Tag: Naquan Jones

Report: Titans’ Naquan Jones had arthroscopic knee surgery

Titans DL Naquan Jones reportedly had arthroscopic knee surgery recently.

Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Naquan Jones has missed extensive time during training camp and both preseason games due to injury, but up until now it was unclear what he was dealing with.

Well, Terry McCormick of Titan Insider reported on Monday night that Jones recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to deal with an unspecified issue. Jones is expected to be ready for the start of the season, though.

It remains to be seen if Jones will even make the roster, and the fact he’s missed significant time certainly won’t help his cause.

The 2021 undrafted free agent had a strong rookie campaign but seemed to fall out of favor in 2022 after seeing his playing time decrease despite the team dealing with injuries upfront.

With injuries to Jones, UDFA Shakel Brown and apparently Tyler Shelvin, who didn’t play in preseason Week 2, the Titans have added three veterans in the past week in Kyle Peko, Michael Dwumfour and Trevon Coley.

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1 veteran on the roster bubble at each position on defense for Titans

After going over the offense, Shaun Calderon moves to the defense and names one veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group.

If the Tennessee Titans are going to be legitimate contenders in 2023, the defense is probably going to have to lead the way.

The defense looks primed for another strong campaign as long as the group can stay on the field together, something that was unfortunately a major issue last season with the Titans being ravaged by injuries.

Outside of inside linebacker and maybe cornerback, there aren’t many real starting opportunities to be had on the defensive side of the ball. As a result, the majority of the position battles set to take place in training camp are for reserve roles.

With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at one veteran defender at each position group who figures to be on the roster bubble going into camp.

Some of these choices are by default due to the player being the only real veteran depth option of the group, while others could cause a real debate among fans.

In case you missed it, we did the same for the offense, which you can check out right here. Now, on to the defense.

Polls: Give your grades for Titans’ free-agent signings so far

Vote in our polls within the article to give your grade for the Titans’ free-agent signings thus far.

The Tennessee Titans have inked a total of eight free agents so far this offseason, with five of those players being from outside the organization.

The free agents Tennessee has re-signed were long snapper Morgan Cox, wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and defensive lineman Naquan Jones, with the NWI deal causing quite the stir.

As far as outside free agents go, the Titans have inked two offensive linemen in Andre Dillard and Daniel Brunskill, a pair of linebackers in Azeez Al-Shaair and Luke Gifford, and an edge rusher in Arden Key.

As each signing was reported, our Shaun Calderon slapped a grade on them, but now we want to hear what you think. Scroll down to vote in our polls and share the grade you think the Titans should get for each of their signings.

To keep it simple, grades go from A-F only, with no “+” or “-“. Also, we’ve included any articles we’ve written about the signings if you need more information on the players.

Titans re-signing Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Naquan Jones signs tender

The Titans have re-upped with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine one day after declining the place a tender on him.

One day after the Tennessee Titans decided not to place a tender on then-restricted free agent wideout Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the two sides have struck an agreement.

The team announced on Thursday that Westbrook-Ikhine has agreed to a one-year deal. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but one can assume it won’t be north of the $2.6 million the tender would’ve cost.

In addition to re-signing NWI, defensive lineman Naquan Jones signed his exclusive rights free agent tender, which means he’ll be back in 2023.

While the Titans did not tender Westbrook-Ikhine, they did reportedly make him a contract offer. However, the 25-year-old declined the offer in order to test the waters of free agency.

I’ve been fine with keeping NWI, but only as a No. 4 or 5 receiver. He’s a good blocker and special teams contributor, but as we saw in 2022 he isn’t really suited for a bigger role than that.

After looking like he might emerge as a starter after 2021, Jones fell out of favor in 2022. He is no lock to make the 53-man roster out of training camp.

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Titans officially place tenders on Teair Tart, Aaron Brewer, Naquan Jones

The Titans have officially placed tenders on three players.

The Tennessee Titans have officially made decisions on their restricted and exclusive-rights free agents ahead of the new league year on March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.

The team announced it has placed tenders on Aaron Brewer and Teair Tart at a second-round level, while also placing a tender on defensive lineman Naquan Jones, who is an exclusive rights free agent.

The second-round tenders for Brewer and Tart will pay them $4.3 million in 2023 if they play on them.

However, another team can still make them and Jones offers, and if they sign an offer sheet the Titans will have a chance to match. If Tennessee doesn’t match offer sheets for Tart and/or Brewer, they’ll receive a second-round pick for whichever leaves, or both, if that happens.

The most interesting thing about these tenders is the price tag for Brewer, which I think indicates the plan is to start him at center if he isn’t poached.

While these three were tendered, wide receivers Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Cody Hollister were not. NWI was apparently made a contract offer by Tennessee but turned it down in order to test the market.

Madden NFL 23 reveals ratings for Titans’ CBs, D-linemen

A look at how Madden NFL 23 is rating Titans cornerbacks and defensive linemen.

