NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans have ensured Derrick Henry will be on their roster in 2019 by applying a franchise tag to him, Adam Schefter reports.

Now the questions are about how he will handle it.

Second contracts for running backs are their prime chance to earn, and he will want to get his financial security now, coming off a NFL rushing title, or next year at the latest.

The tag ensures him of $10.278 million, but offers no long-term guarantee and provides no money until the first week of the regular season. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans ensured themselves of quarterback security by completing a deal with Ryan Tannehill Sunday.

But the way the league has changed combined with the relatively small sample size of his excellent play in 2019 has created a strange cocktail where that new immediately created an odd question from many fans:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans have their quarterback of the present locked in, ending speculation that they could turn to Tom Brady instead.

And with the most important position taken care of they can move on to use their franchise tag on Derrick Henry and get about the business of putting together a better team around Ryan Tannehill than the one he helped lead to a surprise appearance in the AFC Championship Game.

The team announced the deal Sunday afternoon, minutes after NFL.com reported it with the base financial info: four years, $118 million, $62 million guaranteed. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – By cutting Ryan Succop, the Titans offer a final coda on their disastrous kicking season of 2019.

It was practically a miracle that they got away with what they did, and twice they showed too much faith in Succop, a teammate of Mike Vrabel’s on the 2009 and 2010 Chiefs, and his shaky knee.

They brought him off PUP and used him in the late preseason only to hear him tell them he wasn’t ready after testing it, leaving them on a path to hop from Cairo Santos to Cody Parkey to Succop fresh off IR, his issues unfixed, to Greg Joseph. This came with a dose of Ryan Santoso, a kickoff specialist who rarely reached the end zone.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – I love Delanie Walker.

He’s been a mass producer and the type of player I covet, one so confident in his ability to do his job he’s always unafraid to tell the truth.

But it’s time to be honest, like he always is.

He’s 35 and he will be 36 in August. He suffered a major injury at the start of 2018. His 2019 season ended when he needed clean-up surgery related to that.

When he was healthy at the start of 2019, Mike Vrabel and Arthur Smith – a coach who is as fond of Walker as anyone – used him minimally.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – By cutting Cameron Wake and Dion Lewis, the Titans save more than $9.588 million.

The two veterans also leave behind $3.791in dead money against the 2020 salary cap, joining Taywan Taylor’s $229,000 as the only leftover dollars counting for players no longer on the roster.

Wake’s age was a question when he arrived in Tennessee at 37, though metrics suggested he could still be a productive pass rusher.

The team was in dire need as it didn’t re-sign Derrick Morgan, who eventually retired, or Brian Orakpo, who retired following his final game.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Indications are Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel are off the pre-draft pro day circuit and the Titans are calling their scouts and coaches back from the road as the sports world closes down for fear of being part of the coronavirus spread.

The team is likely to revisit things next week.

It's also monitoring visits by prospects, some of whom are being told by agents not to travel to check the circuit to visit with multiple NFL franchises. [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Philadelphia Eagles have put forth a rule change proposal that offers a solution to the NFL’s onside kick problem.

As part of enhanced safety initiatives, the NFL changed kickoff rules in 2018.

But one side-effect of the balanced formations the rules now mandate is the virtual impossibility of a successful onside kick.

A team trailing late that scores and is looking to get the ball back still typically tried the kick. But without being able to send a large number of players to chance the bouncing ball and crate a large scrum, it’s rare the kicking team emerges with the ball.

With that chance minimized, teams want a way to have a long-shot chance to get the ball back to make a late-game charge. The