Just two years into a six-year/$46.8 million contract, the Tennessee Titans were desperate to trade guard Andy Levitre. LeVitre was demoted to the bench and set to count for $8.6 million against the Titans' cap, presenting a strong case to be released. They found a team in serious need of offensive line help, shipping him off to the Atlanta Falcons.
In a rare instance, the player being traded was first to break the story. Early on Friday morning, LeVitre tweeted out the Falcons slogan "Rise Up".
Atlanta was scratching and clawing to find upgrades on the offensive line with Mike Person being the projected starter at left guard before the trade. He arrives in the Falcons' zone-blocking scheme, a much more natural fit for him than the man-scheme with the Titans.
While LeVitre's contract is certainly on the bad side, the Falcons can certainly put up with it if he returns to the form we saw in Buffalo. The Bills ran a zone-blocking scheme and during that time, LeVitre graded out as Pro Football Focus' eighth-best guard, with a +16 pass-block rating.
It's not unreasonable to think LeVitre can return to being a good guard in this scheme, which would be a major upgrade from where the Falcons were just a few days ago. If that happens, giving up a sixth-round pick is an absolute steal for Atlanta.