Tag: Derick Roberson

Titans place Rashad Weaver, Derick Roberson on IR among 4 moves

The Titans also brought back a familiar face in OLB Sharif Finch.

The Tennessee Titans made four moves on Tuesday evening, including putting two of their outside linebackers on Injured Reserve.

The Titans announced they have placed outside linebackers Derick Roberson and Rashad Weaver on IR. Roberson was dealing with a knee injury that forced him to miss the last two games, and Weaver suffered a lower leg injury in Week 3 that led to his early exit from the contest.

While both players will be eligible to come off IR after three weeks, chances are Weaver will be out for much longer than that, as he reportedly suffered a broken right fibula. The extent of Roberson’s injury remains unclear.

The Titans also made a pair of moves on their practice squad. The team signed outside linebacker Sharif Finch and waived defensive lineman Andrew Brown.

Finch is a familiar face, as he was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Tennessee back in 2018. He spent two seasons in Nashville and played in 23 games (three starts) before being waived late in 2019.

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Notable Titans injuries from first week of training camp

The Titans didn’t emerge from their first week of training camp unscathed.

The Tennessee Titans wrapped up their first week of training camp at Saint Thomas Sports Park on Saturday, a week that consisted of four practices overall.

The team will have an off day on Sunday, and then players will take the field once again on Monday.

According to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, the pads won’t come on until Tuesday, which is a big step in the evaluation process for the 53-man roster.

Tennessee didn’t come out of the week unscathed, though, as multiple players appeared to have suffered injuries over the first four days. Here’s a look at the most notable ones, and what we know so far, if anything at all.

Titans’ Derick Roberson ‘as hungry as ever’ going into Year 3

Derick Roberson is looking to build more trust with his coaches in Year 3.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Derick Roberson is looking to take that next step forward in his career as he enters his third season in the NFL in 2021.

Roberson was an undrafted free agent signing of the Titans in 2019 and showed flashes during his rookie season with three sacks in three games, but his sophomore campaign was marred by injury and a lack of production.

Looking ahead to Year 3, Roberson wants to earn the trust of his coaches in order to put himself in a better position to have his number called if a starter goes down to injury, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

“I really haven’t made big noise like I want to yet,” Roberson said. “What I have done to this point, that’s cool. But I want do to more, and I want to build up that trust with the coaches, so they know when somebody goes down, I can go in and fill the spot like the starter.

“I am as hungry as ever. It is year 3, so I am real hungry.”

Roberson admitted that learning the playbook was a struggle during his first two seasons but feels he has a better handle on that now. The Sam Houston State product has also been working on his maturity.

“I would say growing up, being in the league going on year three, I’ve just been working on maturity and taking everything more seriously,” Roberson said. “Just locking on and buying in completely. In my first couple of years, I’ve kind of struggled learning the schemes and stuff, and now I’m learning the playbook better.

“When you are a rookie, you mess up a few times and then you get it right. Now, you have to learn it. No excuses at all. I am really just trying to find a spot, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”

The 25-year-old pass-rusher isn’t the only one who has seen progression in himself, as Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen praised Roberson earlier this offseason.

“I think Roby has had a really good spring; I’ve been pleased with him,” Bowen said. “I think he came back, and he’s changed his approach a little bit. He has been more serious about everything, more committed. I think as he’s gotten older, he’s matured, and started to figure out what the league is. You are not just swimming from one meeting to the next. I think that things have slowed down for him in that regard. The thing I always preach with him is consistency. I need the same guy every day, play in and play out. We have to know who we are putting out there. If I am going to put you out there for 20 plays, I can’t have 5 to 10 of ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do, how this is going to be.’

“So the consistency is what we’re looking for with him. But I have been pleased with Roby. I think he has had a good spring, and I am excited for the fall to see how he keeps progressing.”

Roberson has a great shot to make the 53-man roster out of training camp and serve as a backup for Tennessee in 2021. However, he’ll have to compete for those backup snaps, with his biggest competition coming from 2021 fourth-round pick, Rashad Weaver.

We’ll get a good idea of just how far Roberson has come this offseason when the Titans begin training camp on July 27.

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Mike Vrabel: Titans who stepped up in Week 9 earned more snaps

Breon Borders, Teair Tart, Derick Roberson and Desmond King all made a significant impact in Week 9.

The Tennessee Titans put forth arguably their best defensive effort of the 2020 campaign thus far during the Week 9 win over the Chicago Bears, partly on the strength of impressive performances by some new faces.

With the Titans being short-handed on defense thanks to injuries and roster moves made during the week, players like Breon Borders, Derick Roberson, Desmond King and Teair Tart all stepped up in a big way.

As a result, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said on Monday that each of those players have earned more snaps moving forward, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online:

“I think all those guys earned more opportunity against the Colts,” Vrabel said. “But it will be important that they don’t spend a whole lot of time in the batter’s box staring at the home run (and) they move on like we always do, whether we win or lose. Our whole focus is making sure these guys are building and trying to earn a larger role.”

