Tag: Josh Whyle

Titans offseason preview at TE: Pending free agents, biggest needs

In our latest installment of offseason previews for the Tennessee Titans, we take a look at the tight end position.

In our latest offseason preview for the Tennessee Titans, we’re taking a look at the team’s pending free agents and biggest needs at the tight end position.

Tennessee’s best tight end in 2023 was 2022 fourth-round pick, Chig Okonkwo, who led the position with 528 yards and one touchdown.

While it wasn’t the true breakout campaign Titans fans were expecting, Chig still managed to top his rookie yardage total after a slow start that was filled with bad drops. Okonkwo no doubt saved face with a strong finish.

The other notable tight end was 2023 fifth-round pick, Josh Whyle, who showed flashes both as a pass-catcher and blocker but ultimately didn’t do much because of a lack of playing time and injury.

The Titans will be depending on both of those tight ends in 2024, but what’s the situation beyond them? We’ll go over that and more in our Titans offseason preview for the tight end position.

5 Titans who could have a bigger role in 2024

A look at five Titans players who could have a bigger role in 2024.

The Tennessee Titans’ quest to get out of the cellar of the AFC South will begin in earnest in March, when the team ventures into free agency loaded with a ton of cap space.

After that, the Titans will take to the 2024 NFL draft, where they’ll hope to find young players who can help them transition into the next chapter of the franchise and be long-term solutions.

But the Titans also have to evaluate their own players to see if they have some in-house solutions for some of their needs, whether those needs are starting or backup roles.

With that in mind, here’s a look at five Titans players under contract for 2024 who could see a bigger role with the team. Players on this list either showed flashes in 2023, played well all season long, or had a strong finish to the season.

Titans place Josh Whyle on IR among several moves

The Titans made several moves on Saturday, including placing TE Josh Whyle on injured reserve.

The Tennessee Titans announced a slew of roster moves ahead of their Week 17 game against the Houston Texans, one of which included placing rookie tight end Josh Whyle on injured reserve.

With Whyle going to IR, his rookie campaign is over. The Cincinnati product suffered a knee injury in Week 13 and had missed the previous three games.

The fifth-round pick finishes his first season in the NFL with a meager nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t exactly get a ton of playing time when healthy.

He did, however, show flashes, both as a pass-catcher and run-blocker.

In addition to placing Whyle on IR, the Titans promoted defensive lineman Ross Blacklock to the 53-man roster and elevated linebacker Tae Crowder and defensive back Kendall Sheffield from the practice squad for Week 17.

On the injury report, the Titans downgraded defensive lineman Quinton Bohanna (personal) to out and linebacker JoJo Domann (illness) to questionable.

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Titans TE Josh Whyle’s injury not considered season-ending

There is some good news on Titans TE Josh Whyle after he exited the Week 13 game early.

Tennessee Titans rookie tight end Josh Whyle was one of many players who exited the Week 13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts early, but thankfully there is reportedly some good news for the Cincinnati product.

According to beat writer Paul Kuharsky, the knee injury Whyle suffered in the fourth quarter isn’t season-ending. Kuharsky’s report did not reveal the extent of it, though.

Whyle tallied just one catch for 16 yards in the loss to the Colts, but the grab came on the Titans’ touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that forced the game into overtime.

The play was impressive for multiple reasons, as Whyle worked off his block to get open and then picked up yards after the catch following a broken tackle.

It was just the latest example of the flashes the fifth-round pick has shown this year. Hopefully the injury doesn’t cost him any time and the Titans can get him more involved down the stretch in order to prepare him for bigger things in 2024.

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Titans lead NFL in offensive snaps played by rookies since Week 8

Since Week 8, no team in the NFL has seen more offensive snaps from rookies than the Titans.

The Tennessee Titans have sneakily had one of the better and more productive rookie classes this season.

This has been a very encouraging development in Ran Carthon’s first year as general manager. Prior to his arrival, the Titans suffered through some truly horrendous draft classes in recent years, with the jury still being out on the 2022 class.

This year’s crop of rookies has been headlined by their first three picks, all of whom have shown the ability to be true building blocks for the future: left guard Peter Skoronski, quarterback Will Levis and running back Tyjae Spears.

You also have tight end Josh Whyle and offensive tackle Jaelyn Duncan, who are raw players with loads of untapped potential in their own right.

The five of them have been the main rookie contributors, and they’re the reason why the Titans lead the NFL in most rookie snaps on offense since Week 8.

Over that span, the Titans’ first-year players have played a total of 862 snaps:

  • Levis: 282
  • Skoronski: 278
  • Spears: 144
  • Duncan: 78
  • Whyle: 69
  • WR Colton Dowell: 10
  • DB Matthew Jackson: 1

Jackson’s one snap is based on a technicality when the team ran a fake punt.

The Titans have produced 45 more rookie snaps than any other offense in the league, with the Chicago Bears (817), Green Bay Packers (740), Houston Texans (717) Carolina and Panthers (714) following behind them.

Not only are these young players getting valuable experience, but the Titans will have a good idea of how much they can depend on them as the team transitions into the future in 2024.

Barring any injuries, it’s a safe bet that the Titans will remain at or near the top of this list for the rest of the season.

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Titans’ Week 11 snap counts: Snaps split evenly at LB, TE

A look at the Titans’ snap counts from Week 11.

