3 potential Titans trade candidates entering 2024 training camp

Could this backup QB be on the move?

NFL quarterbacks usually have two paths once they get on the football. They find success quickly and develop into a starting role, or they fail fast and never recover from it. Tennessee Titans QB Malik Willis is trying to avoid the second path, but he enters the 2024 NFL training camp as one of three potential trade candidates.

A third-round pick in 2022, the 6-foot-1, 219-pound Willis has only gotten three starts in two NFL seasons. But the overall numbers look ugly. His completion percentage is 53.0 and he has three interceptions with no touchdown passes.

Other candidates for trade on the Titans roster are everybody’s favorite to be dealt, wide receiver Treylon Burks, and defensive back Tre Avery.

Why would QB Malik Willis be on Titans’ trading block?

First, the Titans brought in Mason Rudolph and punched his ticket as the backup to presumed starter Will Levis. It’s not a good sign to go from potential franchise starter to third-string afterthought in two years. But that’s where Willis is, heading into training camp.

Rudolph, a fifth-year veteran with 19 career touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, has 13 NFL starts under his belt. And perhaps most impressive is his 8-4-1 career win-loss record. Willis went 1-2 in his three starts.

But one thing Willis has going for him, and the attribute that gives him trade value, is his athleticism. If a team like the Baltimore Ravens decided Josh Johnson wasn’t a good-enough choice behind Lamar Jackson, Willis’ skillset might be a fit.

And Willis is inexpensive in a salary-cap-conscious world. The team signing him would have him under contract control through the 2025 season.

General manager Ron Carthon told tennesseetitans.com that Willis should approach the signing of Rudolph as nothing more than a challenge.

“Malik should read into (it) just like the receivers should read into us signing players, or corners when we sign players,” Carthon said. “It's another person we're adding to the room. We were always going to add a quarterback, and we still may add another one. It's just what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to create competition in the room. (We tell Malik): Keep doing what you are doing.”

Of course, the new coaching regime isn't the best of situations for Willis. There's no pressure for them to mold him into a starter because Willis came in under coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson.

WR Treylon Burks still suffers from comparison

Poor Burks. In a world where comparisons are almost always unfair, but always kicked around like a Hacky Sack ball, Burks faced a mountain upon arriving in Nashville.

This si.com article in 2022 shows how little room he had for success. With a headline of “Burks Picked to be Brown v. 2.0,” John Glennon’s article said, “In trading A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, the Tennessee Titans said goodbye to one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. In drafting Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, they added a player who’s drawn many comparisons to Brown.”

Who could blame the NFL world for thinking Burks at least looked like Brown.At 6-foot-3 and 225-pound he had the look. But the results? Not even in the neighborhood.

Brown has unleashed two second-team All-Pro seasons in Philly, courtesy of 194 catches for almost 3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns (my goodness what numbers). Meanwhile, Burks didn’t even have as many catches last year (16) as Brown’s two-year touchdown total. Ouch.

Will things get better for Burks in 2024. It doesn’t looked too good. He’s no longer a starter with new additions Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in camp. And those two standouts join superstar DeAndre Hopkins. It’s hard to imagine Burks making much of an impact at all.

However, his size could make him valuable to one of the smaller wide receiver rooms in the NFL. The Dolphins come to mind. Maybe there’s a match out there somewhere.

CB Tre Avery a victim of upgrade?

While Avery didn’t exactly turn a lot of heads in his first two NFL seasons, he did get on the field and made five starts. He made a few tackles (62 over two years), but didn’t sizzle in coverage, allowing a 75% completion rate in 2023.

When the Titans ponied up $112 million in free-agent money to get Super Bowl champion L’Jarius Sneed (four years, $76 million) and Chidobe Awuzie at the cornerback position, Avery’s trade-or-cut notices basically went up all over the training camp facilities.

Also, it didn’t help Avery when undrafted free agent Gabe Jeudy-Lally looked good in minicamp. Roger McCreary appears to be the nickle-back guy, so Avery, right now at least, is a backup. Training camp will be extremely important for Avery’s future in Tennessee.