Titans start free agency on defence, agree to terms on multi-year deal with S George Wilson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Titans have taken their first step toward improving their defence, agreeing to terms with safety George Wilson.

The Titans did not release details Friday of the multi-year contract, but Wilson is the first player added to a team that allowed a franchise-record 471 points in 2012. The 6-foot, 212-pound Wilson will team with free safety Michael Griffin, who was signed to a five-year deal worth $36 million last June.

"George is a quality veteran player," Titans general manager Ruston Webster said in a statement. "He will contribute for us on the field, but his contributions also will come off the field, in the locker room and in the meetings rooms. He was respected as a football player and a leader during his career in Buffalo, and he will bring that veteran presence to our team."

That veteran experience is much-needed on a Tennessee defence that had seven starters in their fourth season or less in 2012 with all three starting linebackers in their second season or less. That unit gave up at least 30 points in seven different games and ranked 27th in the NFL in yards allowed.

The Titans had signed veteran Jordan Babineaux to a two-year deal last March. But he wound up starting only 12 games while being pushed aside at the start of the season for Robert Johnson, and he started only one of the final three games.

Titans officials visited with Wilson after Buffalo released him Feb. 11. They were allowed to sign him before total free agency begins on March 12 because he was cut by his previous team.

Wilson spent much of the past nine years with the Bills, playing 92 games with 12 interceptions, 362 tackles and 22 passes defenced. Wilson's agent, Todd France, did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press.

"I'M COMING HOME!!!!," Wilson, a native of Paducah, Ky., tweeted Friday.

Wilson entered the NFL in 2004 as an undrafted free agent receiver with the Detroit Lions. Cut at the end of training camp, Buffalo signed him to the practice squad. He played three games on special teams in 2005 and spent most of the 2006 season on the Bills' practice squad. During the 2007 off-season, Wilson switched to safety, and he started nine of the 12 games he played that season with two interceptions and two touchdowns.

He wound up being voted team captain each of the last five seasons, and Wilson started 55 games at safety. In 2011, he had a career-high 104 tackles and matched his career high with four interceptions. Wilson started all 16 games in 2012 for just the first time in his career and had 98 tackles. He played at Paducah Tilghman High before going to Arkansas.