With the May 3 deadline for teams to decide whether or not to pick up the fifth-year options of their 2012 first-round draft picks, many are already making their decisions. One such team is the Tennessee Titans who, as reported by The Tennesseean‘s Jim Wyatt, will be exercising wide receiver Kendall Wright’s fifth-year option for 2016, worth $7.3 million.
Wright, the 20th overall pick in the 2012 draft, signed a four-year $8.2 million deal as a rookie. Now he’ll be making nearly the same amount in just one season in 2016, a sign that the Titans believe his development will continue and that he’ll be a valuable asset to whoever their quarterback is. The Titans could be in the running to land Oregon’s Marcus Mariota with the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, or they could opt to take a passer later or stand pat with Zach Mettenberger.
In three years with the Titans, Wright has caught 215 of 336 passes thrown his way, for 2,420 yards and 12 touchdowns and averaged 11.3 yards per reception. He had 57 catches on 93 targets last year for 715 yards and three scores. Wright has a ton of potential—a sentiment the Titans share by picking up his option—but has been stymied by mediocre-at-best quarterback play in Tennessee. An upgrade at the position should result in an uptick in Wright’s production in 2015.
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