NFL Free Agency 2011: Braylon Edwards Would Do Wonders for Titans Passing Game

Most of the free agent market has dried up with the regular season fast approaching, but Braylon Edwards remains as the one of the biggest names still looking for a new uniform.

Teams like the Cardinals and Vikingsare said to be front runners in the sweepstakes, but don't count out the Tennessee Titans at this point.

The Titans have always struggled to have a vertical passing game since they made the move to Nashville 13 years ago, and that trend looks to stay the same unless they add another piece.

There's also a high probability that Kenny Britt will miss an extended amount of time due to suspension for his off-the-field issues during the offseason.

With Britt out of the mix, the vertical threat for the Titans in the passing game will be almost non-existent. Edwards would be a solution to this challenge that the Titans will most likely face.

Edwards averaged over 17 yards a catch last season and had longs of 74, 67 and 52 yards. He also drastically decreased his number of dropped passes last season, something that plagued him in Cleveland.

Since Edwards has his own share of character issues, the Titans would have to make sure they sign Edwards for a short-term deal in order to minimize risk.

One of the main reasons Edwards has stayed available for this long is due to his recent DWI.

If Edwards is looking to break the bank, then it may be best for the Titans to move on.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of a one-year, $3 million deal would be a safe bet for the Titans. If Edwards doesn't workout for whatever reason, then the Titans wouldn't be tied at the hip to this guy.

When you really break down the Titans receiving corps, you'll find that it's filled with a ton of short-yardage receivers, but no deep threat.

Players like Damian Williams, Marc Mariani and Justin Gage offer more in terms of short-yardage situations as opposed to getting behind the defense.

Without Britt, the Titans' biggest deep threat will be Nate Washington. Although Washington possesses great speed, you'd be hard pressed to say that he's a reliable down-field threat.

Even if Britt does escape suspension, the Titans will still be a vertically-challenged team without adding a player like Edwards.

Edwards would also free up more room in the box for Chris Johnson, because most defenses would respect Edwards enough to not line up eight in the box.

The current receiving corps gives defenses little reason not to play target practice on both Matt Hasselbeck and Johnson in the backfield.

The fact is that Hasselbeck needs more weapons than what he has now if he's going to make this team playoff bound.

If the Titans have truly adopted the motto of "win now", then they need to stay in the hunt for Edwards as long as possible.