Tag: Larrell Murchison

Titans preseason: 6 non-rookies who need to show out in Week 1

A list of six Titans who need a strong showing in preseason Week 1, excluding rookies.

The Tennessee Titans embark on their first preseason game of the 2022 schedule, traveling to Baltimore on Thursday for a showdown against the Ravens.

The Titans went 2-1 in the preseason a year ago, topping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons in lopsided affairs before dropping a close contest against the Chicago Bears.

While we don’t expect to see a lot of Tennessee’s starters, the first exhibition contest provides the opportunity for players that have not had a great training camp thus far to rebound in a live-game setting.

The team’s unofficial depth chart released earlier this week offered a glimpse of where players currently stand, and some of those players need to have a strong showing in the Titans’ first preseason contest.

Here’s a look at six players who fit the bill. We’ve excluded the team’s draft picks and undrafted free agents from the list, as it goes without being said that those players need to show out in order to grab a role or roster spot.

Titans activate Evans, Murchison from IR, elevate Kinsey among slew of moves

The Titans made a flurry of roster moves ahead of Week 7.

The Tennessee Titans made a slew of roster moves ahead of the Week 7 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tennessee announced it has activated Darrynton Evans and Larrell Murchison from Injured Reserve, making them eligible to play on Sunday.

Also, the Titans have elevated Mason Kinsey and Chris Jones from the practice squad. Both will revert back after the game against KC.

With Evans being activated, the Titans have parted ways with Mekhi Sargent, who was waived.

Tennessee and Kansas City will kick off at noon CT on Sunday.

Titans sign Bobby Hart, Greg Mabin among 4 roster moves

The Titans also designated Larrell Murchison and Daniel Munyer to return from IR.

The Tennessee Titans made four roster moves on Wednesday afternoon, including the signings of cornerback Greg Mabin and offensive tackle Bobby Hart to the active roster.

In addition, the team also designated defensive lineman Larrell Murchison and center Daniel Munyer to return from Injured Reserve. This opens their 21-day window to return to practice and be activated.

Mabin has spent multiple stints on the Titans’ practice squad since 2020, and was with the team in training camp this year before going on IR and being cut.

He was most recently on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad but didn’t play a snap with the team. He figures to factor into the equation as depth with the Titans being very thin at the cornerback position.

Hart is a six-year veteran, having spent time with the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals. He has appeared in 79 games during his career, 66 of which have been starts. He’ll provide depth upfront for Tennessee.

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Titans place Murchison on IR, promote Finch and Hamilton

Murchison will be out for at least the next three games.

The Tennessee Titans made a trio of roster moves on Friday ahead of the Week 4 game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

The team announced it has placed defensive lineman Larrell Murchison on Injured Reserve, along with promoting fellow defensive lineman Woodrow Hamilton and outside linebacker Sharif Finch.

Murchison, who was ruled out of the Week 4 contest on Friday, was listed with an elbow issue on the team’s injury report this week. The second-year lineman will be out for at least three games.

Hamilton was signed earlier this offseason and will take Murchison’s place on the active roster. The veteran lineman saw the field for five snaps during the Week 3 win over the Indianapolis Colts, but didn’t record a stat.

Finch was signed to the practice squad this week in the wake of the Titans placing both outside linebackers Derick Roberson and Rashad Weaver on IR.

The former UDFA of the Titans in 2018 spent two seasons in Nashville. He could see playing time immediately with Tennessee having just two other healthy outside linebackers on the roster after Bud Dupree was ruled out.

Along with Dupree, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, punter Brett Kern and cornerback Caleb Farley were also ruled out ahead of Sunday.

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Mike Vrabel reveals Titans’ four offseason award winners

Four Titans stood out above the rest during the offseason, according to Mike Vrabel.

Every year Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel hands out offseason awards for players who have done great work, and this year he named four players who earned the honor.

