Titans, GM Ran Carthon must shift attention to safety following Tyler Boyd signing

With Tyler Boyd officially under contract, the Tennessee Titans must shift their attention to the safety position

The Tennessee Titans took a significant step towards 2024 improvement by signing wide receiver Tyler Boyd on Tuesday. In pairing Boyd with Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins, the franchise arguably has its best trio of receivers since the early 1990s run-and-shoot days, when Haywood Jeffires, Drew Hill, and Ernest Givins were all surpassing, or flirting with, 1,000 yards. Most notably, signing Boyd represents the continuation of signaling legitimate belief in Will Levis as a franchise quarterback.

General manager Ran Carthon has done an outstanding job improving the roster this offseason. The bulk of his checklist is nearly complete. As veteran free agency continues to ramp up following the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, Carthon must now shift his attention to safety following Boyd’s addition.

Carthon recently made comments about “delaying” his upcoming vacation to continue working on free agency. The Boyd signing arrived mere days later. Carthon has also discussed his willingness to continue exploring the veteran safety market.

It’s easy to understand why. Even before the Boyd signing, safety was the largest hole on the roster. Kevin Byard played 389 defensive snaps for the Titans last season prior to his midseason trade. In-season replacements K’Von Wallace and Terrell Edmunds combined to play nearly 600 snaps following Byard’s departure. Neither of them are with the Titans anymore.

Elijah Molden made a transition from cornerback to safety last season, but was best utilized as subpackage, rotational defender. Molden totaled 701 snaps, the second-most of any “safety” on the Titans roster, trailing just Amani Hooker (868). Pro Football Focus claims that the bulk of Molden’s workload occurred at free safety (274) and near the line of scrimmage as an in-the-box safety (222). The versatile Molden also played 198 snaps as a nickel corner, his previous primary position.

Molden isn’t an every-down safety. Nor should be tasked with playing that role opposite the sometimes injury-prone Hooker (Molden too was injury prone throughout 2022). The Titans didn’t draft a safety, with seventh-round pick James Williams transitioning to linebacker. Special teams player Matthew Jackson and practice squad mainstay Shyheim Carter are the other safeties on the roster.

I’m confidently saying the Titans aren’t going into the 2024 season this way. With defensive end Marlon Davidson also qualifying as a recent signing that further addresses the defensive line, Carthon will soon sign a veteran difference-maker at safety. Several options the Titans have shown previous interest in remain available.

Former Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons should top Carthon’s wishlist. The Titans were linked with Simmons when free agency opened, but Tennessee ultimately decided to begin allocating their budget elsewhere. The Titans should reignite talks with Simmons, who totaled 70 tackles, eight pass breakups, and three interceptions last season.

The other front-running option is Marcus Maye. The Titans previously hosted Maye on an in-person visit in March. There’s a notable connection between Maye and the Titans, with new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson having coached Maye with the New York Jets.

Other veteran options could include Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Eddie Jackson, among others. The safety market remains robust with useful players, but Simmons and Maye should be Tennessee’s clear top two options. Now we simply wait to find out which veteran safety will play opposite Hooker in 2024, completing a defensive backfield transformation that also includes the additions of L’Jarius Sneed and Chido Awuzie at cornerback.