Titans have until tomorrow to franchise tag EDGE Harold Landry

Will they or won’t they? The Tennessee Titans have until tomorrow, Tuesday March 8 to apply the franchise tag to impending free agent EDGE Harold Landry. The deadline for teams to tag a player is a little over 24 hours away as of this posting and Tennessee’s decision regarding Landry looms especially large. Landry is the only realistic tag-candidate for the Titans this offseason.

The franchise tag would pay Landry $20.1 million if the earns the defensive end designation, or $17.4 as a linebacker. The transition tag is roughly $16.6 as a defensive end, and $14.8 at linebacker.

A franchise tag still leaves room for negotiation on a long-term contract. The NFL’s deadline in 2022 for teams and tagged players to agree upon and sign a multi-year extension remains July 15. General manager Jon Robinson could tag Landry simply to buy the two sides more time to hammer out a long-term contract extension. Robinson sounded like a decision-maker that wanted to keep Landry while speaking with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine.

If Landry receives the tag and the two sides fail to reach a long-term agreement, Landry’s 2022 salary would be guaranteed and it would count towards the salary cap in its entirety. That would be a difficult pill for the Titans to swallow, seeing that they’re nearly $7 million above the cap, via Spotrac. Working out a long-term extension would allow the Titans to lower Landry’s 2022 cap hit, which qualifies as the best case scenario for all parties involved. The Titans could also choose to allow Landry to sign elsewhere, but it would do significant damage to their in-form front-four.

Landry experienced a career season in 2021 by recording a team-high 12 sacks while playing a starring role on a new-look defensive line that also included Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry and Bud Dupree. Landry was a true quarterback hunter all throughout the season, and was extremely consistent. In addition to his impressive sack totals, Landry also recorded career-highs in total tackles (68) and solo tackles (44).

Will the Titans tag Landry before tomorrow’s deadline? Stay tuned to MCM for all news and analysis.