There were some interesting takeaways from the Tennessee Titans’ snap counts following their Week 11 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tennessee had a full-blown timeshare at linebacker between Monty Rice and Jack Gibbens. It was the second-straight week in which Rice eclipsed his season-high number of snaps.

Meanwhile, tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo saw a season-low number of snaps and did not lead the team in playing time at the position.

On top of seeing how the Titans divvied up snaps at linebacker and tight end, we’ll also be taking a look at how the team replaced some of their missing players at wide receiver, cornerback and offensive line.

Titans vs. Steelers Week 9 injury report: Monday

The first injury reports of the week for the Titans and Steelers.

The Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers have released their first injury report of the week ahead of the Week 9 game on Thursday night, although both were estimated because neither team held a full practice.

The Titans listed four players as estimated non-participants, with the most notable being quarterback Ryan Tannehill and right tackle Chris Hubbard.

Tannehill isn’t expected to play and the Titans will roll with quarterback Will Levis once again.

Hubbard will have a tough time clearing the concussion protocol on a short week. If he can’t go, the Titans will likely do what they did in Week 8 and slide Nicholas Petit-Frere to right tackle and put Andre Dillard at left tackle.

Tight end Josh Whyle, who was ruled out last week with a concussion, may be on track to return after an estimated full practice. He did not take part in practice at all last week.

Cornerback Roger McCreary also missed last week’s game after suffering a hamstring injury in practice. He was listed as limited, which is how he finished off last week.

For the Steelers, the biggest name to keep an eye on is quarterback Kenny Pickett, who exited Week 8 early and might be a game-time decision. Should Pickett sit, backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky would take his spot.

Another key Steeler, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, has already been ruled out.

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Titans injury updates: WR Chris Moore, TE Josh Whyle

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel provided some injury updates on WR Chris Moore and TE Josh Whyle.

After a much-needed break in Week 7, the Tennessee Titans are back on the practice field and preparing for their Sunday showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Titans have a lot of questions at the moment, most notably when it comes to the quarterback position. However, there are also questions surrounding injuries, including with Chris Moore and Josh Whyle.

Moore and Whyle are still in concussion protocol after they were each on the receiving end of a big hit against the Ravens, with the one on Moore leading to an ejection and fine for Ravens safety, Kyle Hamilton.

Thankfully, the Titans wide receiver appears to be making progress as he will practice in some capacity on Wednesday, while the rookie tight end is not expected to be out there.

On top of keeping an eye on these injuries and the one to quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the statuses of wide receiver Treylon Burks, defensive back Elijah Molden and defensive lineman Teair Tart will bear monitoring.

You can check out updates on all three right here.

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Titans TE Josh Whyle ruled out vs. Ravens with concussion

Titans TE Josh Whyle has been ruled out from Week 6 with a concussion.

UPDATE: Tennessee Titans tight end Josh Whyle has now been ruled out from the Week 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens with a concussion.

Tennessee Titans tight end Josh Whyle suffered a head injury in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens and is now questionable to return to the game.

In the first quarter and on the Titans’ first offensive series of the game, Whyle caught an 11-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill but took a shoulder to the crown of his head.

After the play, Whyle was clearly wobbly on his feet as he went to the sideline, where doctors immediately checked him.

It’s unfortunate for the rookie tight end, who has been playing well as of late and was off to a fast start on Sunday. Hopefully Whyle’s injury isn’t too serious.

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Titans’ Josh Whyle also shined as a blocker in Week 4

Titans TE Josh Whyle did his thing as a pass-catcher AND blocker in Week 4.

Coming out of college, Tennessee Titans tight end Josh Whyle was known for his pass-catching ability, but what he could do as a blocker was in question.

Of course, playing the tight end position is more than just about catching balls, even in this day and age when throwing the football is all the rage. Tight ends must be able to block or else it can severely limit their snaps.

Nobody is ready to proclaim Whyle a fantastic blocker quite yet, but he did show some flashes of potential in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

On running back Derrick Henry’s 29-yard touchdown run, Whyle, who ended up playing a career-high 19 snaps, had a great block on Bengals stud pass-rusher, Trey Hendrickson, which paved the way for The King’s run.

If Whyle doesn’t hold his ground, Henry’s touchdown doesn’t happen. And, the fact that Tennessee used him as a fullback here shows a lot of confidence in him as a blocker.

Then, later in the game, Whyle flashed on a pass play to The King with a block downfield that helped Henry pick up a handful of extra yards. NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger covers both Whyle blocks in his breakdown below (second block comes around 55 seconds).

The Cincinnati product finished the game with a grade of 64.0 over his 11 run-blocking snaps, and a mark of 71.1 in pass-blocking. The former grade is solid but not great, but it’s also nearly 20 points higher than his season grade.

Whyle’s development as a blocker is important for the Titans’ offense.

When Tennessee deploys Trevon Wesco as a blocker, opposing defenses don’t have to respect him as anything more than that.

But with Whyle, his ability as a pass-catcher, which showed up in this game on his 24-yard reception, gives opposing defenses something else to think about and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly more options.

After a quiet start to his career, both in the preseason and over the first three games, Whyle is starting to show some signs of life, something that’s great news for Tennessee’s offense.

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