Titans have an underrated need at EDGE this offseason

The Tennessee Titans are entering the offseason with several question marks all over their offense. Offensive line and wide receiver require multiple upgrades this summer. There’s silly rumors at quarterback too, with Ryan Tannehill and Derek Carr currently being linked with moves that involve the Titans.

There’s no denying that Tennessee needs to focus the majority of their attention on the offensive side of the ball. Head coach Mike Vrabel just reshuffled his offensive coaching staff via a mixture of new hires (Charles London, Justin Outten) and placing current coaches in new roles (Tim Kelly, Tony Dews and Pat O’Hara, to name a few). Vrabel recognizes the need to reshape this offense.

Despite that, the EDGE position will be an underrated need for the Titans this offseason. Bud Dupree is expected to be released in a cap-cutting move that will create $9.3 million in cap space, per Spotrac. Dupree never reached his performance ceiling in Tennessee, but the Titans will need to replace his efforts nonetheless. Dupree was considered an automatic starter when healthy.

Harold Landry will return from a season-ending torn ACL suffered in August. Getting Landry back will be massive for Tennessee’s defense, but expectations must be tampered. The Titans are all too familiar with how the road to recovery from an ACL can impact first-year outputs (Dupree and Taylor Lewan).

The Titans received good production out of DeMarcus Walker and Mario Edwards Jr. in 2022. Walker and Edwards combined for 10.0 sacks (Walker 7, Edwards 3) and 66 pressures (Walker 32, Edwards 34), per Pro Football Focus. Both Walker and Edwards Jr. played on team-friendly one-year deals in 2022. They could demand larger pay days after being productive in Tennessee. We also saw Walker and Edwards’ production fall off a cliff following injuries to Simmons and Autry. Can the Titans afford to re-sign Walker and/or Edwards?

The Titans can’t possibly enter the 2023 campaign with Landry and Rashad Weaver (and little else) at EDGE. Denico Autry can play outside in emergency situations (like he often did in 2022), but the Titans would prefer to keep Autry closer to Jeffery Simmons. The Titans must address the position via a mid-round selection or quality (but smart) free-agent signing.