Will the Tennessee Titans attempt to sign Roger McCreary to a contract extension?
The Tennessee Titans will report for a three-day mandatory minicamp this week. It represents the final time Brian Callahan’s squad will be together prior to training camp. With a near two-month summer break on the horizon, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi could consider signing players on expiring contracts to extensions prior to camp marking its arrival.
Unlike this current offseason, the Titans have a handful of young, intriguing talents scheduled for free agency next summer. That list includes cornerback Roger McCreary, tight end Chig Okonkwo, and safety Amani Hooker, to name a few. The Titans also signed a bunch of veterans to one-year contracts, meaning the likes of Van Jefferson, Kevin Zeitler, Tyler Lockett, and Dre’Mont Jones are also slated for free agency in 2026. In-house talents Amani Hooker and Arden Key are also on this list.
The Titans could potentially explore contract extensions with several of these players. McCreary sticks out as a potential front-runner. The No. 35 overall selection (made by Jon Robinson) in the 2022 NFL Draft has been a consistent standout in the secondary.
Partially due to injury, the Titans initially used McCreary both as a boundary corner and nickel defender in 2022. The former Auburn Tigers standout has since settled in really nice as the team’s slot cornerback. Of McCreary’s 652 defensive snaps played in 2024, 538 of them occurred as a nickel, per Pro Football Focus.
McCreary has also been healthy. Through three completed campaigns, he’s averaged a sizable 917 snaps per season (though this past year was a career-low 652). Terrific availability is something Borgonzi takes into account in free agency after signing workhorses like Cody Barton, Xavier Woods, and Dan Moore Jr.
Knowing that McCreary is a nickel cornerback could also help the Titans dictate his value should they pursue an extension. Earlier this offseason, the Chicago Bears extended their slot cornerback Kyler Gordon by signing him to a three-year, $40 million deal. That contract could serve as the framework for negotiations between the Titans and McCreary.
Gordon was selected four picks (No. 39) after McCreary in 2022. It’s incredibly easy to compare their statistics. McCreary has 220 career tackles compared to Gordon’s 207, and 15 passes deflected versus 17. They’ve both appeared in more than 40 regular-season games, but fewer than 50.
If the Titans want to extend McCreary this offseason, their contract offer probably has to exceed $12 million per year (with $15 million representing the ceiling). McCreary is slated to earn an underpaid base salary of $3.6 million in the final season of his rookie deal, per Spotrac.
Does Borgonzi believe McCreary is worth $12-plus million on a multi-year deal? It’s worth noting the Titans selected cornerback Marcus Harris in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The coaching staff is allegedly sneaky-high on Harris, who projects as a nickel at the next level. Perhaps they’re lining up a cheaper in-house replacement?