The agent for Titans center Kevin Mawae said he expects Mawae to hit open market when free agency...

The agent for Titans center Kevin Mawae said he expects Mawae to hit open market when free agency begins and won't return to Tenn as backup

@tnsports

I guess it is Leroy Harris time in Tennessee

over 2 years ago Jimmy 19 comments 0 recs |

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Thanks Mawae

Now let’s see what ol Leroy can do in a full time role.

MCM and RTT commenter.

CJ2K!

by crazylegs28 on Feb 17, 2010 10:34 AM CST reply actions

Oh well.

by danomite on Feb 17, 2010 10:51 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Which brings up an interesting union question...

Assume 1) the Titans do not sign Mawae and 2)neither does any other team.

How long can he remain a free agent before he has to give up his spot as NFLPA President? Becuase the union charter states that the President must be an active player.

by hartley on Feb 17, 2010 11:07 AM CST reply actions

That is an excellent question

What do the owners think of him as the NFLPA president? Could he get the Jose Canseco black-ball treatment because they want him out of that role?

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.

"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.

by Jimmy on Feb 17, 2010 11:11 AM CST up reply actions

Ha! I think I've found an answer.

His term is up this spring.

First off, eligibility is only checked at the time of election. Even if he never plays another snap of football, as long as he is eligible at the time of election, he can serve the full term.

Secondly, if he is a free agent when the union meets in March or April, because he has never gone a full season without being on a team’s active roster, there is a presumption that he will be on an active roster by the next season, and is eligible to be re-elected for another 2-year term.

Players who have before spent a season out of football do not enjoy that presumption, and must be on a team’s roster to be elected.

This is, incidentally, how the previous president, Troy Vincent, got to serve his final term in full despite being on IR the first year and out of football the second.

by hartley on Feb 17, 2010 12:19 PM CST up reply actions

As long as he doesn't file retirement papers

he should be good for a few years at least. Players aren’t technically considered retired until they file as such with the league office and the union to start the counters on their pension/benefits.

Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.

by August West on Feb 17, 2010 12:05 PM CST up reply actions

Sad day

Mawae was a great leader for our O-line the past few years. Vets like that go a long way towards making guys like Roos and Stewart Pro Bowl caliber players.

Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.

by August West on Feb 17, 2010 12:04 PM CST reply actions

Maybe.

But it’s more than a little crazy to offer a 38-year-old guy who had a very serious arm injury last year more than a very short contract. I like Mawae, but for as much as he has played very well at times, he’s also not nearly the best guy at his position any more. He was, but at this point, a strong Center could go a long way to improving run-blocking across the board. We saw that two years ago when he went out.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame

by DannoE on Feb 17, 2010 1:00 PM CST up reply actions

no doubt he doesn't get a long contract

but I would have been in favor of a reasonable one year deal . I’m not mad that it won’t happen, just a little sad, that’s all.

Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.

by August West on Feb 17, 2010 1:16 PM CST up reply actions

This is good for us.

Continuity on the offensive line is a good thing. Now VY gets to come back as starter with a new center that he can work with for a while (assuming Harris doesn’t stink it up) as oppose to Mawae leaving after 1 year and then breaking in Harris when our offense has found its identity already.

Ain't no time for hesitatin'
All you got to do is groove

by BonzosMontreaux on Feb 17, 2010 2:11 PM CST up reply actions

And this will go down as 2010's equivalent.....

….of the 2009 KR/PR decisions and problem.

But let’s just whistle past the graveyard, shall we?

After all, this team is CLEARLY dominant enough to overcome a few botched snaps every game, even if they result in turnovers!

Let’s start the next grand, risky experiment at a critical position for 2010!!!!

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -- Bender Bending Rodriguez

"Life is just one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead."

by The Jade Scorpion on Feb 17, 2010 2:15 PM CST reply actions

You are

the biggest pessimist I know… and that is saying alot.

Chin up you guys… instead of position blocking…. we can finally say we have someone that can be physical ( SNAPS may very well be a problem… but they can work on that this entire offseason)

CHIN UP, quit being a SALLY

by RhiNo6705 on Feb 17, 2010 2:24 PM CST up reply actions

Center is too important a position...

…to experiment with.

They need to resign Mawae, or get another proven Center from the market.

I don’t mind moving a G to T, or DE to DT, or CB to S, or DL to LB. Center is just too damn important for this risky cost-cutting scheme.

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -- Bender Bending Rodriguez

"Life is just one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead."

by The Jade Scorpion on Feb 17, 2010 2:30 PM CST up reply actions

Leroy isn't a bad option at all

and I seriously doubt the botched snaps continue. They will almost certainly sign an experienced buy to compete with Harris anyways.

Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.

by August West on Feb 17, 2010 2:52 PM CST up reply actions

At CENTER,

Leroy is not a good option. He is fine as a blocker, but we are about to gamble away another 4 losses in the first six games pretending that everything will be okay with no real reason to believe it will.

There is no GOOD reason to just throw Leroy Harris out there anyway, in spite of the problems we have seen him have at Center. It’s not like other options aren’t available, or we’re cash-strapped from bloated payroll.

I repeat: there is no GOOD reason to do this, none. It needs to be stopped before we’re 0-6 and browsing the dumpsters of other teams looking for a sub-par natural Center just to make the turnovers and botched snaps stop.

Bring back Mawae!

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -- Bender Bending Rodriguez

"Life is just one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead."

by The Jade Scorpion on Feb 17, 2010 3:24 PM CST up reply actions

I don't get why you are so down on Harris

I know he botched some snaps, which was probably because of nerves, but he played pretty well in the playoff game last year.

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.

"What if I was Peyton Manning?"- CJ to the ref after they picked up a personal foul flag for a late hit on him.

by Jimmy on Feb 17, 2010 4:00 PM CST up reply actions

There are some positions....

…too important for experimentation.

Center is DEFINITELY one of them. We need a natural Center, someone who has been doing this for YEARS at multiple levels.

Look, I like Harris as a blocker – I’ve got nothing against him. But he’s not the Center of the future.

“I know he botched some snaps, but…” shouldn’t even be in the CONVERSATION when discussing who’s going to anchor the OL next year.

This one is going to hurt. We have really GOT to stop prentending that obvious flaws aren’t going to come back to bite us.

We NEED Mawae, or a natural center from Free Agency.

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -- Bender Bending Rodriguez

"Life is just one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead."

by The Jade Scorpion on Feb 17, 2010 4:12 PM CST up reply actions

I am confused here too

I thought it was pretty unanimous that except for the snaps Harris did a good job while Mawae was out.

The problem with the snaps would get ironed out over the offseason.

Also, we just gave Amano a huge contract so maybe he moves to center.

Moreover, do we suddenly have no faith at all in our O-Line coach? I heard that he’s pretty good.

Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame

by theologic on Feb 17, 2010 8:14 PM CST up reply actions

While I don't quite agree..

/that this would be the equivalent to last years KR/PR problem. I do agree with Jade that it could likely be a problem we’ll constantly look on if this happens. Mawae might not be the physically dominant player he once was, but his experience and knowledge is just as important to have on the line. It would be to our benefit to have him back under center if at all possible.

by J3G77 on Feb 17, 2010 2:55 PM CST up reply actions