Category: Titans training camp

Titans LT Andre Dillard on O-line’s chemistry: ‘It’s come a long way’

Titans LT Andre Dillard believes the O-line’s chemistry has improved greatly since the spring.

Throughout the offseason, the Tennessee Titans’ offensive line has been widely scrutinized by people outside the building.

Several national media outlets ranging from Pro Football Focus, The 33rd Team, Sharp Analysis, and Pro Football Network have all ranked the Titans dead last in their offensive line rankings heading into the 2023 season.

However, those inside the building are certainly singing a different tune as we head into the preseason finale. According to several players and coaches, the offensive line has consistently made glaring improvements over the last few weeks.

The starting five has had its hands full at practice on a daily basis thanks to facing what should be one of the best defensive fronts in all of football. The fact that the O-line has started holding its own is a fantastic sign for its overall development.

After practice on Wednesday, Titans left tackle Andre Dillard discussed the type of growth and improvement in chemistry he’s seen from the starting unit.

“I think it’s come a long way,” said Dillard, per Mickey Ryan of 104.5 The Zone. “[Ever] since we all first got together in the spring and everybody is just really close now and we’ve really built something good and I’m really excited for it.”

While Dillard doesn’t seem like the type of personality to boast about his own development, head coach Mike Vrabel did that for him.

“Everybody goes through a different transition,” Vrabel said, per Anderson. “Everybody’s got a different personality, and I think there’s a lot more comfort level and it’s been good to see [Dillard] and Peter [Skoronski] build a relationship in the meeting rooms and on the field.”

All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had some high praise for how the group has improved since training camp began.

Simmons especially gave a rave review when talking about the growth he’s seen in Peter Skoronski, stating that he can see why he was taken in the first round and how he thinks he will be a valuable asset to the offensive line.

Only time will tell whether or not this hype is warranted, but things are at least trending in the right direction for a group that was deemed a failure before it even stepped foot on the field together.

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Biggest takeaways from Titans’ last practice of training camp

It was another good day for Titans safety Amani Hooker, who has been an INT machine of late.

The Tennessee Titans completed what will be their final practice of training camp on Wednesday, with the team now moving to a regular schedule once they complete the preseason on Friday night.

The Titans were indoors for the session and saw multiple players return to practice, including quarterback Will Levis and wide receiver Kearis Jackson, both of whom were sporting wraps on their leg.

Levis left last Thursday’s practice early with a lower body injury before not playing in preseason Week 2, while Jackson took part in the game but left early due to what was reported to be a knee injury.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, who left Tuesday’s practice early.

Former Titans tight end Delanie Walker and defensive coordinator Dean Pees were both in attendance, and Walker addressed the team at the conclusion of the practice.

Now, a look at the biggest takeaways from the Titans’ final practice of training camp, and the final practice before the preseason finale.

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ blue vs. white scrimmage

Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins was arguably the biggest standout at practice on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Titans returned to the practice field on Tuesday for their first open session since preseason Week 2, but this one came with a twist.

The Titans, who were originally scheduled to take part in joint practices with the New England Patriots this week before the team canceled them due to an injury to cornerback Isaiah Bolden, held a blue vs. white scrimmage instead.

With quarterback Will Levis still sidelined, it was veteran Ryan Tannehill at the helm of the white team, and second-year signal-caller Malik Willis was quarterbacking the blue team.

After practice, head coach Mike Vrabel gave a positive review of the session, according to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com.

“At one point in time, however I was keeping score, (it was) 36-33, and I thought we had good plays on both sides,” Vrabel said. “I thought it very competitive, back and forth, good energy.”

Now, the biggest takeaways from Tuesday.

Titans to hold scrimmage at practice on Tuesday

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel revealed the team will hold a blue/white scrimmage on Tuesday.

With joint practices with the New England Patriots cancelled following the scary injury to Pats cornerback Isaiah Bolden (thankfully, he appears to be OK), the Tennessee Titans will be taking a different approach at practice Tuesday.

On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed on his radio show that the team will hold a blue/white scrimmage, with defensive line and assistant head coach Terrell Williams leading one side and director of football administration John Streicher leading the other. (H/T Titans247).

