Welcome to Music City Miracles’ Tennessee Titans 2022 NFL Free Agency Primer! Free agency is set to begin on March 16th, but the Titans are able to re-sign their own free agents before then. General manager Jon Robinson will be hard at work as the 2022 iteration of the Titans will begin to take shape over the next few weeks. March 8th represents the deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.
The Titans currently possess 28 free agents, including several key starters and role players. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take an in-depth look at each free agent and provide arguments for why the Titans should, or shouldn’t re-sign that player. We’ll also offer our final verdict and a prediction to go along with our analysis.
Today, we’re looking at their starting right tackle.
Name: David Quessenberry
Position: Right tackle
Current Age: 31 (Quessenberry will turn 32 before the 2022 campaign begins)
Why the Titans should keep Quessenberry: Quessenberry qualifies as one of few starters that are currently set to reach free agency. The former San Jose State Spartan won a training camp battle last season to earn the job at right tackle, beating out the likes of Dillon Radunz, Ty Sambrailo and Kendall Lamm in the process.
Quessenberry is one of the longer tenured Titans, having joined the team in 2018 after spending time with Mike Vrabel in Houston. Throughout his four seasons, he’s been a valuable swing player that even helped the team at left tackle in 2020 following Taylor Lewan’s season-ending ACL injury. Quessenberry’s versatility and ability to play both left and right tackle makes him a valuable player. He’s also beloved in the locker room and is often described as an excellent teammate. Quessenberry earned just $762,500 in 2021, and although he’s likely due for a raise, he shouldn’t be very expensive to retain.
Why the Titans should let Quessenberry walk: Quessenberry was undeniably Tennessee’s worst performing offensive linemen of a starting five that included Lewan, Rodger Saffold, Ben Jones and Nate Davis. Tennessee’s offensive line struggled in pass protection in 2021 and Pro Football Focus credited Quessenberry with giving up 11 sacks throughout the season. According to PFF, no offensive tackle allowed more sacks.
We’re fairly confident Quessenberry won’t be the team’s starter at right tackle in 2022, even if he’s retained. That honor will likely fall to Radunz, who will be entering a crucial sophomore season. Is it worth bringing Quessenberry back as a backup? He’ll turn 32 in August. The much younger Kendall Lamm is fully capable of serving as the team’s third offensive tackle.
Final verdict: I won’t lie to you. This one is extremely difficult for me. On one hand, Quessenberry is a valuable, versatile swing player that should be relatively affordable to keep on a one or two-year deal. He’s an excellent teammate and locker room leader. Vrabel and Robinson are clearly big fans of Quessenberry the man. On the other hand, he didn’t perform at a high level in 2021 and is an aging player at 32. I believe Radunz was drafted as the future of the right tackle position and Lamm is a younger, quality backup that’s already under contract for 2022.
Prediction: Quessenberry plays elsewhere in 2022. He gets a bit more money and a better chance to start elsewhere.
What are your thoughts? Should the Titans re-sign Quessenberry? Leave your opinion in the comments.
