
After three straight offensive additions started off the Tennessee Titans free agency period with a splash, Robert Saleh and his staff quickly pivoted to strengthening the defense, too. The team is set to sign defensive end John Franklin-Myers to a three-year, $63 million deal, according to Jeremy Fowler.
Myers, who has been openly recruited online by the Titans' recently acquired EDGE Jermaine Johnson (he also commented on defensive assistant Tanzel Smart's Instagram post about Tennessee), was long-rumored to Nashville alongside wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson.
It was no time at all after Robinson came off the board that Myers followed suit, and he'll do so to a tune that appears bound to change Saleh's defense for the better.
Myers earned his big paycheck with a 7.5 sack season last year that helped lead the Denver Broncos all the way to the AFC title game. His move across the conference isn't to a similarly strong division; although, slotting Myers next to the likes of Jeffery Simmons may help change the Titans' scene more than any other they've managed in free agency thus far.
The signing is the first of this cycle that seems to serve Saleh's own vision for a score-stopping unit that he'll call the plays for. Having coached Myers for a brief period with the New York Jets (as well as the aforementioned Johnson and Smart), this reunion both makes perfect sense and promises an entirely refreshed well of opportunity for both parties.
The Myers' reunion is a downright massive grab for a Titans team that is quickly overhauling their reputation this offseason; beating a handful of teams out for a top-shelf prospect would've been unthinkable this time last year.
And yet, here we are. The Saleh era perhaps could not have jumped out to a better start. From this point forward, too, the team still has a portion of money to spend and a handful of picks in the NFL Draft to plan for and look forward to.
Until that point, whatever else Tennessee manages to pull off in free agency will certainly impact their decisions on draft night. But that worry can wait as, for now, fans should celebrate an active, advantageous free agency put on by a front office that wants competitive change.
The Titans, by the move, are starting to look like a completely different football team, and for the far better.
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