Titans Off-Season 2009

Going into the 2009 off-season, the Tennessee Titans have a number of playmakers possibly going into free agency consisting of: Albert Haynesworth, Kerry Collins,Rob Bironas, Bo Scaife, Chris Carr, Justin McCariens, Reynaldo Hill, and Brandon Jones.

-To begin with, all Titans fans can understand how hard it is going to be to retain Albert Haynesworth this year. Haynesworth is looking for a contract that would make him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Haynesworth's agent has suggested that his client will be asking for a 6 year contract around $65m-$70m. The Titans will probably be offering somewhere around $55m, and Haynesworth has already said that he won't be giving the Titans any kind of "hometown discount". Although it is something that is going to be hard for all of us to deal with, rotoworld.com has suggested that Atlanta or Carolina will probably be suitors for Haynesworth judging by their cap room and position needs. But I also see Detroit being a possible landing spot for Haynesworth considering the Titans former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz being head coach for the Lions now. But keep faith Titans fans, hopefully the Titans decide to spend some money and bring Albert back.

-Kerry Collins, although his numbers weren't gaudy, had great success this season. He seems to be a great fit to the Titans offense and a valuable mentor to Vince Young. Collins expressed his willingness to stay with the Titans as long as he was assured the starting spot. Who can blame him? After playing as well as he did last year and at his age, I wouldn't settle for anything less if I was him. According to the always faithful ESPN bottomline, Jeff Fisher has talked to Collins and explained that he would be the starter for the 2009 season. So expect Kerry to get a 2 year contract around $4m within the next couple of weeks.

-Rob Bironas is arguably the best kicker in the NFL. I don't see signing him back being a problem. The Titans will probably place the franchise tag on Bironas giving him a two-fold raise from what he made last year. Don't worry about Bironas, he proves to be the most for sure signing for the Titans this off-season.

-Bo Scaife led the team in receptions last year and seemed to become Kerry Collins' safety valve. Although there isn't a lot of talk about Scaife, he has defenitely become a fan favorite and I see him and the Titans getting a deal done soon.

-Before Chris Carr came to Tennessee, the Titans had lost cause after lost cause with finding a kick returner when Derrick Mason left. But Carr has filled the void at kick and punt returner and should be viewed as a valuable asset to the Titans. So I don't see the Titans having a problem siging him back.

-Justin McCariens, who was signed to a one year deal as a favor to new offensive coordinator Mike Hiemerdinger, probably won't see an offer coming from the Titans. McCariens proved to be a weakness in the offense last year opposite Justin Gage and never showed the kind of flash that he did in his first stint with the Titans.

-Reynaldo Hill, after starting opposite Pacman Jones in 2006 and then serving as a 4th DB in 2007, had a season ending injury in 2008. Look for his time with the Titans to come to a close this off-season.

-Brandon Jones has shown that he has what it takes to be a great slot reciever and possible #2 guy in the NFL. Jeff Fisher has definitely recognized this by stating after the playoff loss that he would love to bring Jones back next season. So my expectations of the Titans signing him back being about 75-80%.

Well the Titans have work to do, but this is what the 2009 Titans free agents are looking like right now. I will do everything that I can to keep everyone updated on these players and also look deeper into the potential targets for the Titans throughout the off-season. Stay tuned Titans fans. Monday I will post a blog talking about what moves I think the Titans should make this off-season.