The Tennessee Titans will travel to take part in joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week ahead of their Preseason Week 2 contest against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
One of the goals this week will be to get 2021 draft picks and cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden more work, as head coach Mike Vrabel revealed.
Molden has been in and out of practices throughout training camp, while Farley has been progressing slowly after being activated off the NFI list a few weeks ago. Neither player suited up for the preseason opener.
After practice on Sunday, Vrabel said that he hopes both will see increased work in Tampa this week, while also noting that Molden could see reps at cornerback and/or safety.
Vrabel says "yes" when asked if Titans will look to ramp Caleb Farley up in practices against the Bucs.
— Ben Arthur (@benyarthur) August 15, 2021
Asked about possibly getting him snaps at safety, Vrabel says he’d like to get Elijah Molden snaps, “wherever they are.” #Titans
— Mickey Ryan (@MickeyRyan1045) August 15, 2021
Molden is one of the players vying for the slot cornerback role, along with 2020 seventh-round pick, Chris Jackson, who might be the favorite at the moment. Molden played safety during his days at Washington, also.
LSU product and 2020 second-round pick Kristian Fulton is another possible option for the slot in 2021, but Vrabel says they’d rather get him reps on the outside, especially against the Bucs’ elite receiving corps.
While he did note that Fulton can be moved around, it’s not something the team has been doing with him.
“I think that we have the ability to move him (Fulton) around; we haven’t,” Vrabel said. “Going down to Tampa, I think we’d like to see him and evaluate him against some of those guys that they have that are very, very good, and see how he can play and compete against them on the outside.”
Where Fulton ultimately lands will likely depend on Farley. If the rookie is ready for showtime by Week 1, then he’d probably be deployed on the outside, leaving the slot for Fulton.
If Farley is not ready by the season opener, Fulton will start opposite Janoris Jenkins, which would open the door for Molden or Jackson to take the slot.
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