Tag: Thomas Odukoya

Watch: Titans’ Ran Carthon delivers life-changing news to five underdogs

Watch Tennessee Titans general manager break the news to five players that they embarking on a new challenge. Making the 53-man roster.

It has been no secret that the Tennessee Titans have had a changing of the guard over the past two years. First, the team hired Ran Carthon as general manager in 2023 to replace Jon Robinson. This was followed by a shocking move, firing head coach Mike Vrabel and transitioning to Brian Callahan. 

Carthon and Callahan have overhauled the roster almost totally in a very short period of time. They have also become more transparent with some of their behind-the-scenes moments. This includes the moment that five underdogs discovered their fate on cut day.

None of Andrew Rupcich, David Martin-Robinson, Thomas Odukoya, John Ojukwu, and James Williams knew what was about to transpire when they were summoned to the front office, and their emotions were all over the map. The sincerity of this life-altering moment for these players is apparent, and now they have a video to remind them of their journey. 

 

International pathway to dreams: Titans tight end is living proof

For Tennessee Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya, the International Pathway Program allowed him achieve his dream.

There are always a few surprises when NFL teams set their initial 53-man roster. The  2024 Tennessee Titans roster was no exception. When the team announced its initial roster, it included an unlikely tight end, Thomas Odukoya. Signed via the International Player Pathway Program, Odykoya will become the first Dutch-born player to play in the NFL during the regular season.

While many will only remember Odukoya for his incredible effort in thwarting a potential game-changing touchdown, he had an impressive preseason overall and showed continued growth.

Originally signed by the Titans as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL draft,  the Eastern Michigan University product has been inching toward a roster spot, and now he has broken through. His commitment and work ethic were mentioned as he was singled out by general manager Ran Carthon in his post-cut-down press conference.

“For a guy to be an international practice squad guy, to now earn his chance on the 53. That’s what this league is about, and that’s what that program is about.”

Carthon is spot on, and the league hopes that more international players can make an impact. What kind of impact will Odukoya make in 2024? No one is sure, but he has his sights on the season opener when the Titans take on the Chicago Bears on September 8.

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Samson Nacua came up just short of a kick-six in Titans preseason game

Samson Nacua returned this missed field goal 106 yards, but he was just yards away from a huge Saints kick-six. See the play for yourself:

Samson Nacua nearly made the play of the day in the New Orleans Saints’ preseason game with the Tennessee Titans. Titans kicker Brayden Narveson was too short from 58 yards out on a field goal try before halftime, but Nacua was in position to field it and bring it out for a return. First following his blockers right, Nacua cut back to his left and flew upfield and into the open field.

But it wasn’t to be. You hate to see this for Nacua, but you’ve got to give credit to Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya for hustling to catch Nacua from behind and force him out of bounds short of the goal line, scuttling what would’ve been a kick-six. He was credited with 106 yards on the return but needed 109 for the score.

Still, it was an exhilarating play, and it’s great to see Nacua’s teammates congratulating him on the field and again on the sideline for showing such great effort. You just wish he could’ve gone the distance. A better block by safety Johnathan Abram at the end of the return may have walled off Odukoya long enough for Nacua to cross the goal line, but we’ll never know. Good on Nacua for doing everything he could to make a play here.

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Watch: Titans TE Thomas Odukoya was mic’d up for preseason finale

Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya was mic’d up for the preseason finale against the Patriots.

In the preseason finale against the New England Patriots last week, Tennessee Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya was mic’d up.

Odukoya, who hails from the Netherlands was originally signed by the Titans in 2022 as part of the International Player Pathway Program and spent the entire season on the practice squad.

He made significant strides during his second offseason in the NFL, though, and managed to really stand out as a blocker, which led many (myself included) to believe he had a shot at a roster spot.

Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut, but Tennessee was able to bring him back on the practice squad, which also allows the Titans to keep 17 players on the practice squad due to an exemption for Odukoya.

Check out the sights and sounds of preseason Week 3 from Odukoya’s perspective below.

