Tennessee Titans Preamble To Free Agency

With the season coming to an unceremonious end, and Crazy Bud finally revealing who was getting the pink slip, the free agency evaluation part of this offseason has kicked into full gear. While we'll have a couple of months to debate pie-in-the-sky scenarios on who we should target on the open market with out salary cap largesse, the first thing we need to do is look at the guys who suited up in two-toned blue this past season and have an honest conversation about who should and shouldn't be back.

There are a lot of variables involved in each of these decisions. Every year there are a few guys who have shown enough on the field to get a legitimate offer from the Titans, but some delusional agent or brain-dead GM might influence them to ask for way more than they're worth. There will also most likely be a player or two who come back on a one-year deal with little hope of making it through camp.

Below is the list of players who are currently unsigned for 2013. I've divided them into groups based on my opinion of most keepable to most expendable. I've also included a few notes to keep in mind as we discuss this crew moving forward:

Keepers:

• Jared Cook - Inconsistent? Yes, but blame that on Palmer and pay the man.
• Fernando Velasco- Proved to me he can start capably at Guard and Center, and played great at times.
• Sen'Derrick Marks - Played like a beast all season after being a non-factor for three years... I like him a lot, but someone will overpay for him.
• Kevin Matthews - The new Mike Otto, and he'll be cheap.
• Darius Reynaud - Sure he wasn't amazing all year, but the cat can make plays and should be cheap.

The special case that's left up to Alan Lowry:

• Rob Bironas - Had his worst accuracy percentage (80.6) since 2006, and the fact that he didn't get an extension last off-season is a good sign the Titans may be ready to move on

Buh-bye:

• Dave Ball - will almost certainly retire
• Deuce Lutui - Played well, all things considered. I bet he gets a shot at starting elsewhere next year
• Keyunta Dawson
• Kyle DeVan
• Leger Douzable
• Jarius Wynn
• Leroy Harris - Played 3-4 good games before he hit the IR, but was awful for two years prior
• Quinn Johnson
• Robert Johnson - Project failed.
• Gerald McRath
• Ryan Mouton
• Javon Ringer
• Will Witherspoon - Finally!
• Zac Diles

So, if Rouston Webster and Lake Dawson put it to the MCM Commentariat, who would stay and would need a real estate agent?