Williams and Streicher, both of whom have preseason experience as acting head coaches, will also be responsible for picking their own players and coaches for the scrimmage.

Williams was tasked with leading Tennessee in preseason Week 1 this year, while Streicher filled in for Vrabel during the preseason finale in 2021 after the head coach came down with COVID.

After practices over the next few days, the Titans will host the Patriots in preseason Week 3 on Friday night.

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Updated Titans 53-man roster projection after preseason Week 2

With preseason Week 2 in the rearview mirror, it’s time for our latest Titans 53-man roster projection.

With preseason Week 2 in the rearview mirror, it’s time for our latest Tennessee Titans 53-man roster projection, which is at least partly based on what we saw last week.

This will be the second-to-last projection I’ll make ahead of final cuts that will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The next projection will drop after Tennessee’s preseason Week 3 game against the New England Patriots.

With the Titans waiving safety A.J. Moore on Sunday, that opened up one spot for a new addition, but in total I’ve added five new players from the previous projection, with three on defense and two on offense.

As usual, you won’t find guys like right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, who is set to be suspended for six games, or cornerback Caleb Farley and offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, both of whom remain on the PUP list.

The players who are new additions from the last projection are marked with asterisks and I’ve provided a write-up for each explaining why they’ve been included this time around.

Let’s get to it.

Photos from Titans’ 2nd joint practice with Vikings

Photos from the Titans’ second and final joint practice with the Vikings.

The first round of Tennessee Titans joint practices are in the books, as the team finished its second and final with the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the pair’s preseason Week 2 matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday.

After that contest, the Titans will have two more joint practices with the New England Patriots next week ahead of the third and final preseason game in Nashville.

While the Titans’ defense shined overall, the offense was mostly a mixed bag, although it certainly held its own. In case you missed any of the last two days, check out our takeaways from Day 1 and Day 2.

Now, a look at the photos.

See it: Titans’ Teair Tart owns Vikings’ Garrett Bradbury in impressive rep

Check out this incredibly impressive rep from Titans DL Teair Tart.

Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart didn’t have the best finish to his day on Thursday after being ejected from practice, but he did have at least one incredibly impressive rep beforehand.

Tart got into a scuffle with Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury after the lineman wrestled him to the ground after one play. Tart reacted by throwing a punch, which got him ejected from the session.

However, don’t let that overshadow this rep from Tart, who tosses Bradbury like a rag doll and then lets him know about it.

The video was shared by defensive line and pass-rush coach, Aaron Day (@dlinevids1 on X), who had two angles of the impressive rep.

A major point of emphasis for Tart, who is already a very good run defender, has been improving as a pass-rusher, something defensive line and assistant head coach Terrell Williams spoke about earlier this offseason.

“[Tart] started to take those steps (to becoming a better pass-rusher) towards the middle of last season,” Williams said in May, per Easton Freeze of Broadway Sports Media.

“You’ve got three types of players: you’ve got a player who’s great at playing the run, you’ve got a player who’s great in the pass-rush, and then you’ve got players that are great at both. And his job now is to become great at both. I would put him up against anybody in the run game, now it’s just getting better from a pass-rush standpoint.”

Based on this clip, I’d say things are going swimmingly in that area — pun intended.

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Titans’ Arden Key: Defense ‘whooped’ Vikings offense in joint practice

Titans OLB Arden Key didn’t hold back when asked about the team’s defensive performance against the Vikings in practice.

Earlier this week, Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Arden Key confidently stated that the Minnesota Vikings’ offense was the ones who had to deal with the Titans’ defense in joint practices, “not the other way around.”

Even though the Vikings certainly had some positive moments of their own, it’s clear that Key was mostly on point with his assessment of how the defense would perform this week.

The two teams spent the last few days practicing with each other with reports from both Titans and Vikings media members stating that Tennessee more than held its own.

Whether it was Jeffery Simmons and the defensive line doing their thing or Kristian Fulton and Co. making plays on the back end, Tennessee’s positive momentum on the defensive side of the ball only continued to build during its time in Minnesota.

At the conclusion of practice, Key was asked to reflect on the Titans’ defensive performance over the last few days, and he didn’t hold back on his evaluation of how he felt these joint practices went.

