Titans training camp – Page 21

Titans training camp preview: The new-look offensive line

A look at the Titans’ offensive line situation going into training camp.

One of the most talked about position groups for the Tennessee Titans this offseason has been the offensive line, which will see two new starters in 2022.

Tennessee’s offensive line as a whole was not good in pass protection in 2021 after the Titans allowed 47 sacks, the seventh-most in the NFL. That must improve if the Titans want their offense to rebound this coming season.

The Titans parted ways with both left guard Rodger Saffold and right tackle David Quessenberry, both of whom struggled in pass protection. Saffold also routinely dealt with injuries that had him in and out of games.

The good news for Tennessee’s starting hopefuls at left guard and right tackle is that they don’t have big shoes to fill in terms of pass protection, but Saffold and Quessenberry were both good run-blockers.

In fact, Quessenberry (89.7) and Saffold (76.7) finished first and third on the team in Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade.

Now, let’s take a look at Tennessee’s situation along the offensive line going into training camp, and we’ll make a 53-man roster prediction at the end.

Titans training camp preview: The battle for No. 2 TE

A closer look at the tight end position ahead of Titans training camp.

In our latest training camp preview for the Tennessee Titans, we take a closer look at tight end, a position the team has made some changes to this offseason after not having a true No. 1 in 2021.

Tennessee failed to adequately address tight end in 2021, instead opting for a rotation that didn’t exactly pan out.

Anthony Firkser was a major disappointment in what was supposed to be a breakout year for him, and Geoff Swaim and MyCole Pruitt were OK, but neither is a starting tight end.

Firkser is now in Atlanta, and Pruitt, who suffered a brutal injury late in the season, remains unsigned. Swaim is one of two tight ends who saw playing time last season returning in 2022, along with Tommy Hudson.

In place of Firkser and Pruitt, Tennessee signed Austin Hooper in free agency and drafted Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Now, let’s see which players are either roster locks or on the bubble, and we’ll examine the competition to watch in training camp before making a prediction for who will ultimately make the 53-man roster.

Titans training camp preview: A wide open situation at WR

A closer look at the Titans’ uncertain WR situation going into training camp.

The Tennessee Titans’ wide receivers room is one of the most fascinating position groups on the team in 2022, and it’s a group that will surely dominate headlines throughout training camp.

The Titans are replacing their two most notable wide receivers from a year ago after releasing Julio Jones and trading A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this offseason.

This has left the majority of Titans fans with an unpleasant feeling of uncertainty when it comes to the receiver position.

Despite popular belief, there is a realistic chance that the 2022 group could be more productive as a whole considering the 2021 group spent more time together in the trainer’s room than they did on the field.

Unfortunately, there’s also a realistic chance that Tennessee is left with a wide receivers room that is clearly inferior to years past now that they no longer have a true alpha presence who can dictate defensive coverages.

Maybe one of the Titans’ receivers on their roster steps up and becomes that for the team at some point this season, but that’s no longer something that Tennessee can fully expect to have as they head into training camp.

In the meantime, let’s go ahead and take a closer look at the Titans’ wide receiver options ahead of training camp.

6 position battles to watch at Titans training camp

A look at six position battles to watch during Titans training camp.

The Tennessee Titans are three weeks away from opening their training camp for the 2022 NFL season. Rookies will report on July 23, veterans on July 26, and then the first practice will take place on July 27.

The Titans had a contentious offseason that saw the the team make several noteworthy moves, including the replacement of their two most notable wide receivers from a year ago.

The Titans impressively accomplished their most successful regular season in well over a decade despite the team using an NFL record of 91 total players in a single season.

That injury list wasn’t just a ton of irrelevant injuries, either. The Titans were forced to play without several key players for extended periods of time.

Tennessee still went on to win 12 games, the AFC South, and the No. 1 seed in the conference. That reason alone should give Titans fans hope that the reigning NFL Coach of the Year will be able to find a way to at least keep this team relevant, even with all the concerns Tennessee has.

As we head into training camp, the Titans have a few positional battles that stand out. Some of these are truly up in the air, while the others you would hope are a foregone conclusion.

Nevertheless, lets take a closer look at the five competitions that we should be keeping our eyes on during training camp.

Titans 2022 training camp preview: Who spells Derrick Henry?

With the Titans possibly looking to lessen Derrick Henry’s workload a bit in 2022,

The heart and soul of the Tennessee Titans’ offense is its rushing attack, which is led by superstar rusher, Derrick Henry.

Unfortunately for Henry and the Titans, he missed half a season in 2021 due to a broken bone in his foot, otherwise the Alabama product was likely heading for another 2,000-yard season and rushing title.

Even without Henry, the Titans still managed to thrive on the ground thanks to stellar blocking from the offensive line. In fact, the rushing attack was far and away the best thing about Tennessee’s offense.

