Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Give the Titans one mulligan, let them have back one player they let walk in free agency or had to cut for salary cap purposes, and there is no list to debate: It would be Derrick Mason.
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| | Al Bello/Getty Images |
| | Baltimore's Derrick Mason has 1,000 receiving yards in seven of the past eight seasons. |
Let go as part of the salary cap purge after the 2004 season, the receiver is now a big part of the Baltimore Ravens' offense the Titans will be trying to stop in Saturday's playoff game, a crucial target for rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.
In the four seasons since Mason left, measure his numbers against those of the top Titans wide receiver (Drew Bennett in 2005 and 2006, Justin Gage in 2007 and 2008) and he's got 144 more catches for 1,071 more yards.
That's an average of 36 catches and 268 receiving yards a year.
The Titans could really use an explosive downfield receiver to help prevent people from stacking the box. But they've never really had an effective one of those -- it's a long-standing hole.
The Titans have had a super-reliable and tough possession receiver who could be a first down machine, especially when working in an offense with an effective tight end. They know what not having him anymore feels like. In their divisional round game they'll be reminded what trying to stop him feels like, too.
"Derrick Mason is very highly valued by the Ravens and I think anybody that knows anything about football and really studies wide receiver play understands what a really good player he is," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "...Sometimes, the big, physical, straight-line guys get all the attention. But Derrick is just a tremendous route-runner and obviously has tremendous hands; a receiver by definition and we're proud that he's here."
Kuharsky joined ESPN.com in 2008 after 12 years covering the Oilers/Titans and the NFL for The (Nashville) Tennessean. The New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife.
