Is Titans’ WR Matthews better than Dez Bryant?
Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews has been more productive over the past three seasons than former Cowboys star Dez Bryant, who became a free agent when he was released in a cost-cutting move Friday.
The following statistics since 2015 were compared by Sports Illustrated’s MMQB to show why Dallas decided to cut the 29-year-old Bryant, who was due $12.5 million next season, more than twice as much as Matthews:
Matthews: 41 games, 161 catches, 2,402 yards, 14.9 average yards per catch, 17 touchdowns, $10.66 million in earnings.
Bryant: 38 games, 150 catches, 2,035 yards, 13.6 average yards per catch, 17 touchdowns, $45 million in earnings.
But those same statistics, when compared to other wide receivers in the league, also illustrate that Matthews has been a bargain.
Matthews, 28, is scheduled to make $5 million in base salary this season, the final year of a three-year, $15 million contract he signed in 2016, before the former Dolphins seventhround pick established himself as one of Marcus Mariota’s favorite targets.
Matthews and the team have not discussed a contract extension, according to an NFL source.
But after next week’s draft, it might rank among the front office’s top priorities, after the clerical move of picking up Mariota’s fifth-year option and agreeing to a long-term extension with left tackle Taylor Lewan.
Joel Corry, a salary cap expert who writes for CBS Sports, tweeted that the comparison between Bryant and Matthews was surprising and that Matthews is underpaid, considering some recent deals for wide receivers.
Corry specifically cited former Chiefs receiver Albert Wilson receiving a three-year, $24 million contract from the Dolphins, a deal that averages $8 million per year and includes $14.45 million guaranteed.
Wilson, who turns 26 in July, set career highs with 42 catches, 554 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games last season.
Numerous receivers who were extended in the final year of their deals in 2017 or hit free agency this offseason were paid handsomely, despite fewer receiving yards than Matthews.
Michael Crabtree, for example, signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Ravens in March. It averages $7 million per season and includes $13 million guaranteed.
Crabtree, who turns 31 in September, and Matthews each have appeared in 30 games over the past two seasons. Matthews has recorded 119 more receiving yards and three fewer touchdowns on 51 fewer targets.
Alshon Jeffery, 28, who has averaged the same yards per catch as Matthews over the past two seasons (and scored two fewer touchdowns despite 19 more targets), signed a four-year, $52 million extension with the Eagles in December. That’s an average of $13 million per year, with $26.75 million guaranteed.
Matthews jelled with Mariota soon after leaving the Dolphins for the Titans in 2016.
In his first season in Tennessee, Matthews led the Titans with 65 catches for 945 yards and nine touchdowns in 16 games.
Last season, Matthews finished second on the team in receiving yards, behind tight end Delanie Walker, recording 53 catches for 795 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games. He missed two games with a hamstring injury.
Matthews leads an exceptionally young Titans receiving corps, with three of the team’s top four wide receivers entering their second year on the field. Corey Davis, the fifth overall selection in last year’s draft, and thirdround pick Taywan Taylor are looking to build on their rookie seasons.
Tajae Sharpe, a fifth-round pick who earned a starting role as a rookie in 2016, is returning after missing last season with a stress fracture in his foot.
Davis, given his talent and where he was drafted, is expected to become the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. But he has three years remaining on his rookie contract, plus a fifth-year option, and it may make sense to lock up Matthews as a quality No. 2.
Reach Jason Wolf at jwolf@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @JasonWolf and on Instagram and Snapchat at TitansBeat.