Tag: Kenny Vaccaro

Longhorns in the NFL: Week 12 recap and highlights

Week 12 of the NFL season isn’t technically over with the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game set for Wednesday. How the other former Horns performed?

The NFL’s Week 12 was a wild one. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens were set to kick off on Thanksgiving. That game was moved to Sunday. Then to Monday. Then to Tuesday. Then to Wednesday. Who knows if that game is going to take place before week 13 kicks off. The Ravens were also supposed to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. That game is now kicking off on Tuesday, allegedly.

This week’s NFL action saw the Texas Longhorns’ all-time leading passer return to the football field. Due to an injury to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy was thrust into action against the Cincinnati Bengals. He would lead them to a win to give them possession of first place in the NFC East.

The weekend also saw two players from the 2020 NFL Draft class have big contributions to their team. Collin Johnson showed by the Longhorns offense missed him this year and Brandon Jones recorded the first sack of his NFL career.

A look at the rest of the Texas exes:

Horns in the NFL: Texas Exes performances in Week 10

Another week of NFL football in the books, Longhorns Wire takes a look at how the Texas Exes performed in week 10.

Week 10 of the NFL season saw plenty of former Texas Longhorns in action over the three-day schedule. It started on Thursday night with the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts. It all started with D’Onta Foreman catching the five-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill for the touchdown. However, the Titans didn’t have a whole lot else to celebrate on that night.

Another former running back would also get into the act on Sunday when Malcolm Brown of the Rams scored not once, but twice in the win over the Seahawks. That game also saw quite the performance from defensive tackle Poona Ford.

A look at each former Longhorn player in the NFL throughout Week 10 of the season.

More former College Wire players — NFL Week 10 Action:

Alabama / Auburn / Florida / LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio State / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

Titans practice report: Ryan Tannehill absent, Corey Davis returns

Ryan Tannehill was absent from the Titans’ first padded practice of training camp.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was absent from the team’s first padded practice of training camp on Monday.

It isn’t clear exactly the reason, although speculation from beat writers on the ground is that he’s simply getting a rest day. If that’s the case it’s a bit odd considering it’s the first day Titans players are wearing pads, but there’s nothing to suggest that he’s hurt. We should know more once practice concludes.

Along with Tannehill, safety Kenny Vaccaro and outside linebacker Kamalei Correa were also absent. Vaccaro has now missed two practices in a row, while Correa didn’t participate for the third straight practice.

On the flip side of that, wide receiver Corey Davis is a full go for the first time in training camp. Davis passed his physical on Monday morning and was removed from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Once practice is over, we’ll give you all the important news, notes and video.

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Watch: Titans GM Jon Robinson shows off his singing skills

Titans GM Jon Robinson might have a future as a singer.

While we already knew Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson is good at running a football team, we had no idea he was a good singer, also.

The Titans shared this video of their GM wearing a Houston Oilers shirt and belting out a few lines from the song “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers — and he actually did a really good job with it.

Check it out.

Robinson’s performance even garnered a reaction from two Titans players, safety Kenny Vaccaro and rookie cornerback Kristian Fulton.

This isn’t the only hidden talent Robinson possesses, though. He also has some serious auctioneer skills, as he displayed back in April following the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Titans have the most well-rounded general manager, don’t they folks?

Robinson took the reins as Tennessee’s general manager back in 2016, and since then he has done a stellar job of building the franchise up, particularly through the draft. Let’s just hope he doesn’t quit his day job for singing because he’s really good at it.

After a great 2019 season that saw the Titans make an improbable run to the AFC Championship Game, Robinson is hoping the team he built can take that next step to a Super Bowl in 2020.

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Titans players ready to welcome Vic Beasley with open arms

Vic Beasley’s teammates aren’t holding anything against him after he reported to Titans training camp late.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Vic Beasley is off to a rough start in Nashville, but thankfully his teammates are still ready to welcome him with open arms.

Beasley, who signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Titans earlier this offseason, reported to training camp late and will now have to pay $500,000 in fines, or $50,000 per day he missed.

While this is no doubt a frustrating beginning for a player the Titans are counting on to improve their pass-rush, some of the team’s veterans have already made it clear they won’t hold it against him.

Safety Kenny Vaccaro, defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, and left guard Rodger Saffold all held Zoom calls with the media on Friday and all had positive things to say about Beasley, who reported on the same day.

Here’s Vaccaro’s take on things.

Jones is ready to embrace Beasley.

Saffold echoed Jones’ sentiments, while also praising Beasley’s skill set.

Before he can join his teammates, Beasley will have to test negative for COVID-19 three times over the next four days, so there’s still a process to go through before he can get started.

If there’s one thing the Titans have that can help Beasley, it’s a great culture, as evidenced by the responses from these players. The team is filled with a lot of responsible veterans and great coaches who can help Beasley turn things around and move forward from here.

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Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro tries to recruit Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney has yet to find his landing spot this offseason.

The Tennessee Titans have made some solid offseason moves between the 2020 NFL Draft and free agency.