“We had a good day (on Wednesday) but it wasn’t up to our standards,” Key said, per Paul Kuharsky. “The coaches got on our ass a little bit, some of the players got on our ass a little bit. Today, we whooped their ass.”

That last part of the statement might come as a shock to those who chose to base their opinion on a viral video of a singular rep where Key was manhandled by Vikings offensive tackle, Christian Darrisaw.

However, Key was clearly tired of that narrative being painted, as he subtly posted several clips of him winning his individual matchup with Darrisaw on his Instagram story.

Key isn’t the only one who felt the defense consistently dominated.

According to Paul Kuharsky, the Titans routinely displayed “pretty pass defense, a consistently disruptive pass rush, and a stout and stingy run defense.”

It’s genuinely hard to understand why so many are downplaying the potential of the Titans’ defense in 2023. All offseason long, there have been some truly outlandish takes when discussing this team that often revolve around someone’s feelings instead of facts.

With that said, here are some actual facts about the Titans’ defense heading into 2023:

  • The last time Simmons, Harold Landry, and Denico Autry were all healthy and on the field together, they combined for six out of the team’s nine sacks in a legendary playoff performance.
  • The three of them also combined for 35.5 of the team’s 52 sacks that year.
  • Tennessee finished with the No. 1 run defense in football last season, despite Autry, Landry, and Bud Dupree missing a minimum of five games, and with Simmons essentially forced to play on one foot.
  • Adding to that, Tennessee finished the 2022 campaign with the ninth-highest (tied) defensive rushing success rate over the last 10 years.
  • The Titans replaced an often-injured Dupree with Key, who tallied 90 pressures, 25 quarterback hits, and 11 sacks since the start of 2021.
  • Key finished with an incredibly impressive pass-rush win rate of 23.2 percent last season

I won’t even get into how Azeez Al-Shaair could be on the verge of a true breakout season, Fulton being healthy and motivated (and looking very good this offseason) to maximize his contract year, and Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker remaining one of the best safety tandems in the NFL.

Fortunately, the silver lining when it comes to all of this skepticism is the fact that we’re finally approaching the point where the Titans get to do the talking themselves instead of fans and local media constantly having to defend their name.

If you’re among those who want to act like the Titans’ defense is destined for mediocrity, then by all means, be our guest.

But chances are, unless this team is once again ravaged by injuries, you’re probably going to be in for a rude awakening over these next few months.

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Biggest takeaways from Titans’ 2nd joint practice with Vikings

The biggest takeaways from the Titans’ second and final joint practice with the Vikings.

The Tennessee Titans had their second and final joint practice of the week with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday afternoon ahead of the pair’s preseason Week 2 showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday night.

It was another strong day for the Titans’ defense, although defensive lineman Teair Tart did let his emotions get the best of him when he threw a punch at Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury, leading to Tart being ejected from practice.

He didn’t appear to be happy about it afterwards, with the Florida International product tweeting, “lame af.”

In other news, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that rookie signal-caller Will Levis exited practice early with an injury and his status is now uncertain for preseason Week 2.

All we know about the injury thus far is that it’s of the lower body variety, according to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky.

With all that out of the way, let’s get to the rest of the biggest takeaways.

Titans DL Teair Tart tweets ‘lame af’ after getting kicked out of practice

The Titans defensive lineman made the tweet following his being kicked out of practice on Thursday.

Things got heated during the joint practice between the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, which was the final session between the two teams ahead of their preseason Week 2 matchup.

Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart got into it with Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury, who wrestled Tart to the ground during a play, which led to Tart taking a swing at him.

Things did not escalate from there, but Tart was flagged for it and later kicked out of practice.

“I haven’t talked to him yet but he knows our standards,” Jeffery Simmons said of Tart’s ejection, per Jim Wyatt. “He knows we don’t do dumb [expletive] to hurt the team, as Vrabes says.

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“That’s one of things I’m sure will get pointed out today in the team meetings. Other than that, we’ll talk to him and, like I said, he knows our expectations and standards with him.”

After practice, Tart tweeted this out (we’ve provided a screen shot just in case it gets deleted, but the direct link is right here):

For those of you not hip on the lingo, it means “lame as [naughty F word].”

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