According to Paul Kuharsky, Odukoya cannot be elevated to play in games until the international designation and exemption is removed via the Titans making him a regular practice squad player.

And, after that happens, Odukoya would also be ineligible to be elevated for a minimum of three weeks. Knowing all that, don’t expect to see the Eastern Michigan product active for a game for awhile.

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Report: Titans intend to sign Thomas Odukoya to practice squad

The Titans reportedly intend to sign TE Thomas Odukoya to their practice squad if he clears waivers on Wednesday.

We have our first bit of practice squad news for the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday morning after the team revealed it’s initial 53-man roster on Tuesday.

According to Justin Melo of Broadway Sports Media, the Titans intend to sign recently cut tight end Thomas Odukoya to their practice squad if he clears waivers, which will go through at noon ET on Wednesday.

Odukoya was first signed in 2022 as part of the NFL International Player Pathway Program and spent all of last season on the practice squad.

The Eastern Michigan product, who hails from the Netherlands, was thought to have a good shot to make the initial roster after standing out as a blocker during the preseason but ended up among the team’s final cuts.

Another positive about bringing Odukoya back is the fact that he doesn’t count against the 16-man practice squad limit, which allows Tennessee to carry an extra player.

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Titans cutting LB Chance Campbell, TE Thomas Odukoya

The Titans are reportedly cutting LB Chance Campbell and TE Thomas Odukoya.

As many of you probably know by now, teams all across the league are getting their roster down to 53 players before the 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.

The Tennessee Titans have certainly made their fair share of transactions early on as they’ve already parted ways with the likes of Racey McMath, Jacques Patrick, and Jordan Roos, just to name a few.

The biggest move of the day, however, has been the trade for kicker Nick Folk, which saw Tennessee send a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange.

But two of the more surprising cuts of the day came in the form of tight end Thomas Odukoya and linebacker Chance Campbell. Both performed well throughout training camp and into the preseason, but Tennessee didn’t feel strongly enough about either to have them on their initial 53-man roster.

There’s a strong chance that both will end up on the team’s practice squad as long as they aren’t claimed elsewhere, with Odukoya not counting toward the official practice squad numbers due to his international exemption, per Justin Melo of Broadway Sports.

Odukoya especially had a strong preseason, often looking like the best run-blocking tight end on the team. Nevertheless, Tennessee decided to go elsewhere and will now have to hope that neither he nor Campbell are claimed over the coming days.

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Titans’ Mike Vrabel: ‘We lucked out’ with TE Thomas Odukoya

On Tuesday, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel heaped praise on second-year TE Thomas Odukoya.

One of the bigger surprises from the Tennessee Titans’ preseason games has been the development made by second-year tight end, Thomas Odukoya.

The Dutch playmaker out of the Netherlands signed last offseason as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL draft as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

Prior to that, Odukoya appeared in a total of 40 games with 30 starts over four seasons at Eastern Michigan (2018-21), recording 21 catches for 194 yards and four touchdowns over his entire college career.

The Eastern Michigan product spent his rookie season as a member of the team’s practice squad; however, Tennessee’s young tight end is starting to make a legitimate case for himself to be on the actual 53-man roster this year.

Odukoya has been one of the unexpected standouts, and particularly when it comes to his run-blocking abilities along the edge — and that has only been amplified in exhibition play.

The Eastern Michigan product has routinely been a violent and powerful presence who seemingly embraces the physicality that comes with the position.

Head Coach Mike Vrabel discussed Odukoya’s overall development on Tuesday, and he clearly likes what he sees from his second-year tight end.

“Well, we didn’t bring him in,” Vrabel said when talking about acquiring Odukoya through the program. “We lucked out, we absolutely lucked out because there’s not a better human being, and we got great people around here, but there’s not anybody better (than Odukoya) that cares about this team, that works his tail off and has really taken advantage of those reps at the line of scrimmage.

“He’s had good practice against our guys, in Minnesota and then carried over to the game — wrestling and tangling with some of those big guys on the edge of the line of scrimmage. His hard work has paid off, and that’s been really cool to see. We like for good things to happen to great people.”