Vrabel also expressed how King has already earned respect from the players and coaches after his outstanding debut that occurred after no full practices and only Zoom meetings and a walk-through:

“I think he earned the respect of a lot of people within our organization, our coaches and players and (GM) Jon (Robinson) just by being able to learn everything virtually, come in and have some communication and interaction with the players on Saturday and then going out there and having a lot of snaps and competing and doing a nice job,” Vrabel said of King, formerly with the Chargers. “When you love football, you find ways to do your job …. He’ll earn more snaps based on the job he did yesterday.”

When meeting with the media on Tuesday, Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen had praise for Roberson, Tart and King, also:

The defense could have a new look to it once again in Week 10 if Adoree’ Jackson is able to return, but if not Tennessee should certainly give the aforementioned players more looks on Thursday against the Colts.

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Titans OLBs coach talks potential Beasley replacements, Tuzar Skipper and Derick Roberson

Titans OLBs coach Shane Bowen raved about the work ethic of Tuzar Skipper.

With outside linebacker Vic Beasley now gone, the Tennessee Titans are going to need to decide who will pick up the snaps he leaves behind during the Week 9 game against the Chicago Bears and beyond.

Two potential options for the Titans are outside linebackers Derick Roberson, who is currently on the 53-man roster, and Tuzar Skipper, who resides on the practice squad.

Titans fans know Roberson well. He was a 2019 UDFA signing by Tennessee and played in three regular-season games last season. Roberson flashed in his limited action with three sacks.

Roberson has only been able to play in one game this season thanks to injury, and an illness prevented him from seeing the field in Week 8. The hope is that he’ll be ready to go in Week 9.

Skipper is a new face in Nashville. He was added to the Titans’ practice squad back in September and has been protected this week. The Toledo product played in six games with the New York Giants last season.

Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen was asked about both players on Thursday when speaking to the media. Here’s a look at what he had to say about them (quotes courtesy of John Glennon of Broadway Sports):

Report: Titans’ Vic Beasley will not play in Week 2 vs. Jaguars

There was some hope that Beasley would make his Titans debut in Week 2, but that’s gone now.

Despite getting in a pair of full practices to finish off the week, it appears Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Vic Beasley will not play in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, Beasley will not be making his much-anticipated debut, and instead will be inactive for the second straight week.

Like last week, Beasley (knee) is on the injury report, however, unlike last week Beasley was a full participant in practice during the final session prior to the game, as opposed to being limited ahead of the Week 1 contest.

We can’t say for sure what’s going on, and at this point with everything that has transpired with Beasley, it could literally be anything.

An educated guess would be that Beasley simply isn’t ready to take the field, either because of a lack of knowledge of the defense, poor conditioning, or perhaps both.

Clearly it isn’t injury-related or else he wouldn’t have been full each of the past two days. Whatever the case may be, it looks like we’ll be waiting another week to see Beasley take the field in a Titans uniform.

Some potentially good news is that fellow outside linebacker, Derick Roberson, might make his 2020 debut after logging full practices the entire week. He’d be the fourth outside linebacker if he suits up and Beasley is inactive, which is one more than the team carried into Denver.

Tennessee also has an option on the practice squad in training camp standout Wyatt Ray, who is one of the team’s four protected players.

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Titans’ Nate Davis, Derick Roberson carted off with apparent leg injury

The Titans had a pair of notable injuries on Tuesday.

There was some potentially bad injury news for the Tennessee Titans coming out of Tuesday’s practice.

According to John Glennon of Broadway Sports, both right guard Nate Davis and outside linebacker Derick Roberson were carted off the field with an apparent leg injury.

Paul Kuharsky noted that, according to beat writers on the ground, Davis’ injury “didn’t look encouraging.”

Obviously things don’t look good for either player, but we can only hope both injuries aren’t that serious and the cart was brought out as an extra precaution.

While losing both players would be a big blow, the far more concerning situation is with Davis, who is the team’s starter at right guard. Should he be forced to miss any time, the Titans will have to find a solution.

When Davis missed the first three games of last season, the Titans deployed backup guard Jamil Douglas with disastrous results. Because of that, we’ve been campaigning all offseason long for the Titans to find someone else to fill the backup guard/center role.

The Titans currently have three players who can fill-in at guard in Ty Sambrailo, who is also the team’s swing tackle, Avery Gennesy, and Zac Kerin, who can also play center.

Bottom line: the Titans have plenty of options other than Douglas to fill the void if it comes to that.

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Watch: Titans’ Derick Roberson rocks colorful camp outfit

Derick Roberson first flashed his fashion sense last season.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Derick Roberson doesn’t shy away from looking fashionable, and this training camp outfit he was rocking is the latest example of that.

In a video shot by inside linebacker Jayon Brown, Roberson showed off his colorful sweatsuit, which the team believes is an early favorite for the “best camp fit” — and it’s hard to disagree.

We first got a look at Roberson’s fashion sense last season, when he showed up to Kansas City for the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs wearing this epic outfit.

