Young, White agree to deals on eve of camp
The Nashville City Paper reports that Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese can breathe a sigh of relief after his top two draft choices, Vince Young and LenDale White, agreed to contracts on the eve of training camp beginning in Clarksville.
Young, the third overall pick, agreed to a six-year contract that could be worth up to $58 million according to his agent, Major Adams, who spent eight days in Nashville hammering out details of the contract with Reese.
That amount leaves Young’s deal just $800,000 shy of what No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams received from the Houston Texans. The deal, however, could actually exceed the overall amount Williams can make in his deal by $4 million.
According to a report from ESPN.com, other details of the contract include a $12.3 million option bonus due next March that kicks in the sixth and final year of the contract. The report went on to say Young’s deal also contains a $2.665 million roster bonus and a $4.1 million bonus if the quarterback plays 35 percent of his snaps as a rookie or 45 percent of the snaps in any subsequent year.
The Titans and Adams had made it a point to get Young, in particular, into training camp on time to give him the best chance to digest as much of the playbook and the rigors of the NFL as possible.
Terms of White’s deal were not immediately available, but the former Southern Cal standout, chosen 45th overall, is expected to be the Titans’ feature back of the future.
The Titans first training camp practice was scheduled for today at 3:30 p.m. Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he expects White, who had been slowed by a hamstring injury during OTAs, to be healthy, but somewhat behind early in camp conditioning-wise. In my opinion, this is the best thing that could have happened to the Titans: the signing of their first two draft picks early in the preseason should give them time to build good chemisty and timing. White who is a nightmare for any cornerback once he gets going downhill, is competing for the RB position in a crowded backfield. With RB Chris Brown requesting a trade, the starting job opportunity is wide open for the rookie. Tennessee has two potential every-down running backs in White and Travis Henry. Henry was traded from the Buffalo Bills last season and also have Jarret Payton, son of legendary running back Walter Payton, and Damien Bush on the roster.
But the future of th ballclub lays in the hands of the two talented rookies and it's definitly a step in the right direction to have them on-board from day 1 of the preseason. Although we don't know if Chris Brown will hold out, he has just joined the slippery slope down the rankings chart.
If LenDale can heal 100% from his leg injury and convinces his coaches that he can carry the load and start, then bump White up in your draft to wherever you have Chris Brown ranked. Keep a close eye on the Titans, although I'd be hessitant to pick any of my top two running backs from teams with crowed backfields.