After the Titans’ first training camp practice on Wednesday, Vrabel revealed that tight end Anthony Firkser, wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and defensive linemen Larrell Murchison and Teair Tart were all standouts this offseason.

Vrabel praised Tart in particular as someone who put in extra work. With the help of Titans coaches, Tart created a routine for himself that led to his garnering extra attention from Tennessee’s head coach ahead of camp.

Tart was listed as a standout at Day 1 of practice by Turron Davenport of ESPN, who noted that the 2020 undrafted free agent was disruptive and showed “swift feet” in his reps.

Earlier this offseason, defensive line coach Terrell Williams said he was “really excited” about Tart, according to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky.

“With Tart, he wouldn’t be here if we didn’t see the talent in the guy,” Williams said. “Really the biggest thing for me is seeing him continue to develop from the strength standpoint, from a learning standpoint.

“He’s another guy that I am really excited about to see what he does in training camp. He’s had really a good off-season program. When he did get in there a year ago I thought he did some really good things. So, I am really excited about him.”

While Westbrook-Ikhine is simply vying for a spot on the roster, Murchison, Tart and Firkser are all gunning for starting spots at their respective positions. So far, each appears to be off to a great start.

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Tennessee Titans 2020 season review: Defensive line

Taking a look back at the Titans’ defensive line from the 2020 season.

Despite the emergence of Jeffery Simmons as one of the more dominant young defensive players in the league, the Tennessee Titans’ defensive line as a unit was mostly underwhelming in 2020.

Outside of Simmons, none of Tennessee’s front line scared opposing offenses, especially once Jadeveon Clowney went down for the season with a knee injury.

Clowney may technically be considered an outside linebacker, but he is the epitome of a chess piece who can line up anywhere, as he displayed during his eight games. Despite not having any sacks while in the lineup, Clowney did have an impact on the team, especially for Simmons.

People tend to look at the numbers when it comes to Clowney’s production, and rightfully so, but his impact often goes beyond the traditional stat line. The South Carolina product has earned the respect of the league due to his game-wrecker reputation and that leads to consistently being one of the most double-teamed players when he’s healthy.

He was also ranked in the top-15 at his position in both quarterback hurries and hits prior to his injury. Once Clowney was gone, all that attention turned to Simmons, who started the year looking like a legitimate All-Pro candidate before eventually being relatively neutralized due to the inability for anyone else to make offenses pay for doubling and even triple-teaming Simmons.

Despite being given this extra attention, the former Mississippi State product was a force to be reckoned with throughout the season. Simmons finished with 49 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 14 QB hits, three sacks, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries.

Clearly the Titans’ young star was in a class of his own in 2020. However, both Simmons (83.9) and Clowney (74.9) were the two highest-graded players on the defensive line and were the only ones to grade over 70.

DaQuan Jones was the next highest-graded player on the defensive line with a respectable grade of 67.7. Jones was solid this season, but he may not have done enough to earn himself a new contract in Tennessee for 2021 and beyond.

The rest of the depth upfront, such as Jack Crawford, Teair Tart, Matt Dickerson and Larell Murchison, all had moments, but none of them truly made an impact on the season with the exception of Crawford, who was solid in spurts.

Tart also played well in moments, but they were few and far between and unfortunately his most memorable moment was when he stepped on guard Wyatt Teller during the team’s week 13 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

PFF was not generous to Tennessee’s depth pieces along the defensive line, as Crawford’s grade of 53.5 led the group, while the other three graded out in the 40’s.

Titans’ Adoree’ Jackson, Breon Borders ruled out for Week 14

Kristian Fulton could be activated on Saturday.

The Tennessee Titans will be without cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and Breon Border for the Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed after practice on Friday.

Jackson, who has yet to suit up in a game this season because of a knee injury, returned to practice this week and was able to get in a limited session on Wednesday and Thursday, but still isn’t ready to suit up. We’re waiting for the injury report to see what his Friday participation was.

