough to pay him long term, so we don’t expect to see him return to Nashville in 2021.

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Predicting the fate of Titans’ biggest impending free agents

Making predictions for what will happen with the Titans’ biggest free agents.

The Tennessee Titans have a grand total of 27 players hitting free agency this offseason, but as is always the case, some are more important to the team than others.

General manager Jon Robinson will have his work cut out for him even more so than normal, as the Titans are expected to be roughly $3 million over the cap, even with the salary cap reportedly set to be somewhere between $180-$181 million, higher than the floor of $175 million.

That means Robinson is going to have to make some tough decisions, both with the team’s own free agents and those players who are still under contract but could be on the chopping block to get cut.

Our own John Lowell recently went over a list of seven players who could get the axe to clear room for the team to re-sign their own free agents and make additions through the open market, so we could see a lot of action in that regard.

Here, we’re going to take a look at some predictions for how things will shake out with the team’s biggest free agents.