Babin concerned about Titans' changes, his contract status

Jason Babin will be an unrestricted free agent once the NFL lockout ends. And, from the sound of it, he might not return to the Tennessee Titans after his breakout 2010 season.

"There's so much uncertainty with Tennessee, what their culture's going to be, who their quarterback's going to be, what kind of atmosphere is going to evolve out of a whole new coaching staff," the defensive end recently told MLive.com.

"When you put that many new people together -- new offense, defense, new guy at the helm, at quarterback -- it's kind of hard to predict what the culture's going to be, what the atmosphere's going to be," he added. "And even more so, the hierarchy of how things are going to rank importance-wise. So it's kind of hard for me to say yes or no until, (No.) 1, they talk to me and express interest. And No. 2, I can see how things unfold as far as the team as a whole goes."

The Titans have gone through a tumultuous offseason. First, they announced that quarterback Vince Young would be traded or released after his relationship with the team turned rocky. Then they parted with coach Jeff Fisher and promoted offensive line coach Mike Munchak to run the team.

Munchak built his own staff, and defensive line coach Jim Washburn, whom Babin called "the greatest position coach I've ever had," departed for the Philadelphia Eagles. That led to speculation that Babin could rejoin the Eagles, who didn't match the Titans' offer sheet to the lineman last year, and he didn't exactly shoot down the possibility when asked about it in January.

"There's been no 'Hey Jason, we want you in Philly' discussions, but it would be hard for me not to contemplate it if he said, 'Jason, I want you in Philly,' " Babin said. "He resurrected me. I'd have to at least give that serious consideration. But Tennessee is where I made a home, my kids go to school there, we live there. So I feel like I'm in a tough position."

Before Babin joined the Titans, he was considered a journeyman, spending time with the Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs after being a first-round draft pick by the Houston Texans in 2004. But Babin blossomed under Washburn's tutelage, recording 12.5 sacks -- 7.5 more than his previous career high -- and receiving his first Pro Bowl berth.

That kind of performance usually produces a big payday, but the lockout has prevented Babin from negotiating with teams or signing a contract. The Titans decided in February to put contract talks with Babin on hold, and his agent, Rich Rosa, said then that the team hadn't "closed the door" on bringing back the defensive end.

"I've been a little anxious," Babin told MLive.com. "I would have liked to have had my contract situation squared away March 3. But there's a picture that involves the NFL as a whole, so I really can't be selfish when it comes to that. We've got to get some things squared away when it comes to the (collective bargaining agreement).

"I'm not overly concerned about having a job. I more so concerned about having my family there with me and the situation I'm going to be in -- meaning find the right schools, the right neighborhoods, find a house to live in, for a four- or five-year contract. So those are the kind of things that peeve me that they're probably not going to happen."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GM: Bills could make more changes in 'painful' rebuilding

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix all but called this season a rebuilding project Thursday, suggesting it was too much to expect the team's inherent problems to be fixed overnight.

In speaking to reporters for the first time since August, Nix expressed his frustrations over the team's 0-4 start and indicated this isn't where he envisioned the Bills to be when he was hired in December.

Referring to it as a "painful" process, Nix stressed that fans will require patience as he intends to sticks to his plan to retool the Bills through the draft.

"I'll tell you we didn't get into this situation overnight, and we're not going to get out overnight. We knew it wouldn't be easy," Nix said. "We're going to stay the course and do it the way we planned because we know it works."

Nix plans to spend the rest of the season continuing to evaluate players to determine who will be part of the team's future. And he didn't rule out more changes to come after the Bills released former starting quarterback Trent Edwards and traded a former first-round draft pick, running back Marshawn Lynch, to the Seattle Seahawks over the past two weeks.

"You don't like to use the word rebuild, but you've also got to evaluate everyday and try to do things to improve your team," Nix said. "We're putting seven days a week into trying to get it turned around. It'll be fun when it happens, and trust me, it'll happen."

Nix is the Bills' fourth GM since John Butler was fired during the 2000 season. The team also is on its fifth coach in 10 years after Nix hired Chan Gailey to take over in January.

The Bills, who play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) this weekend, are among the NFL's four winless teams. They already are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season.

Buffalo's offense is sputtering, having failed to produce 230 yards in three of four games. And the defense has allowed 34 or more points in the past three games and a combined 473 rushing yards in the past two.

Part of the evaluation process already has began following the team's recent moves.

Nix defended the decision to trade Lynch this week, as opposed to before the draft when the 2007 first-round pick had initially requested to be dealt.

Nix noted how Lynch provided the Bills depth with a three-back rotation, especially after they lost both Lynch and Fred Jackson to injuries in their preseason opener. Making the trade now made sense because it freed up space in a crowded backfield that's rounded out by rookie C.J. Spiller, a first-round selection.

The decision to keep and then eventually release Edwards two weeks ago drew criticism because there were questions of whether or not the quarterback deserved to return as starter after losing the job midway through last season.

Nix said he and Gailey wanted to see if the fourth-year pro could prove himself in a new system. Nix said Edwards showed promise throughout the offseason and preseason, before he began to show familiar signs of struggling in losing his first two starts of the regular season.

"Buffalo has got people all over the league that have been here that are playing good for other people," Nix said. "I didn't want to come in here and cut guys that could help us win. So when we got into the regular season and it didn't work out ... we decided that wasn't the answer for us or for him. So we made the change."

Edwards has since signed with the Jaguars and will serve as the team's backup this weekend against the Bills.

Nix also defended the Bills' decision to sign veteran linebacker Chris Kelsay to a four-year contract extension potentially worth $24 million. The move was criticized as being overpriced, because Kelsay -- though a seven-year starter -- hasn't made a significant impact on defense since being selected by Buffalo in the second round of the 2003 draft.

Nix said the deal was struck partly because Kelsay was identified as a core leader.

"We decided that we've got four, five, six guys like that, maybe not great players, but good players, who set the tone," Nix said. "Chris Kelsay is a good player. He exemplifies what we want players to do and how we want them to be."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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