Tag: Teair Tart

8 players the Vikings should trade for at the trade deadline

The Vikings could end up being buyers at the trade deadline and there are plenty of targets that could help them this season and beyond

The Minnesota Vikings not only saved their season by winning against the San Francisco 49ers 22-17 on Monday night, but they arguably changed their strategy at the trade deadline.

After a 1-4 start, the Vikings were rumored to trade multiple players, most notably Danielle Hunter. In the last year of his contract, it’s easy to see why the Vikings might be willing to trade him, but they aren’t the kind of team to just sell off parts when they have a chance to make a run.

This season, the Vikings have played better than their record indicates. They are 16th in overall DVOA while being 14th on offense and 15th on defense. That’s a massive improvement over last season and you can see i in the on field product.

The Vikings make an aggressive move last year in acquiring T.J. Hockenson at the trade deadline with the idea of signing him to be a pillar of the Vikings’ future. Could they try that again this season? There are players available that fit the bill, along with others that would be inexpensive one year rentals

The team really has only one area they need is up front on defense. The defensive line is undermanned and the pass rush needs depth with Marcus Davenport being unreliable so far this season.

Even with Hunter on the team, he can’t rush the passer by himself. Getting him a long-term running mate or replacing him long-term needs to be a priority and there are options in the trade market to do just that.

Who could the Vikings target at the trade deadline to bolster their team for the rest of the season and beyond? We identified eight players the Vikings could potentially make a move for.

Titans injury updates: Treylon Burks, Elijah Molden, Teair Tart

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel provided injury updates on Teair Tart, Elijah Molden and Treylon Burks.

While the Tennessee Titans didn’t have a game in Week 7 thanks to a bye, the team did practice during the week and saw the return of one of their wide receivers.

During his media availability on Tuesday, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel revealed wideout Treylon Burks, who has missed the last three games because of a knee injury, practiced in full last week.

Defensive back Elijah Molden (hamstring) and defensive lineman Teair Tart (toe) have both missed multiple games in a row, also, but are expected to practice on Tuesday.

Tennessee won’t release an injury report until Wednesday, so their exact participation levels won’t be known until then.

Molden’s return becomes a bit more important this week, as the 2021 third-round pick may take on a bigger role at safety now that Kevin Byard has been traded to Philadelphia.

Along with Molden, the Titans will take a look at safety Terrell Edmunds, who was acquired in the Byard trade with the Eagles.

Tart’s return will be a boost to a run defense that hasn’t been its elite self in his absence. The Titans could use all the help they can get at receiver with either Malik Willis or Will Levis likely to start in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill.

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Titans DL coach talks impact of Teair Tart’s absence on run defense

Titans DL coach Terrell Williams believes the team’s struggles against the run of late are more than just about Teair Tart’s absence.

Whether they would care to admit it or not, the Tennessee Titans have missed defensive tackle Teair Tart’s presence.

The 26-year-old has been sidelined for the last two games with a toe injury and it’s no coincidence that the Titans have been gashed in the run game.

Against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5, Zack Moss, not Jonathan Taylor, rushed for 165 yards and two scores. Last week, the trio of Lamar Jackson, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill combined for 138 yards on the ground in the Titans’ 24-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

As a group, the Titans’ run defense sits in the middle of the pack in the National Football League, allowing 102.0 yards per game on the ground, good for the 13th-fewest in the league in that department.

However, that number has been inflated after the last two weeks, as the Titans were ranked fourth in the NFL prior to that.

According to Titans’ defensive line coach, Terrell Williams, the team will use the bye week to assess the first six games and make the necessary adjustments out of the break.

“When you lose a couple of games, just look at it. We’ll watch the film and make the corrections we need to make to start putting things together,” Williams said, via A to Z Sports Nashville. “Normally, after a game, you just look at the last game and make the corrections, but now we got six games to put it all together and figure out what we did well and what we need to fix.”

After missing the first two days of practice last week, Tart returned as a limited participant on Friday in advance of the Titans’ game in London. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for him to suit up.

