NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Beyond L'Jarius Sneed, Jarvis Brownlee, Roger McCreary, Darrell Baker and sixth-rounder Marcus Harris, the Titans really wanted to position themselves to create competition and build depth at cornerback.
They guaranteed at least $515,000 to four undrafted rookies at the position: $400,000 between Jermari Harris out of Iowa and Jalen Kimber of Penn State, $60,000 to Davion Ross of Memphis and $55,000 to Clarence Lewis of Syracuse.
For context, Marcus Harris, the sixth-rounder chosen out of Cal 183rd overall, got a $253,016 signing bonus. That breaks down into a prorated $63,254 cap charge over each of the four years of his contract.
NFL Media previously reported that Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson got a total of $245,000 guaranteed, including a $20,000 signing bonus. That may be the biggest mark in team history. The guarantees of near $200,000 each for Jermani Harris and Kimber are then among the biggest ever for the team.
During the Jon Robinson-Mike Vrabel regime in 2021, some in the building raised eyebrows when tight end Briley Moore got a whopping $180,000 coming out of Kansas State. He tore his ACL early in training camp and never played for the franchise.
None of those corner guarantees are enough to mean anyone is positioned to make the roster if he doesn't perform especially well in competition, but there could be quite a fight. For at least the two most expensive ones (and surely for Crenshaw-Dickson too), offset language will guard against the Titans being on the hook for the full price, provided they at least land with another team's practice squad.
The team started last season with five cornerbacks.
Six-figure signing bonuses for undrafteds happen around the NFL and seem to have become more common this year, but they've been rare for the Tennessee Titans.
One of the biggest commitments ever to an undrafted free agent: The #Vikings signed former Army edge Andre Carter II to a deal that includes a $40,000 signing bonus and $300K base salary guarantee. A sign they believe Carter can make the active roster.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 2, 2023
Bryce Oliver didn’t get a bonus last year and kicker Brayden Narveson got $5,000.
Teair Tart and Aaron Brewer, who earned their way into starting roles after making the team in 2020, received $35,000. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine got a $32,000 guarantee the same year. Jack Gibbens got $1,000 in 2022 when Tre Avery didn’t get any guarantee. Ryan Stonehouse received $10,000 in 2022 and Otis Reese received the same in 2023.
Others from the recent past: Aaron Stinnie, $5,000; Joshua Kalu, $10,000; Naquan Jones, $45,000.
Additionally from this year's class, I've learned nose tackle Isaiah Raikes out of Auburn got $75,000 guaranteed and running back Micah Bernard got $10,000.
The piece corrects an earlier version that reported Jermani Harris and Kimer each got $100,000 guaranteed.
