After 3 days, the Titans have finally signed Outside Linebacker Brian Orakpo. Once he spent the night again yesterday, it seemed to just be a matter of time before he signed, considering the fact that Orakpo visiting was one of the first pieces of free agent news that we heard early this week.
Again, if Orakpo is healthy, and can stay healthy, this will be a very good signing. While his strength has probably taken a hit, the degree is what remains to be seen. He said on NFL Network last week that he changed his workout to more of a finesse style, rather than heavy weightlifting that puts a lot of stress on his chest. Since Orakpo spent so much time in Nashville, the hope is that they looked under every rock from a medical standpoint.
The Titans should be very pleased with this signing. Former Texas teammate Michael Griffin worked hard to recruit him, and it has finally paid off. While there have been very loud complaints about the Titans' performance and activity in free agency, if they can pull off the upset and re-sign Derrick Morgan, and add one of the remaining Cornerbacks like Perrish Cox, it will turn out to be one of their better free agency periods on paper.
Ruston Webster and the Front Office did a great job of pursuing Orakpo, and not letting him leave town until something was done. They desperately needed to close when their backs were against the wall, and to their credit, they did. Welcome to Nashville, Rak!
UPDATE: According to Mike Garafolo, the deal is for 32 million dollars over 4 years, with 13.5 million guaranteed. At this point, the Titans had to pony up, regardless of the price. They had no alternatives, and it would have put them in a tough spot going into the draft.
UPDATE: From Wyatt:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Orakpo was sked to fly out of Nashville several times since visit on Wed. Stuck around while <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Titans?src=hash">#Titans</a> and his agent worked toward the deal</p>— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/jwyattsports/status/576367140070137857">March 13, 2015</a></blockquote>
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