But with an extra week of rest thanks to the bye, the hope is that he will be ready to go when the Titans return home in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons.

When healthy, Tart has developed into one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the game. Through four games this season, he accumulated ten tackles, including three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.

When asked about his absence having an impact on the run game of late, Williams said it’s more than just about not having Tart.

“We’ve missed him because he’s been a starter for us,” Williams said of Tart’s absence. “I think everybody looks at the last two games, which he didn’t play, and says, ‘well, that’s why we gave up rushing yards.’ But I remember vividly the New York Giants running for 250 yards against us in the opener last year and Buffalo running for another 100-plus yards. So, it’s more about us just doing what we need to do, not necessarily who’s in there.”

Sure, it takes all 11 players on defense to commit to stopping the run. However, when you have a player absent from your defensive line who can free up the other playmakers on the field, that loss is felt across the board.

The Titans could definitely use Tart for their upcoming matchup in Week 8,  with the Falcons sporting the 11th-best rushing offense in the league, led by rookie running back Bijan Robinson.

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Titans injury updates at the bye week

The latest updates on the Titans’ most notable injuries going into the bye week.

Not only did the Tennessee Titans have four players ruled out for their Week 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens, but at least three other players suffered injuries during the contest.

The players ruled out ahead of the game were wide receiver Treylon Burks (knee), defensive back Elijah Molden (hamstring), defensive lineman Teair Tart (toe) and linebacker Luke Gifford (hamstring).

The three Titans who sustained injuries and left Sunday’s game in London early were tight end Josh Whyle (concussion), wide receiver Chris Moore (concussion) and quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle).

The good news for Tennessee is that the bye comes in Week 7, which gives the aforementioned players a little extra time to get right ahead of the Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons in Nashville.

On top of providing the latest updates on those players, we’ll also be taking a look at the guys who are on injured reserve and the physically unable to perform list.

7 ruled out, 1 questionable in Colts vs. Titans

Here’s a look at the players with injury designations for the Week 5 matchup.

The Indianapolis Colts (2-2) and Tennessee Titans (2-2) are just about set for a Week 5 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.

On the final injury reports, the Colts ruled out three players while listing one as questionable ahead of this divisional matchup. The Titans, meanwhile, had four players ruled out, one of which is not injury-related.

Here’s a look at the players with injury designations in the Week 5 matchup:

Titans’ Teair Tart among best NTs vs. double teams in run game since 2020

Like Jeffery Simmons, Teair Tart has thrived against double teams in the run game since 2020.

Not only is Tennessee Titans nose tackle Teair Tart one of the most underrated players on his own team, but also arguably in the league.

Tart isn’t a household name by any means, but he’s the type of player who could hit free agency next year and earn himself an annual eight-figure payday for the foreseeable future.

The Florida International product is a menace in the run game and has made strides as a disruptive presence against the pass, whether he’s rushing the passer or even dropping into coverage.

But it’s his ability to help shut down the run game especially that makes Tart such an impressive player. Blocking the 304-pound defensive lineman is no easy feat for an offensive lineman.

And so much so that he’s produced the third-highest grade Pro Football Focus among nose tackles when taking on double teams in the run game since 2020, trailing only the Washington Commanders’ Daron Payne and the Carolina Panthers’ Derrick Brown, per Pro Football Focus.

On top of Tart’s impressive showing against double teams, Jeffery Simmons is the second-highest graded interior defensive lineman when facing two or more blockers in the run game since the start of 2020.

Having those two in the same lineup is a massive problem for the opposition, and it’s a big reason why the Titans have sported an elite run defense the past two seasons, including the No. 1 unit in 2022 – and that was despite all of the injuries they suffered on that side of the ball.

Now that Tennessee has all of its primary defenders in the lineup again, the sky truly is the limit for the Titans’ defensive front, as long as it can stay healthy.

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See it: Titans’ Teair Tart owns Vikings’ Garrett Bradbury in impressive rep

Check out this incredibly impressive rep from Titans DL Teair Tart.

Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart didn’t have the best finish to his day on Thursday after being ejected from practice, but he did have at least one incredibly impressive rep beforehand.

Tart got into a scuffle with Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury after the lineman wrestled him to the ground after one play. Tart reacted by throwing a punch, which got him ejected from the session.

However, don’t let that overshadow this rep from Tart, who tosses Bradbury like a rag doll and then lets him know about it.

The video was shared by defensive line and pass-rush coach, Aaron Day (@dlinevids1 on X), who had two angles of the impressive rep.

A major point of emphasis for Tart, who is already a very good run defender, has been improving as a pass-rusher, something defensive line and assistant head coach Terrell Williams spoke about earlier this offseason.

“[Tart] started to take those steps (to becoming a better pass-rusher) towards the middle of last season,” Williams said in May, per Easton Freeze of Broadway Sports Media.

“You’ve got three types of players: you’ve got a player who’s great at playing the run, you’ve got a player who’s great in the pass-rush, and then you’ve got players that are great at both. And his job now is to become great at both. I would put him up against anybody in the run game, now it’s just getting better from a pass-rush standpoint.”

Based on this clip, I’d say things are going swimmingly in that area — pun intended.

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Titans DL Teair Tart tweets ‘lame af’ after getting kicked out of practice

The Titans defensive lineman made the tweet following his being kicked out of practice on Thursday.

Things got heated during the joint practice between the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, which was the final session between the two teams ahead of their preseason Week 2 matchup.

Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart got into it with Vikings offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury, who wrestled Tart to the ground during a play, which led to Tart taking a swing at him.

Things did not escalate from there, but Tart was flagged for it and later kicked out of practice.

“I haven’t talked to him yet but he knows our standards,” Jeffery Simmons said of Tart’s ejection, per Jim Wyatt. “He knows we don’t do dumb [expletive] to hurt the team, as Vrabes says.

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“That’s one of things I’m sure will get pointed out today in the team meetings. Other than that, we’ll talk to him and, like I said, he knows our expectations and standards with him.”

After practice, Tart tweeted this out (we’ve provided a screen shot just in case it gets deleted, but the direct link is right here):

For those of you not hip on the lingo, it means “lame as [naughty F word].”

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4 Titans make list of top-50 free agents for 2024

Four Titans made a recent list of the top 50 free agents for 2024.

This upcoming season is a massive one for the Tennessee Titans. Obviously, the team wants to bounce back from what was a disastrous ending to a once-promising 2022 season. 

However, something that often gets overlooked when discussing the Titans is the fact that this could be the final swan song for the current era.

Key pillars of the franchise, such as Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, are not only entering the final years of their deals, but Tennessee’s new general manager has already drafted their replacements if everything goes according to plan.

While these are things the Titans aren’t necessarily thinking about right now, Tennessee will eventually have some hard decisions to make when it comes to several of its own players.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com recently ranked his top 50 free agents for 2024, and he has four Titans making his list. On top of Henry and Tannehill, he also has cornerback Kristian Fulton and defensive lineman Teair Tart cracking his list.

You can find the exact rankings of these four players, as well as Rosenthal’s rationale for each one, listed below.

Madden NFL 24 ratings for Titans’ D-linemen, OLBs

The “Madden NFL 24” overall ratings for Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry, and other Titans defensive linemen and outside linebackers.

The next step in the player ratings rollout from “Madden NFL 24” was to reveal the marks for defensive linemen and outside linebackers, giving us our first look at how players at those positions for the Tennessee Titans fared.

Of the defensive linemen and outside linebackers, only one Titans player was ranked in the top 10 at his position: defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.

Simmons, who was listed as a defensive end on the game’s official website, was ranked eighth among DEs with an overall rating of 89. However, if you include defensive tackles, also, he was 12th, which is far too low.

In total, the Titans had three players combined from the defensive line and outside linebacker groups to score over an 80. Here’s a look at how every Titans player from those positions fared in overall rating.

And, in case you missed it. you can check out the ratings for Titans receivers and safeties right here.