NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans are in need of a big-time cornerback.
The Seahawks are talking about dealing Richard Sherman. Seattle GM John Schneider said on ESPN 710 Seattle that “what you've seen lately in the news [about trade talk] is real,” even as he followed up to say a huge percentage of what the team discusses never comes to fruition.
Could Tennessee GM Jon Robinson pull off a giant deal? We don't know if he's interested.
We do know that since he’s headed the Titans, Robinson has dealt for running back DeMarco Murray in 2015 and made a bid for receiver Brandin Cooks before he landed in New England last month.
Sherman would cost more than Murray or Cooks.
But his effect could be bigger than either.
“He would bring swagger and confidence to the defense,” one personnel man said. “He is still talented and would be their No. 1 CB.”
The Jets got a first- and a fourth-round pick when they traded Darrelle Revis in 2013, when he was 27. Sherman is 29.
That deal was too costly for the team that made the Revis deal, Tampa Bay.
Another personnel man said he thought Sherman should bring two second-rounders in return. The Titans do not have a second-rounder in the upcoming draft, but they do have No. 5 and No. 18 in the first round.
If a deal included next year’s second-round pick, the Titans would conceivably have no second-rounder for two years in a row. If a deal included No. 18, could the Titans get some kind of pick back with Sherman?
Gregg Cosell of NFL Films told "The Midday 180" on Nashville’s WGFX that Sherman is still a premier corner.
“Richard Sherman did not have quite as good of a season last year as he has had in previous years, which is probably why, one of the reasons anyway [for this conversation],” he said.
“I certainly am not familiar with their salary-cap situation. He is still a very good player. It’s a team that has evolved more with their new [defensive] coordinator over the last two years into playing more man-to-man coverage.
“So he has a lot more experience playing man over the last two years, where prior to that it was a much higher percentage Cover 3 zone, so he can certainly play both. He is still a very good player; he just wasn’t quite the same player he was last year prior to that.”
A bit more on why the Titans should, or shouldn’t, pursue Sherman:
Pros
A sure thing: Sherman is a top NFL corner who’s lined up against plenty of the NFL’s best wideouts. A draft pick or two could be great, but it usually takes some time, and there are no guarantees.
A known commodity is more reassuring than an unknown one. Every cornerback of note on the Titans' roster -- Logan Ryan, Jason McCourty, LeShaun Sims, Demontre Hurst and Kalan Reed -- would bump down a notch on the depth chart, putting them in immediately better circumstances.
Mentality: Sheil Kapadia, who covers the Seahawks for ESPN, told me Sherman has the Titans’ desired makeup: Team-first, tough, disciplined. The more guys the Titans can add with both that mental composition and NFL success, the better.
Durability: He’s been dinged-up at times, but he’s always played. In six seasons, he’s played in all 96 games, starting 90.
Production: He’s got 30 interceptions, one in nearly every third game he’s played.
Cons
The trade cost: The NFL operates with draft capital as currency. Robinson turned No. 1 in 2016 into a giant package from the Rams, so much so that he traded back up to get All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin at No. 8. Robinson spent a dozen years in the New England front office, and the Patriots trade back a lot to get additional picks and chances to find guys that fit them.
If the Titans dealt for Sherman, they’d be giving up a share of that. He can be great for them, but there is a risk-reward proposition attached to any deal in which a team gives up picks.
The salary cost: Sherman is due $11.43 million this year and $11 million in 2018, the seventh-highest and sixth-highest cash values currently on the books for cornerbacks. It’s a lot, but the league’s best players make a lot. He’ll be in line for a new deal soon.
By comparison, those numbers for free-agent addition Logan Ryan are $10 million and $11.17 million.
Spotlight: The Titans like being a low-key, low-profile team. Sherman would help make them a higher-profile group, helping draw a crowd. It will increase attention on the whole team and also on the entire franchise.
That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But if Sherman says he has questions about the playcalling or hollers at his defensive coordinator or threatens to have a reporter’s credentials taken away, it won’t always be the kind of spotlight the Titans welcome.
The media would love him; material about big, outspoken stars gets read.