The One That Got Away for the Titans?

There has been a lot of talk here over the years about free agents that walked away to sign big deals elsewhere. Some people get upset because the Titans "don't spend money," but it seems that in almost every case they make the right call. Name me one guy, not counting the guys in the salary cap purge, that ended up being worth the money wherever he signed.

That might be about to change, however. The Titans let Jason Babin walk away after a season where he had 13 sacks. He went on to record 18 sacks last season in Philadelphia. The Eagles got him for a really reasonable price. In fact, he is on Jason LaCanfora's list of the 11 best bargains in the NFL. Here is what LaCanfora had to say about him:

Criticize the Eagles and their Dream Team all you like, but everyone except for Nnamdi was signed to very cap-friendly and team-friendly deals. Defensive line coach Jim Washburn knew Babin well from his days at the Titans, and all this guy did was go out and challenge the NFL's single-season sack mark in his first year in Philly. The deal remains very cap-friendly and even in the event of injury, the cap prorations are set up so that the Eagles are protected and the team's cap is in great shape moving forward.

The thing that we will never truly know is how much of Babin's success is due to Washburn.