Tag: Dylan Cole

Titans’ Dylan Cole sheds tears over loss to Jaguars: ‘I sucked today’

Titans LB Dylan Cole couldn’t fight back the tears after Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars.

If you think going out and getting beaten down like the Tennessee Titans did against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14 doesn’t hit the team’s players hard, I present to you linebacker Dylan Cole.

Cole was one piece of a Titans defense that couldn’t do anything right on Sunday. The linebacker specifically struggled to make some tackles and wasn’t good in coverage.

After the game, it was clear Cole was taking the performance and defeat very hard, as he got emotional and even shed tears while looking back on the blowout loss.

“We can only learn and improve from this. I know personally, I sucked… I sucked today,” Cole said while trying to fight back tears. “So, just embrace it, and learn from it, and improve.”

When asked about getting emotional in his response, Cole couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.

“We just put a lot of work in… and to put stuff out there like that, it just… it doesn’t justify the work that we put in and it hurts.”

I might have a new favorite player. If you don’t like Cole at least a little bit more after seeing this, I don’t know what to tell you.

Yes, Cole struggled in Week 14, but so did the rest of the team, and he’s also playing a role he isn’t really suited for thanks to injuries to both starting linebackers Zach Cunningham and David Long.

But nobody can question Cole’s heart, effort and desire, the latter of which we saw in his post-game reaction.

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Watch: Titans’ Dylan Cole was mic’d up in Week 11

Titans LB Dylan Cole was mic’d up in Week 11.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Dylan Cole was mic’d up for the Week 11 contest against the Green Bay Packers, a game in which he tallied six tackles.

It was the fourth game this year that Cole accumulated at least six tackles in a game. He continues to be a force on special teams and delivered one of his customary jarring hits on Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.

He also recovered a blocked extra point on the final play of the first quarter.

From the get-go, Cole hilariously joined in on Packer fans’ booing, and later Jeffery Simmons’ sack celebration after the Titans superstar sacked Aaron Rodgers.

Check out the sights and sounds of Week 11 from Cole’s perspective.

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Titans LB Dylan Cole avoids serious injury

Titans LB Dylan Cole is reportedly fine after suffering an injury on Friday.

Tennessee Titans inside linebacker Dylan Cole suffered an undisclosed injury during the team’s eighth practice of training camp on Friday, but it appears the injury isn’t serious.

According to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, the team is hopeful Cole can to return to practice in a few days despite the injury apparently looking serious at first.

After signing with the Titans last November, Cole appeared in nine games for Tennessee in 2021, tallying 16 tackles (one for loss), one pass defended, one forced fumble and one QB hit while playing predominantly on special teams.

Cole re-signed with the Titans earlier this offseason and is vying for one of the backup spots at inside linebacker against rookies Chance Campbell and Jack Gibbens, and veteran Joe Jones, who also played a significant role on special teams in 2021.

In our latest 53-man roster projection, we had both Cole and Campbell making the cut behind Tennessee’s three roster locks in David Long, Zach Cunningham and Monty Rice.

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Titans training camp preview: The backup battle at ILB

The Titans will have one or two spots up for grabs at ILB going into training camp.

In our latest installment of training camp previews, we take a closer look at the Tennessee Titans’ inside linebacker position, which doesn’t have many question marks.

The Titans saw a changing of the guard at the position in 2021, as former starters Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans were unseated by Zach Cunningham and David Long, both of whom played well.

Cunningham was an absolute steal after being claimed off waivers and he quickly secured a starting role. The writing was on the wall as far back as 2020 that Long would become a starter at some point, and that’s just what happened in 2021.

Even before the 2021 season started, the Titans began looking to the future up the middle by drafting Monty Rice, who appeared in 10 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Looking ahead to 2022, the Titans are mostly set at the position but do need to figure out who takes at least one reserve spot. Let’s take a closer look.

Titans bring back LB Dylan Cole on one-year deal

Linebacker Dylan Cole is back with the Titans on a one-year deal.

The Tennessee Titans are bringing back linebacker Dylan Cole on a one-year contract, the team announced on Tuesday.

Cole, 27, was an undrafted free agent out of Missouri State, initially signed by the Houston Texans. During his rookie season, he played in 12 games, including one start, recording 32 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and one interception returned for a touchdown.

The Springfield, Missouri native saw the majority of his snaps on special teams during his four seasons in Houston.

The Titans signed Cole to their practice squad in October this past season. He was released later in the month and re-signed in early November. In Week 10 against the Saints, Cole was elevated to the active roster, forcing a fumble on the kickoff to open the second half.

He played in nine games with Tennessee, recording 16 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss, to go along with one pass deflection and the forced fumble.

Cole gives the Titans some much-needed depth at the linebacker position and, if nothing else, a big special teams presence, playing in 76 percent of the team’s total snaps during the 2021 season.

Titans film study: Putting the ‘special’ in special teams

A breakdown of how the Titans changed the Week 10 game against the Saints through special teams.

The Tennessee Titans were able to defeat the New Orleans Saints in a Week 10 street fight. The Titans were favored in the game and most fans expected a win, but the way they accomplished it had to be surprising to most.

It wasn’t the Titans’ offense, which has been one of the most potent in the NFL for the past two seasons, and it wasn’t the Titans’ new and improved defense that gets massive credit every week.