The player filling in for Jackson, Borders, was on the injury report this week with a rib issue. His absence will leave the Titans’ secondary even more short-handed.

Rookie cornerback Kristian Fulton was designated to return from IR on November 24th but has yet to be activated. Vrabel said the team could do so on Saturday and still have Fulton play on Sunday.

If that happens, the Titans could deploy Fulton on the boundary in place of Borders. If not, we could see a lot of 2020 seventh-round pick Chris Jackson opposite Malcolm Butler, with Desmond King manning the slot.

Earlier in the day, it was revealed that defensive lineman Teair Tart’s one-game suspension was upheld by the NFL. Vrabel says that 2020 fifth-round pick Larrell Murchison will see action in order to help fill that hole. Murchson has been inactive for each of the past three games.

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Titans’ DL ranked in bottom half of NFL by Pro Football Focus

The Titans didn’t fare too well in PFF’s defensive line rankings.

The Tennessee Titans’ defensive line will look different in 2020 after the team traded long-time starter Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos during the offseason.

As it stands now, two of the team’s starters upfront are returning in 2019 first-round pick, Jeffery Simmons, who the Titans are hoping makes the leap in 2020 after an impressive rookie campaign, and nose tackle DaQuan Jones, who posted arguably his best season as a pro last year.

Beyond those two, the Titans have a question mark. It’s still unclear who will get the majority of the snaps alongside Simmons and Jones.

Veteran Jack Crawford, 2019 UDFA Isaiah Mack and 2020 fifth-round pick Larrell Murchison all figure to get snaps, but there’s no telling if any of those players will be able to adequately fill-out the defensive line.

Because of those question marks, the Titans didn’t fare too well in Pro Football Focus’ defensive line rankings, landing at No. 21 on the list.

Here’s what PFF’s Sam Monson had to say about Tennessee’s group upfront.

Jeffery Simmons had a debut to remember after recovering from an ACL injury that many thought would sideline him for the entire season. Simmons notched a sack, two hurries and three defensive stops in a performance that earned a PFF grade of 90.6 and set pulses racing, but he never quite hit those heights again over the remainder of the season. Simmons is hugely talented, and the team was confident enough in his ability to trade away stalwart defensive lineman Jurrell Casey for a throwaway late-round draft pick, but now is the time Simmons needs to prove them right.

Depth is a concern along this defensive line, with little in the way of proven quality or even players who have shown well across limited snaps. Rookie Larrell Murchison was a fifth-round pick who has solid but not spectacular grades over the past two seasons at NC State. And while he was more of a run defender than a pass-rushing force, he will hope to earn some playing time as a rotational body early on.

After the Titans failed to get a consistent pass-rush out of their defensive line in 2019, chances are the player who can stand out the most in that area between Murchison, Crawford and Mack will see the majority of snaps.

Regardless of who gets the nod there, Simmons will be the biggest factor in the Titans’ success upfront — and the arrow is certainly pointing up for Big Jeff going into 2020.

After not feeling totally comfortable thanks to added weight, having to wear a knee brace and not getting a full training camp, Simmons has dropped weight, lost the knee brace and will get a full training camp in 2020.

And if he was as good as he was in his rookie campaign in the face of all those hurdles, just imagine how good he can be when they’re removed.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the DL

Who is going to make the cut along the Titans’ defensive line in 2020?

After previewing every Tennessee Titans offensive position group, we’re now moving on to the defense and starting with the defensive line.

The Titans saw a major subtraction from the group upfront this offseason after trading Jurrell Casey to the Denver Broncos. As a result, there will be a competition for snaps in training camp.

Here’s a look at the roster locks on the defensive line, players on the bubble at the position, and a prediction for how things will shake out.

Note: In case you missed any of our other training camp previews, we’ve linked to them at the end of this article.