In its latest release of player ratings, Madden NFL 23 has revealed the marks Tennessee Titans cornerbacks and defensive linemen received in the game, which releases on August 19.

Here’s a look at the remaining ratings release schedule after Thursday:

Friday, July 22: Quarterbacks

Friday, July 22: The 99 Club

Friday, July 22: Team ratings

Titans defensive linemen Jeffery Simmons received an overall rating of 88, ranking tied for eighth at the position. Simmons was one of multiple Titans players who were short-changed in the ratings.

Tennessee’s top cornerback and one of the better young players at his position in the entire NFL, Kristian Fulton, landed outside the top 10 in overall rating among corners. Fulton’s overall rating was a disrespectful 77 after a career year, and that’s just two points higher than Caleb Farley’s.

Elijah Molden’s rating wasn’t any better, coming in at a lackluster 71. If you saw what he did from Week 3 on last season, you’d know why it needs to be higher. He’s also one point behind Titans rookie Roger McCreary.

Now, a look at the players who landed in the top 10 in different ratings at each position, and how the Titans’ cornerbacks and defensive linemen fared.

Note: any Titans defensive linemen not listed here were included in the ratings release for edge rushers. You can check out ratings for all players around the league on Madden’s official site.

Titans training camp preview: D-Line among Tennessee’s biggest strengths

The defensive line will be among the Titans’ biggest strengths in 2022.

The Tennessee Titans’ defense improved greatly in 2021 from where it was in 2020, and the defensive line played a big part in that resurgence.

Both Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry had career years and combined for 17.5 of Tennessee’s 43 sacks, a total that ranked tied for ninth in the league. The pass-rush was just one part of the story upfront, though, as the Titans sported the No. 2 run defense in the NFL, also.

Tennessee once again managed to find a diamond in the rough in undrafted free agent signing Naquan Jones, who is the second good defensive lineman general manager Jon Robinson has found following a draft since 2020, with starting nose tackle Teair Tart being the other.

With all four of those players returning in 2022, there isn’t much room for the rest of the defensive linemen on the team to secure a spot on the 53-man roster.

Let’s take a look at the players who are roster locks, on the bubble, and then we’ll talk about the competitions set to take place and share our prediction for how things will shake out on the 53-man roster.

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans final Week 18 injury report

The Titans have ruled out two players for Week 18, and Derrick Henry’s status remains up in the air.

The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have released their final injury report of the week ahead of their Week 18 matchup at NRG Stadium.

On Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that defensive linemen Teair Tart and Naquan Jones had been ruled out, leaving a void at nose tackle for Tennessee to cover. Look for Kyle Peko to take most of those snaps.

The good news is that nobody else who was listed on the injury report this week has been ruled out, or even been listed as questionable for Sunday.

The biggest question remains: will Derrick Henry play?

Vrabel did leave the door open for that to happen, but we won’t know for sure until Saturday, the last day the Titans can activate him from IR before the Week 18 contest.

Now, a look at the full injury report for both the Titans and Texans.

* DNP = Did not participate LP = Limited participation FP = Full participation NIR = Not injury related

Mike Vrabel’s colorful explanation for how Naquan Jones got noticed by Titans

Mike Vrabel had quite the colorful response when asked about how Naquan Jones stood out to the Titans at first.

While he has had his issues with draft picks over the years, Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson has done a good job finding players by other means like he did with 2021 undrafted free agent, Naquan Jones.

Jones, who didn’t make the initial 53-man roster and didn’t play a single snap in the first three games, has earned himself a regular role with the team since Week 4, and he’s been getting a chance to start lately with fellow defensive lineman Teair Tart dealing with injury.

In fact, upon Tart’s return in Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, it was Jones who got the start at nose tackle. It remains to be seen if that was just the Titans easing Tart back in, or if Jones has taken over the starting role.

When asked about what first stood out about Jones upon joining the Titans, head coach Mike Vrabel was quite colorful in his response.

“He (Jones) ran his fat ass to the ball… That’s what got him noticed” Vrabel said, bluntly, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

From there, Vrabel says Jones worked on his technique and other things that have helped him improve and get playing time. The rookie has averaged 25 snaps per game in the 12 contests he’s suited up in.

That answer was enough to warrant a response from Jones, who took to Twitter shortly after to share his reaction.

Jones has appeared in 12 games for the Titans this season, making four starts. Not only has he had an impact as a run defender, but as a pass-rusher as well, notching 2.5 sacks. He’ll look to continue his impressive rookie season when Tennessee meets Miami in Week 17 at Nissan Stadium.

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WATCH: Former Spartan Naquan Jones gets first career NFL sack for Tennessee Titans

WATCH: Former Spartan Naquan Jones gets first career NFL sack for Tennessee Titans

Former Michigan State defensive lineman Naquan Jones went undrafted last year. That now looks like a mistake by NFL general managers around the country. Jones has put together a nice season with the Tennessee Titans and on Sunday, he got his first career NFL sack on Trevor Siemian.

Watch it below:

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