A Titans deal for Philip Rivers brings pros, cons
The Chargers hold the cards, and the player — Philip Rivers.
They don't have to trade the veteran quarterback. Some, in fact, think they'd be silly to even consider it.
As for the Titans, it makes plenty of sense. Landing Rivers would immediately give the team a proven quarterback to build around.
It's a no-brainer for Tennessee, right? Already, I've gathered not everyone is on board with the idea.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons of trading for Rivers.
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Pros
• QB moxie: The Titans desperately need an identity, especially at the quarterback position. Rivers is a face-of-the-franchise-type player, even when he has a scowl on his face. Add a player like Rivers to the team and the Titans would immediately become relevant, something they haven't been in a while. They'd also be a lot closer to the playoffs, something they haven't sniffed since 2008.
• Potent offense: OK, so national buzz and fan excitement can only get you so far. Players, and teams, have to produce. And during his career, Rivers has produced. He's thrown for more than 3,000 yards in nine straight seasons, including six 4,000-yard seasons. He has more than 36,000 passing yards in his career. The guy can get it done, and his presence would make receivers such as Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter better.
• Stability: Here's a crazy stat I keep writing about because it won't go away — the Titans haven't had the same passing leader in consecutive seasons since 2006-07, when Vince Young led the team. Kerry Collins led the team in passing in 2008 followed by Young ('09), Collins (2010), Matt Hasselbeck (2011), Jake Locker (2012), Ryan Fitzpatrick (2013) and Zach Mettenberger (2014). It's no wonder the Titans have struggled to find consistency on offense.
• Better defense: No, Rivers won't line up to rush the passer or drop in coverage. But Titans fans know what happens when the team has a stagnant offense — the defense stays on the field too much, gets worn down and eventually caves. The Titans have upgraded the talent on the defensive side of the ball this offseason with Brian Orakpo, Perrish Cox and Da'Norris Searcy, and added veteran defensive coach Dick LeBeau. Rivers — and a better offense — would help the group tremendously.
• Whisenhunt preacher: Let's face it: Coming off a 2-14 season, Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt needs as many backers as he can get in the locker room. He needs a guy like Kurt Warner, his veteran quarterback in Arizona. Rivers had success under Whisenhunt in 2013 in San Diego and thinks a lot of him. Any Titan on the fence about whether to buy in to Whisenhunt's plan could be swayed — or cursed out — by Rivers. The quarterback and coach seem like a nice pairing, and the transition would be close to seamless.
Cons
• Big money : Rivers is heading into the final year of his contract. There's no way the Titans make the move without signing him to a contract extension. That would be very, very expensive. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently signed a five-year, $99 million deal with the Steelers. Andy Dalton signed a six-year, $115 million deal with the Bengals in the fall. A new deal with Rivers would average roughly $20 million per year. Zach Mettenberger, by the way, is scheduled to make $510,000 this season.
• No spring chicken: The good news is Rivers has plenty of experience — he's started every game over the past nine seasons. But does he have too much tread on his tires? Is his window starting to close? Some scoff at the idea, considering guys such as Tom Brady (37) and Peyton Manning (39) are several years older than the 33-year-old Rivers. But Rivers has taken plenty of shots over the years, and he finished the 2014 season with injured ribs and a bulging disc in his back.
• Passing on a star?: I admit right out of the gate, I'm skeptical about Marcus Mariota being a stud in the NFL, especially with the Titans. But the only way the Chargers agree to trade Rivers is if they're convinced the former Oregon quarterback is going to be a star in the league. What if they're right? What if the Chargers draft Mariota, and he ends up lighting up the league and wins a few Super Bowls? No one can say for sure that won't be the case. The Titans are investigating as well.
• Forget Mettenberger: The Titans truly like Mettenberger and believe he has potential. He has a big arm and has proven to be a hard worker off the field. Heck, the guy could still end up being the team's starting quarterback in 2015. Acquire Rivers, though, and Mettenberger is put on the shelf, as an on-call spectator in the event something happens to Rivers. Mettenberger signed a four-year deal when he was drafted by the team, so he'll be in a position to look elsewhere if things went well with Rivers.
• Missing a boatload: The Titans would have to surrender the No. 2 pick to get Rivers, so they'd be passing on a chance to get an impact player early. They'd also be taking themselves out of the market for a potential whopper of a trade involving draft picks. Let's say the Browns wanted to move up to get Mariota, and they'd be willing to give up picks 12 and 19 in the first round to get there, possibly more. Or maybe another team is willing to trade a boatload of picks to move up. The Titans could address a number of positions with young, impact players by making such a trade.
Reach Jim Wyatt at 259-8015 or on Twitter @jwyattsports.