NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The NFL trade deadline is officially over and the Tennessee Titans still have their core of aging players. While the word loyalty gets thrown around a lot in sports, are the Titans, Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and DeAndre Hopkins all on the same page? It appears so due to the fact that the Titans didn’t move either player. I guess they are ready to make a playoff run with what they have on offense.
The time was now to move these players and the Tennessee Titans are rolling the dice. Not just them as an organization but the players as well. Henry has never requested a trade and neiter has Tannehill nor Hopkins. But they must see the writing on the wall. As football fans, we can understand teams moving players for assets but maybe we forget that some players may actually like where they are. But for these three veteran players, it just feels a bit different.
Tannehill is out with an injury that should sideline him for at least another week. He’s already missed the game against the Atlanta Falcons and will now miss the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. What’s staggering here is that Tannehill was not putting up gaudy numbers before the injury and with two young QBs on the roster, Tannehill’s time in Tennessee was shaping up to be over. But it wasn’t.
For Hopkins, this is his first year in Tennessee and he has struggled. Before his breakout game against the Falcons, Hopkins had 0 TDs and just one game where he went over 100 yards receiving. But with Will Levis under center, Hopkins broke out with 4 receptions for 148 yards and 3 TDs. This is the Hopkins fans have wanted to see since he signed in the offseason.
Why Didn’t The Tennessee Titans Trade Henry or Tannehill
As for Henry, his case is a bit different. there is not a team in need of a running back who didn’t have Henry’s agent on speed dial. As they say, running backs decline after a certain age and Henry is already there, but he’s still productive. Trading Henry away would signal a rebuild well before they do Tannehill. So far this season, Henry has carried the ball 120 times for 526 yards and 3 TDs with an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Not the old Henry but he’s still moving the chains.
The Tennessee Titans made an emotional decision here that may backfire. Of all the three players mentioned, neither of them is signed for next season (Hopkins has an out) and with Levis and Malik Willis on the roster and younger, Tannehill (35) is likely done. Why not try to get assets for him? Hopkins has an out on his two-year deal as well and at the age of 31, he’s not drawing much interest either. Why not get assets for him when you could? The same with Henry, he could have provided the Titans the most in terms of a return.
Sitting at 3-4 on the season, the Tennessee Titans still have a shot but how realistic is that? What are their goals? Are the playoffs enough to warrant success is it to win it all? With their current roster and the way they have been trading players already, that’s pretty hard to imagine. So why not start the rebuild now? To be honest, they should have begun that last season when they gave away AJ Brown.
Now they must sit and watch three aging players try to make a run with teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, and Baltimore Ravens. Each one of those teams are younger at the skill positions than the Titans are. To win in this league, it takes tough decisions. The Titans have mortgaged plenty already but when it was time to let go, they decided to hold on.
Henry and Tannehill have given the Tennessee Titans all they could over their careers. Now was the time to repay them by giving them a chance to contend.