It was the least appreciated phase of football: special teams.

It wasn’t just one aspect of special teams that made plays, however, as every unit found a way to contribute — and they had to; the Saints are consistently one of the best teams in the NFL at using special teams as an advantage, part of the reason they are always a competitive group.

Take a look at some numbers to show how well they perform week to week:

  • The Saints are 8th in the NFL in average kickoff return yards(24.4)
  • The Saints are 6th in the NFL in average punt return yards(12.0)
  • The Saints are 3rd in the NFL in average drive start position(32 yard line)

Now, how did the Saints do in those categories on Sunday against the Titans?

  • The Saints averaged 21.1 yards per kickoff return.
  • The Saints averaged 4 yards per punt return.
  • The Saints started at their 25.4 yard line on average.

Not only did the Titans succeed in three key areas that helped them win the field position battle, which turned into scoring chances, but they scored 11 points on special teams themselves, while directly preventing points by the Saints AND forcing a turnover.

So, while the defense is being celebrated weekly and the offense still gets its credit, we should all remember that Week 10 in 2021 was won by the special teams unit.

As we do each week, let’s step into the film room and take a look at how the Titans did it.

Titans activate Derick Roberson off IR, add Dylan Cole to active roster

The Titans activated Roberson on the same day his 21-day window was set to expire.

The Tennessee Titans made a trio of moves on Tuesday, the biggest of which was activating outside linebacker Derick Roberson off Injured Reserve.

The move comes just in the nick of time, as Roberson’s 21-day window to be activated was about to run out today. Had he not been activated before that deadline, Roberson would have been out for the year.

In addition to activating Roberson, the Titans also added linebacker Dylan Cole to the active roster and wide receiver Cody Hollister to the practice squad. Hollister has spent multiple stints in Nashville.

Cole was a practice squad elevation in Week 10 and came up big for the Titans after he forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half.

The Titans getting Roberson back comes on the heels of fellow outside linebacker Bud Dupree suffering an abdomen injury. If the ailment forces Dupree to miss time, Roberson could potentially see an increased role.

Tennessee now has two open spots on their practice squad, and one on the 53-man roster.

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Analyzing Titans’ practice squad protections for Week 10

For the first time this season, the Titans are protecting WR Dez Fitzpatrick on the practice squad.

The Tennessee Titans are protecting four players on their practice squad this week, including wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, linebacker Dylan Cole, cornerback Chris Jones and running back Dontrell Hilliard.

For Fitzpatrick, this is the first we’ve heard about him since he missed the cut on the 53-man roster and was re-signed to the practice squad. He had yet to be protected once before this week.

The move to protect Fitzpatrick this week comes on the heels of the team releasing wide receiver Josh Reynolds on Tuesday.

His protection, along with the fact that he’s getting the nod over fellow wideout Mason Kinsey, who has been protected and elevated instead of Fitzpatrick on multiple occasions this season, could signify the rookie is making strides en route to being the next man up if the Titans need help.

The other notable protection is that of Cole, who was elevated and active in Week 10 with linebacker Rashaan Evans being ruled out. Cole ended up seeing zero defensive and 12 special teams snaps.

This could mean that Evans is set to miss another game, but we also have to consider this as possible bad news for linebacker David Long, who was shaken up during the win over the Rams.

Here’s to hoping we’re wrong in both instances.

Jones saw his most significant playing time of the 2021 season in Week 9 when he logged 28 snaps and surprisingly got playing time over fellow backup, Breon Borders, who has since been released.

Jones made the most of his opportunity, finishing with a top-five Pro Football Focus mark in overall and coverage grades.

Perhaps a promotion to the active roster is in order, but the hope is that the release of Borders means Tennessee’s No. 1 corner, Kristian Fulton, is about to be activated of IR in time for the game against the New Orleans Saints.

Ahead of Week 10, the Titans have a few spots to fill on their practice squad after quarterback Matt Barkley was poached by the Carolina Panthers and defensive back Nate Brooks was cut.

Expect more action on the roster and practice squad this week.

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Broncos worked out 2 linebackers on Tuesday

Avery Williamson and Dylan Cole tried out for the Broncos on Tuesday.

The Denver Broncos were busy on Tuesday.

In addition to signing wide receiver Josh Malone to the practice squad and cutting two players, the Broncos also brought in two linebackers for tryouts, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Avery Williamson and Dylan Cole visited the team’s UCHealth Training Center, presumably as potential candidates for the practice squad.

Williamson (6-1, 246 pounds) is a 29-year-old linebacker who entered the league as a fifth-round pick out of Kentucky with the Tennessee Titans in 2014. After spending the first four years of his career in Tennessee, Williamson went on to play for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 94 career games (85 starts), Williamson has totaled 607 tackles, 17 pass breakups, 15.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and four interceptions.

Cole (6-0, 237 pounds) is a 27-year-old defender who joined the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri State in 2017. He spent four years with the Texans, totaling 45 tackles, two interceptions and one sack in 37 games (one start).

Denver currently has one open spot on the practice squad.

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Eagles work out 3 players as team starts preparation for matchup with Cowboys

Eagles work out 3 players as the team starts preparation for a matchup with the Cowboys

With preparation set to start for a Week 3 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles worked out Cameron Malveaux, Deon Cain, and former Texans linebacker Dylan Cole on Tuesday.