Rationale for not picking up Jack Conklin option makes sense

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A lot of national outlets and writers were way more surprised about the Titans declining the fifth-team option on Jack Conklin than they should have been. Based on the way Jon Robinson spoke about it in March, it was a clear possibility the Titans would pass.

“We’ll be through the draft at that point, know whether we add an offensive lineman in the draft, how that affects the decision,” Robinson said then. “Certainly, we’ll have spent time with him, he’ll have been back for three weeks. You can kind of see where he’s at physically. I mean we’ve seen him in the building, he’s been in getting treatment, and working out and stuff. But we’ll physically see him kind of do some things.

“I think all those factors will kind of play into that decision.”

The team confirmed Tuesday what I first saw in a PFT report, that it won’t pay Conklin a $12.866 million base salary in 2020, which would amount to a $10.249 million raise.