Only time will tell whether or not Odukoya ends up making the final roster, but judging by his film and the words of his head coach, it’s a pretty safe bet that the Titans would love to continue working with him in some capacity going forward.

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Titans’ Mike Vrabel names team’s 6 offseason award winners

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel recently listed the six players who won the team’s offseason award.

Over the last few years, Tennessee Titans head coach, Mike Vrabel, has made it a point of emphasis to publicly acknowledge the six players who had a strong offseason leading up to training camp.

This year’s winners on the offensive side of the ball were quarterback Ryan Tannehill, tight end Thomas Odukoya, and interior lineman Corey Levin.

As for the defense, Tennessee’s three winners were defensive lineman Jayden Peevy, inside linebacker Jack Gibbens (Dr. Gibby), and outside linebacker Arden Key.

However, Vrabel did make sure to mention how second-year signal caller, Malik Willis, who he also stated made a “glaring improvement” throughout the offseason. Vrabel said Willis was “very, very close.”

The Titans head coach chose to go with his starting quarterback, who seemingly spent the entire offseason training and rehabbing his ankle in Tennessee as opposed to previous years when he would occasionally stay away from the facility for lengthy periods at a time to train on his own.

Vrabel also went out of his way to individually praise the noticeable improvements made by each of the other recipients on the list, while continuing to harp on the contagious energy Key brings to the entire building.

Unfortunately, these offseason awards have seldom turned into anything meaningful in terms of performance during the season. For example, last year’s award winners included Dillon Radunz, Tory Carter, Dez Fitzpatrick, Caleb Farley, and Amani Hooker.

DeMarcus Walker was the most successful offseason winner from the 2022 group, producing career-highs in practically every major statistical category by season’s end.

Let’s hope the majority of this year’s recipients of the offseason recognition are able to translate the success they had in the spring and summer to the upcoming fall and winter.

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Titans granted another roster exemption for Thomas Odukoya

The exemption for Titans TE Thomas Odukoya differs from the one they received for him in 2022.

For the second straight year, the Tennessee Titans were granted a roster exemption for tight end Thomas Odukoya, according to the league’s transactions wire on Monday.

Odukoya joined the Titans via the International Player Pathway Program in 2022, which came with a roster exemption that allowed them to keep him on the practice squad without him counting toward the 16-man limit.

This year’s exemption is different, though. The Eastern Michigan product will not count toward the team’s 90-man offseason roster limit, but the exemption expires when rosters are trimmed to 53.

Odukoya spent the entire 2022 campaign on Tennessee’s practice squad but didn’t appear in any games. Looking ahead to 2023, he’ll be fighting for one of the depth spots at tight end, of which there could be just one.

The top three on the depth chart figure to be Chig Okonkwo, Trevon Wesco and Josh Whyle in some order. From there, Odukoya will be in competition with Kevin Rader and Justin Rigg, assuming the Titans carry four.

If he fails to make the cut, Odukoya has a good shot for the practice squad.

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Titans add TE Thomas Odukoya as part of NFL’s international player program

The Titans’ addition of Thomas Odukoya comes via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

The Tennessee Titans have made another addition to their tight ends room via the NFL’s International Pathway Program, the team announced on Tuesday.

The Titans are adding tight end Thomas Odukoya, who is from the Netherlands. Odukoya played his college ball at Eastern Michigan.

Odukoya will not count against the team’s 90-man roster and is expected to attend Tennessee’s rookie minicamp next weekend. If added to the practice squad at the end of training camp, he will not count towards that limit, either.

The 6-foot-6, 263-pound tight end tallied 21 catches for 194 yards and four touchdowns over 40 games with the Eagles. In 2021, he reeled in 13 receptions for 130 yards and two scores.

Odukoya now joins a Titans tight ends room that also includes starter Austin Hooper, veteran Geoff Swaim, and 2022 fourth-round pick, Chigoziem Okonkwo.

The Netherlands native will battle for the No. 4 spot on the depth chart against Briley Moore, Tommy Hudson and Ryan Izzo.

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