Henry’s two main replacements, Dontrell Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman, had a combined total of 916 yards on the ground over the last nine weeks, just 21 less than Henry did over the first eight weeks.

Looking ahead to 2022, Foreman, who took control of the backfield with Henry out, is no longer with the team after signing with the Carolina Panthers, but Hilliard remains.

With the Titans looking to lessen Henry’s workload at least a little bit, who is in line to help out? We take a look at that and more in our training camp preview for the running back position in Nashville.

Note: we’ve also included the fullback position in this article because fullbacks need love too.

Tennessee Titans 2022 training camp preview: Quarterback

A look at where things stand at quarterback for the Titans going into training camp.

The Tennessee Titans entered the 2022 offseason with a problem at the quarterback position after Ryan Tannehill’s debacle in the 2021 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tannehill’s three picks doomed the Titans, leading to their being one-and-done in the playoffs once again. The contest was a microcosm of the team’s issues, as Tannehill struggled with turnovers and ineffectiveness all season.

In the span of three years, Tannehill has gone from franchise savior to a player fans are ready to run out of town thanks to his inability to lead Tennessee to a Super Bowl.

And it appears the Titans were willing to move on this offseason, also, as the team reportedly explored trades for some big-name quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson.

Unfortunately, none of Tennessee’s attempts to replace Tannehill worked out, but they did make an interesting move by drafting Malik Willis in the third round, which will start the clock on Tannehill’s inevitable departure.

With training camp less than four weeks away, we’re taking a closer look at the quarterback position to see where things stand right now and how the position will shake out in 2022.

Titans training camp: News, notes, video from Day 19 of practice

Thursday was officially the last day of Titans 2021 training camp.

After a day off on Wednesday, the Tennessee Titans hit the practice field on Thursday for what was officially the last day of 2021 training camp.

However, it was a rough day for the team before taking the field, as the Titans placed three more players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, giving them a total of seven players on it.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, linebackers Nick Dzubnar and Justin March-Lillard, tight end Geoff Swaim, outside linebacker Harold Landry, running back Jeremy McNichols, and defensive lineman Anthony Rush are all in the COVID-19 protocol, as is head coach Mike Vrabel and special teams coach, Craig Aukerman.

The good news here is that it’s only the preseason and Vrabel said that in all likelihood every player on the COVID-19 list would be ready for the start of the season.

Now that we have all the negative stuff out of the way, here’s a look at what happened during the Titans’ latest practice on Thursday, which by all accounts was a light session.

Titans training camp: News, notes, video from Day 18 of practice

Julio Jones practiced for the first time since Aug. 2.

The Tennessee Titans were back on the practice field on Tuesday for their 18th session of training camp — and with it came some great news.

According to multiple beat writers on the ground, wide receiver Julio Jones was not only in full gear for the practice, but he also took part in it. The veteran wideout was a participant in the half-speed 11-on-11 period.

This is the first practice in which Jones was involved since Aug. 2 when he suffered what was deemed a minor injury following an awkward landing after going up for a catch.

It isn’t clear just how much of his absence was injury-related or the team just managing his reps, but this is a great sign that he’s on track to be just fine for Week 1 of the regular season.

Jones’ participation was just one of many pieces of news from Tuesday’s session. Here’s the rest of the news, notes, video and post-practice presser highlights from Day 18 of training camp.

Titans training camp: News, notes, video from Day 17 of practice

A.J. Brown was a limited participant in practice on Monday.

After having a day off following their second preseason game on Saturday night, the Tennessee Titans returned to the practice field for their latest session of training camp.

Ahead of practice, Tennessee made four roster moves. Kicker Tucker McCann and offensive linemen Paul Adams and Ross Reynolds were all waived with an injury designation. Defensive lineman Anthony Rush was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list as well.

The Titans will trim their roster down to 80 players on Tuesday and then will have their final cutdown day on Aug. 31, when the roster will be cut down to 53 players.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown and other key Titans players returned to practice on Monday, but wide receiver Julio Jones did not. Here’s the rest of the pertinent information from Tennessee’s latest session.

Titans training camp: News, notes, video from second practice with Bucs

Check out what happened on Day 2 of Titans-Bucs joint practice.

The Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers held their second and final joint practice together on Thursday, just days before the two teams will meet in Preseason Week 2.

Things got plenty feisty on Day 2, as the Titans and Bucs got into several fights throughout the course of the session — five to be exact — which will no doubt add a little extra intrigue for the exhibition contest on Saturday night.

While the Titans’ defense shined on Day 1, the same cannot be said for the unit on Thursday after it struggled to cover some of the Bucs’ best receivers.

Here’s the news, notes, video and post-practice presser highlights from the Titans and Bucs’ final joint practice.