But one player who has still yet to find his next landing spot is former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

The Titans have shown interest in Clowney as he’s remained unsigned, as highlighted by coach Mike Vrabel’s comments in an interview with NFL Network’s Dan Hellie earlier this year.

“Sure, sure,” Vrabel said in response to a question surrounding if the Titans could sign Clowney. “Jon and I are trying to do everything that we can to improve our team. A player of his caliber would certainly probably do that, so we’ll continue to talk,” Vrabel explained. “I’ve got a lot of faith in Jon and I appreciate his willingness to allow me to have input into the roster and have some of these discussions with him.”

Recently, Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro made his own attempts to recruit Clowney.

Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan also did something similar back in June.

It will be interesting to see where Clowney ultimately lands, but it’s clear he’s not in a hurry. Regardless of where he lands, he should be expected to bring an instant boost to the defense.

Titans players join ‘We Want to Play’ movement on social media

NFL players want the league to have a plan on how to protect them and their families from COVID-19.

Tennessee Titans players joined some of the NFL’s biggest stars in a “We Want to Play” movement on social media, calling for the league to quickly come up with protocols in order to protect players and their families from COVID-19 before training camp starts.

Despite players being set to start reporting to training camp on Tuesday (only the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans have to report earlier), the NFL and NFLPA have yet to agree on a concrete plan.

Players like Titans right tackle Dennis Kelly have also criticized the league for not following the recommendations of its medical experts.

Running back Darrynton Evans, left tackle Taylor Lewan and safety Kenny Vaccaro were three Titans players who joined the movement in order to create public pressure to force the league to take swift action.

On Saturday, the NFL sent a memo to clubs confirming the report dates for training camp. Rookies will begin reporting on July 21, quarterbacks and injured players on July 23, and the rest of the players on July 28.

With those dates right around the corner, it’s understandable why the players are so desperate to get something done. Whether or not this movement helps  force the league’s hand remains to be seen, though.

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Titans players question logic of NFL banning jersey exchanges

The logic in the NFL banning jersey swaps is incredibly flawed.

Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan and safety Kenny Vaccaro both took to Twitter to question the logic of the NFL’s decision to prohibit players from exchanging jerseys after games in 2020.

Jersey swaps have become common practice after NFL games, however the NFL plans to ban the practice for this coming season as a measure to help avoid more player contact in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Obviously, the decision is incredibly flawed. After all, the league is OK with players banging bodies for 60 minutes, but is not OK with them meeting briefly following games to exchange jerseys?

Like the rest of us, Lewan thought the ruling made no sense, tweeting “Ohhhhh so we making zero sense now.”

Vaccaro retweeted a tweet by Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson calling the ruling into question, adding “But we can tackle eachother? Cmon now.”

That wasn’t the only new protocol that was reported on Thursday, though.

The NFL is also planning on requiring everyone on a team’s sideline to wear a mask, with the exception of players and coaches.

While we can appreciate the steps being taken by the NFL to try and protect its players and coaches, the jersey rule in particular is the wrong way to go about it.

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Tennessee Titans’ best contracts of the Jon Robinson era

What are some of the best contracts Jon Robinson has handed out during his Titans tenure?

After touching on some of the worst contracts Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson has handed out during his tenure, we decided to take a look at some of the best.

And there are plenty.

Here’s a look at the best contracts Robinson has been responsible for during his time with the Titans.

Ben Jones | C

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Contracts: Four years, $17.5 million (2016)/Two years, $13.5 million (2019)

Jones was one of the first signings Robinson made after taking over as general manager, and it has certainly paid dividends.

Jones has given the Titans stellar play up the middle and has provided stability after having started in all but one game during his four-year tenure.

Prior to the 2019 campaign, Robinson decided to avoid letting Jones hit free agency in 2020 by locking him up to a two-year extension. Jones proved the Titans’ GM made the right move once again after posting his best season as a pro despite the offensive line struggling around him early on.

According to PFF, Jones’ 2019 overall grade of 77.2, which was the best of his career, was third among qualifying centers and he was one of just four players at his position who logged a minimum of 250 pass-blocking snaps and allowed a pressure rate under two percent.

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See it: Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro reveals new tattoo with special meaning

Kenny Vaccaro’s new tattoo carries a special message.

Tennessee Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro recently got a new tattoo on his right calf that he revealed on his Instagram page on Wednesday.

With the picture of the tattoo, Vaccaro included this caption, which calls for “everyone coming together to demand equality”:

“The pixels represent what it takes to make a beautiful photograph come together. All different colors and shades. The same way it will take all of us to change the world. Everyone coming together to demand equality.”

Vaccaro, along with several other Titans, like quarterback Ryan Tannehill, safety Kevin Byard and first-round pick Isaiah Wilson, have spoken out after the tragic death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

During a Zoom call on Wednesday, Byard was asked if he and his teammates would kneel for the national anthem this season, and while Byard says he hasn’t thought much about it yet, the Titans will have a conversation and eventually make a decision as a team.

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