NFL Rumors: Rishard Matthews Leaving Miami Dolphins For Tennessee Titans

NFL rumors have been surrounding the Tennessee Titans lately because they seem to be the team that is making all the moves to get better before next season. After witnessing Marcus Mariota show that he is capable of being a franchise quarterback in the National Football League, the Titans started building around him. According to NBC Sports, the latest addition will be former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews.

Since they selected him in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in 2012, Rishard Matthews was grateful that the Miami Dolphins gave him a chance to play football on the professional level. The former Nevada Wolf Pack star liked being in South Beach and playing with Ryan Tannehill. Ultimately, though, he decided to leave via free agency because it would be best for his career if he were on a team that would give him more of an opportunity to make plays.

Jarvis Landry is the star wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Last season, he pulled down 110 receptions. Landry is going to be targeted by Ryan Tannehill pretty frequently now that the two of them have a good level of trust in one another. Though he is now with the Houston Texans, Lamar Miller took a lot of catches away from Rishard Matthews last season because Tannehill trusted that his running back would make the play.

The contract between Rishard Matthews and the Tennessee Titans is said to be a three-year deal. That makes a lot of sense because Matthews is only 26 years old. That gives the Titans enough time to see if he can be a long term part of the team. For Matthews, the deal is good because it expires right before he turns 30, which means that he would be in a good position to score a bigger contract if he does well for Tennessee.

Rishard Matthews is expected to start with Dorial Green-Beckham at the two wide receiver spots for the Tennessee Titans. Having just completed his rookie season in the NFL, Green-Beckham isn’t nearly as polished as Jarvis Landry, so Matthews can compete with him for passes from Marcus Mariota. The trio of Matthews, Green Beckham, and Kendall Wright should enable Mariota to become one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

Fortunately for Rishard Matthews, the Tennessee Titans have two veterans on offense that can carry the heavy workload. Delanie Walker proved that he was overshadowed by Vernon Davis during his stint with the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran tight end made the Pro Bowl for the very first time this year. To alleviate the pressure on Marcus Mariota and the passing game, the Titans recently acquired DeMarco Murray from the Philadelphia Eagles.

To give you even more of an idea of how good Rishard Matthews can be, reports have surfaced that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were interested in signing Matthews. A lot of guys in the NFL would quickly jump at the opportunity to play for Belichick and catch passes from Tom Brady. For whatever reason, Matthews decided that he wanted to be teammates with Marcus Mariota and Delanie Walker instead.

Free agency in the NFL is about trying to find the right fit to maximize your career potential. Rishard Matthews believes that the Tennessee Titans offer him the best chance at becoming a star and winning a lot of games. Though they are currently the worst team in the National Football League, the Titans appear hellbent on making sure that they are not choosing first for the NFL Draft in 2017. Matthews can be a part of making that plan come true.

[Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images]