Tennessee Titans sign TE Jaren Kanak

Kanak's four-year, $4.5M deal at a $1.1M AAV earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI) — a fair-market signing that reflects the going rate for a developmental tight end with an unproven NFL resume rather than a value steal or a front-office overreach. At that salary floor, the Titans aren't taking a meaningful financial risk, but the CVI settles at C+ rather than climbing higher because the contract doesn't represent the kind of discounted upside buy that defines a shrewd roster-building move. Kanak profiles as a roster-fringe prospect at this stage — the kind of player brought in to compete for a depth spot and develop within a system, not a plug-and-play contributor the offense can lean on. The contract structure reinforces that ceiling: with just $163K in guaranteed money on a four-year deal totaling $4.5M, Tennessee has virtually all the leverage here, and Kanak is essentially auditioning for his NFL career on a prove-it framework with almost no financial commitment from the organization. That minimal guarantee is a double-edged sword — it limits the team's downside exposure if he doesn't develop, but it also signals this is a depth-of-roster gamble rather than a calculated investment in a player with near-term starter upside. For a Titans squad that finished 3-14 and is operating in full offseason roster-building mode with the regular season still months away, signing low-cost developmental tight ends is sound organizational hygiene, even if the move doesn't move the needle on the CVI scale.