Roberson wasn’t just fashionable at the end of last season, he was also productive. In the Titans’ final two regular season games, Roberson notched three sacks, including two against the New Orleans Saints’ elite offensive line in Week 16.

The 2019 UDFA then parlayed that success into playing time during the playoffs, where he posted three QB hits in three postseason contests. While he didn’t notch a sack, the fact that he saw snaps at all in such high-leverage games speaks to the trust he earned from the coaching staff.

Roberson enters 2020 with a great chance to make the Titans’ roster and take on a reserve role. However, if he can continue to show he has the ability to bother opposing quarterbacks consistently and can improve against the run, he could work his way into more playing time.

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Is Titans’ Reggie Gilbert on the roster bubble going into training camp?

Reggie Gilbert is in danger of missing the cut on the Titans’ initial 53-man roster.

Last August, the Tennessee Titans acquired outside linebacker Reggie Gilbert in a trade with the Green Bay Packers that ultimately cost a sixth-round pick. He was then re-signed this offseason to a one-year deal.

However, his future with the team is anything but secure.

In 2019, the Titans carried five outside linebackers on their initial 53-man roster, and in 2020 the team already figures to have at least four roster locks at the position going into training camp.

That group consists of Harold Landry, Vic Beasley, Kamalei Correa and 2019 fifth-round pick, D’Andre Walker, who missed all of his rookie season with an injury but figures to be part of the equation regardless.

You could also make an argument that Derick Roberson is as close to a lock as you can get after he flashed his pass-rush skills at the end of last season with three sacks in the Titans’ last two regular season games, including two against the New Orleans Saints’ elite offensive line in Week 16.

With the Titans needing to see an improvement in the pass-rush this coming season, Roberson carries an advantage over Gilbert, who played a minimal role in his first season in Nashville as a run defense specialist.

Gilbert is facing an uphill battle in making the roster, and that’s a sentiment that ESPN’s Turron Davenport agrees with, as the he named Gilbert the one veteran who is on the roster bubble in Tennessee.

The Titans brought Gilbert back on a one-year deal after trading for him in 2019. Gilbert had a steady spot in Tennessee’s outside linebacker rotation, but he was a healthy scratch in the AFC Championship Game. The emergence of second-year outside linebacker Derick Roberson last season and return from injury of 2019 fifth-round draft pick D’Andre Walker could spell trouble for Gilbert. The Titans re-signed Kamalei Correa and agreed to a one-year deal with former Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who, along with Harold Landry, will take most of the snaps. — Turron Davenport

Should Gilbert not make the cut, the Titans could look to trade him, but it isn’t clear if general manager Jon Robinson would be able to recoup the sixth-round pick he lost in the initial trade with Green Bay.

Gilbert would probably fetch no better than a seventh-round pick, however it’s far more likely he simply gets cut and hits the open market.

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Titans believe Derick Roberson can be an asset on third downs

Can Roberson earn enough snaps to make a difference in 2020?

After creating some buzz during training camp and the preseason in 2019, Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Derick Roberson remained quiet for much of the regular season.

The UDFA out of Sam Houston State, who led the FCS in sacks during his final college year, didn’t see any defensive snaps until Week 16 — and he certainly made the most of them.

Roberson went on to sack Drew Brees twice in the loss to the New Orleans Saints, and then he followed that up with a one-sack effort in Week 17 against the Houston Texans.

While he failed to record a sack in the Titans’ three postseason games, the fact that he saw snaps in each contest (12, 31, 22) shows that he had earned the trust of the coaching staff.

Outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen believes Roberson can be an asset on third downs for the Titans in 2020, although he also says that Roberson needs work in the run game to earn more snaps, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

“Roby from the gate flashed some ability to rush the passer,” Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen said. “I think the main thing with him right now … (is) consistency, and ultimately just development. Being a first-, second-down player, the run game, some of that type of stuff, taking the next step there has been what’s held him back a little bit in terms of that playtime, but he definitely has value on third down in passing situations.”

The unfortunate side effect of a shortened offseason is that younger players won’t have as good of an opportunity to develop, which could stunt their growth.

Despite that, Bowen is happy where Roberson is currently and says the second-year player is “dialed in this offseason.”

“I think the first, second down stuff in terms of scheme, understanding, and the technique – which he’s come a long way,” Bowen said. “He really has, and he’s bought in, and he’s dialed in this offseason.”

Before we can even talk about Roberson getting snaps, he’s got to secure a spot on the 53-man roster in what is a crowded outside linebacker’s room.

The only three certainties to get significant snaps at this point are Harold Landry, Vic Beasley and Kamalei Correa. Fighting for scraps — and quite possibly a roster spot — behind them will be Roberson, Reggie Gilbert and D’Andre Walker.

And if the Titans do end up signing Jadeveon Clowney in free agency, that will only complicate matters.

However, if Roberson can continue to build on what he did in 2019 and show he indeed has the chops to get to the quarterback, the Titans will be forced to get him on the field thanks to their desperate need to improve the pass-rush.

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