Titans sign Herndon; Griffin may move back to safety (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Pasquino]

Herndon to the Titans

Titans, CB Herndon reach 3-year deal



By PAUL KUHARSKY

Staff Writer

The Titans bolstered their secondary Saturday, agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with free-agent cornerback Kelly Herndon.Herndon, recently released by Seattle, is the first new Titan with a Seahawks background since Mike Reinfeldt took over as Tennessee's general manager.

Reinfeldt came to Nashville from a front-office post with the Seahawks.

Herndon's agent, Peter Schaffer, said Reinfeldt and Lake Dawson, the Titans director of pro personnel, brought in from Seattle by Reinfeldt, were big factors for his client, who fielded interest from 10 teams, including Detroit and Jacksonville.

"Lake really gave him the lay of the land, that this was a situation where Kelly will be able to continue to fulfill all his professional aspirations," Schaffer said.

Herndon, 30, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo with the San Francisco 49ers in 1999 but did not play in the league in 1999 or 2000.

He was on Denver's practice squad for most of 2002, then appeared in 45 games for the Broncos over the next three seasons before jumping to Seattle as a restricted free agent.

In five seasons he has nine regular-season interceptions and two in the playoffs, including a record 76-yard return in Seattle's Super Bowl XL loss to Pittsburgh.

With the Seahawks, he was regarded as a hard-nosed corner and often shifted inside to cover the slot receiver when offenses used three-wide sets.

Herndon is the Titans' third significant addition to the position this offseason. Tennessee also signed free agent Nick Harper from Indianapolis and drafted Michael Griffin out of Texas with the 19th pick in the draft, quickly moving the college safety to cornerback.

Schaffer said Herndon looks forward to earning his role with his work on the field.

"He started the last three years. He believes he's a starter, but he's always had to prove to people that he can be," Schaffer said.

Coach Jeff Fisher now will have a competitive field from which to choose two starters and a nickelback. The team traditionally treats the fifth defensive back as a starter because he plays so much in its scheme.

Harper and Reynaldo Hill worked as the starters at the team's recent minicamp practices and second-year man Cortland Finnegan is the incumbent at nickel. The team drafted Ryan Smith out of Florida in the sixth round and has three other veteran corners: Eric King, Michael Waddell and Andre Woolfolk.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

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If nothing else, the signing of Herndon probably signals that the experiment of moving first-round draft pick Michael Griffin from his comfort zone at safety to cornerback is being abandoned. Griffin struggled in man-to-man coverage during minicamp.

The Titans tried to force-feed him into the lineup as a cornerback instead of letting him settle into the safety spot where he starred in college. Look for him to slide over to safety when the final minicamp of the offseason convenes next week.

It's the right move. If necessary, Griffin could be a stop-gap starter at cornerback. Really, though, wouldn't you rather have your top draft pick at a position where he can be a difference-maker?

 

[Mr. Peterson]

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If nothing else, the signing of Herndon probably signals that the experiment of moving first-round draft pick Michael Griffin from his comfort zone at safety to cornerback is being abandoned. Griffin struggled in man-to-man coverage during minicamp.

The Titans tried to force-feed him into the lineup as a cornerback instead of letting him settle into the safety spot where he starred in college. Look for him to slide over to safety when the final minicamp of the offseason convenes next week.

It's the right move. If necessary, Griffin could be a stop-gap starter at cornerback. Really, though, wouldn't you rather have your top draft pick at a position where he can be a difference-maker?

So is that a good thing or a bad thing from a fantasy perspective?

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

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If nothing else, the signing of Herndon probably signals that the experiment of moving first-round draft pick Michael Griffin from his comfort zone at safety to cornerback is being abandoned. Griffin struggled in man-to-man coverage during minicamp.

The Titans tried to force-feed him into the lineup as a cornerback instead of letting him settle into the safety spot where he starred in college. Look for him to slide over to safety when the final minicamp of the offseason convenes next week.

It's the right move. If necessary, Griffin could be a stop-gap starter at cornerback. Really, though, wouldn't you rather have your top draft pick at a position where he can be a difference-maker?

So is that a good thing or a bad thing from a fantasy perspective?

good, he'll be able to make more big plays in the form of nuclear hits and ballhawking, the two things Griffin loves to do. I never quite understood the urge to move him to cornerback, he's not a very disciplined player.

 

[cpstorm]

Which side will he play? FS or SS? I am assuming FS since they have Hope in the SS role. Wouldnt that rock a few peoples boats if Griffin lines up where a top 5 SS used to reside

 

[Jene Bramel]

Griffin may stay at corner anyway.

The signing of veteran cornerback Kelly Herndon does not signal a move back to safety for first-round draft pick Michael Griffin, Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said Monday.

"He's still a cornerback," Reinfeldt said. "He's done a good job so far and we'll continue to look at him there."

Reinfeldt, Titans pro personnel director Lake Dawson and Herndon all know each other from their former jobs with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Titans weren't necessarily looking for a cornerback, but Reinfeldt said when his former employer released Herndon it made sense for the Titans to add him.

"He's a competitive player, he plays hard all the time, he can line up and play the outside spot," Reinfeldt said. "Actually we brought him in more to play the slot corner, but he does both well. He gives us flexibility and depth and he's done it."

If Herndon becomes the team's fifth defensive back, he would bump second-year man Cortland Finnegan from the nickelback job. But Finnegan and Herndon could challenge Reynaldo Hill for a starting spot.