The Tennessee Titans decided to forego placing a tender on restricted free agent and tight end Anthony Firkser earlier this offseason, instead opting to straight up re-sign him to a one-year deal.
Thanks to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, we now know Firkser’s salary. The Harvard product will be making a base salary of $1.75 million, with a signing bonus of $1.25 million, combining for a cap hit of $3 million.
That amounts to a pretty significant raise for Firkser, who netted $750,000 in 2020 — and it’s well-deserved after the tight end posted career-highs in receptions (39) and receiving yards (389) last season.
Also per Kuharsky, had the Titans placed a tender on him, Firkser could have made as much as $4.8 million for a first-round version, and $3.4 million for a second-rounder. The right of first refusal would have cost $2.1 million.
He would have been a restricted free agent, so a first-round tender-offer would have been $4.8M, a second-round, $3.4M and a right of first refusal $2.1M.
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) March 30, 2021
Barring more significant moves, Firkser figures to be part of a tight-end-by-committee in 2021, playing the role as the primary pass-catcher at the position after Jonnu Smith left in free agency.
While Firkser is a sensational receiver, his blocking skills still leave a lot to be desired, which really holds him back from being an every-down tight end capable of gobbling up the vast majority of snaps like Smith did.
With Firkser and Geoff Swaim being the only two tight ends currently under contract who played significant snaps last season, general manager Jon Robinson has more work to do at the position.
Look for Tennessee to add at least one more in free agency (MyCole Pruitt is still available) and then possibly a long-term solution in the 2021 NFL draft.
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