Roster locks

Jeffery Simmons

DaQuan Jones

Larrell Murchison

Jack Crawford

Isaiah Mack

Analysis for Jones and Simmons: Two players are already locked-in as starters from this group in Jones and Simmons, both of whom were impressive last season.

Jones had his best season as a pro in 2019, grading out as the No. 30 interior defensive lineman, per PFF. He particularly excelled in run defense, but wasn’t great at generating pressure on passing plays.

Simmons will be tasked with taking the torch from Casey, who was a stalwart on Tennessee’s defense for nine seasons.

The good news for Simmons is that he’ll have the benefit of a full training camp in his second season, which wasn’t the case in his rookie campaign with him having to rehab from a torn ACL.

Simmons made it clear he wasn’t comfortable at his playing weight last year, so his focus was on dropping weight this offseason with the hope that it would help improve his play.

Judging from a recent photo, Simmons looks to be in great shape.

Competition analysis: A competition for snaps will take place between Mack, Crawford and Murchison, all of whom have flashed pass-rush skills in the past. That’s important to point out because the Titans struggled to generate much of a pass-rush from their defensive line last season.

The player who can stand out the most in that area has the best chance to dominate snaps — and each player from this trio has shown in the past that they have the potential to make a dent in 2020.

Mack totaled one sack last preseason and followed that up with 1.5 in limited action during the regular season. Crawford had his best season in 2018 when he started a career-high 11 games and finished with a career-high six sacks.

Murchison, who is known for his high motor, looks to have the chops to be an effective interior pass-rusher after he totaled 11 sacks in two years at NC State, although there’s no telling how far along the rookie will be when training camp arrives thanks to an abbreviated offseason.

No matter who emerges from this group — Mack and Crawford are the favorites — all three will be on the initial 53-man roster, and it’s quite possible we see a rotation at the final starting spot on the defensive line.

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Titans 2020 training camp preview: What to expect from the rookies

Let’s take a deep dive into what to expect from each of the Titans’ 2020 NFL Draft picks in training camp.

As the start of Tennessee Titans training camp approaches on July 28, we’re going to start taking a look at what to expect from each of the team’s position groups.

But before getting to position groups, we’re going to start with a deep dive into the team’s 2020 NFL Draft picks.

As is the case with all rookies entering the league this year, the Titans’ six draft picks are at a disadvantage due to an abbreviated offseason that saw no rookie mini-camp in June.

While virtual meetings have replaced normal activities, there is simply no replicating learning on the practice field, and just how much of an impact this has on the development of the Titans’ youngsters remains to be seen.

Let’s go rookie-by-rookie and take a look at each of their backgrounds and what could happen in their respective competitions in training camp.

Isaiah Wilson | RT

Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Background

There were some experts who thought Wilson could have benefitted from staying in college another year, but he was still able to show enough at Georgia to be a first-round selection in 2020.

On the surface, Wilson’s massive 6-foot-6, 350-pound frame fits in perfectly with what the Titans do offensively. He’s a run-blocking specialist who can impose his will on defenders to pave the way for Derrick Henry.

Wilson’s pass-blocking is a bit underrated, though, as he allowed just nine pressures in 358 pass-blocking snaps and earned a stellar Pro Football Focus grade of 84.6 in pass protection last season.

Now, that doesn’t mean his skills will immediately translate into NFL success, but the potential is certainly there for him to eventually be a very good all-around tackle.

The competition

Entering camp, Wilson will have a chance to start right away via a competition for the right tackle job with Dennis Kelly, as general manager Jon Robinson revealed shortly after the Georgia product was picked.

There’s no question the edge goes to Kelly, who is already familiar with the Titans’ offense and has the trust of coaches after spending the last four seasons in Nashville and proving to be an effective starter in 2018.

When it’s all said and done, Wilson is likely to lose out to Kelly, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see him at some point during the season. It’s quite possible that Kelly — who is somewhat of a wild card himself — falters, leaving the door open for the first-round pick to get his shot.

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