Tag: Tory Carter

Cowboys had ex-Titans FB Tory Carter in for workout

Former Titans FB Tory Carter worked out for the Dallas Cowboys on Friday.

We haven’t heard anything about former Tennessee Titans fullback Tory Carter since the team waived him last December, but he did take part in a workout recently, albeit with another team.

According to Bobby Belt of 105.3 The FAN, Carter worked out for the Dallas Cowboys on Friday, along with fellow free agent and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell.

Carter appeared in 17 games (five starts) over two seasons with the Titans, serving as a lead blocker and a special teams contributor.

The LSU product, who was an undrafted free agent signing of Tennessee in 2021, tallied two tackles and one fumble recovery over that span but was never utilized as a runner or pass-catcher.

Since parting ways with Carter, the Titans have not signed another fullback to take his place. Chances are Tennessee will utilize one of their tight ends in that role in 2023, with recently-signed former Chicago Bears tight end Trevon Wesco being a possibility.

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Dez Fitzpatrick, Caleb Farley among Titans’ offseason award winners

Three of the Titans’ offseason award winners have a lot to prove in 2022.

On Wednesday, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel announced the six players who were chosen for the team’s annual offseason awards.

According to Vrabel, the criteria for winning the awards are based on “effort, consistency and improvement” during the offseason program.

On offense, the winners were right tackle Dillon Radunz, wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick and fullback Tory Carter. On defense, it was cornerback Caleb Farley, safety Amani Hooker and defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker.

Radunz, Fitzpatrick and Farley are three of the players on the team with the most to prove this year, so this is a good sign for their progress.

Radunz is competing for the right tackle job, but figures to have a leg-up for the role over rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere. Even with that being the case, Radunz still has to prove he’s a worthy starter in this league.

Farley is about to embark on his first season as a full-time starter, but the jury is still very much out on the 2021 first-round pick, especially after suffering a torn ACL last season, which only added to already existing concerns about Farley’s ability to stay healthy.

Fitzpatrick just securing a spot on the 53-man roster would be a win for him after he failed to do so during his rookie campaign. But he also needs to make an impact if he does make the final cut, which he wasn’t able to accomplish in 2021 despite Tennessee having a slew of injuries.

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As for Carter and Hooker, their spots on the roster are already secure. Now, both will be focusing on improving after very good 2021 seasons.

Carter was a game-changer as a lead blocker in Tennessee’s offense, and Hooker emerged as one of the better players at his position, forming an elite duo with fellow safety Kevin Byard.

Meanwhile, Walker is someone to watch along the defensive line. We believe he’ll make the cut and will provide depth upfront, and he can play outside linebacker in a pinch if need be.

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Titans 2022 training camp preview: Who spells Derrick Henry?

With the Titans possibly looking to lessen Derrick Henry’s workload a bit in 2022,

The heart and soul of the Tennessee Titans’ offense is its rushing attack, which is led by superstar rusher, Derrick Henry.

Unfortunately for Henry and the Titans, he missed half a season in 2021 due to a broken bone in his foot, otherwise the Alabama product was likely heading for another 2,000-yard season and rushing title.

Even without Henry, the Titans still managed to thrive on the ground thanks to stellar blocking from the offensive line. In fact, the rushing attack was far and away the best thing about Tennessee’s offense.

Henry’s two main replacements, Dontrell Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman, had a combined total of 916 yards on the ground over the last nine weeks, just 21 less than Henry did over the first eight weeks.

Looking ahead to 2022, Foreman, who took control of the backfield with Henry out, is no longer with the team after signing with the Carolina Panthers, but Hilliard remains.

With the Titans looking to lessen Henry’s workload at least a little bit, who is in line to help out? We take a look at that and more in our training camp preview for the running back position in Nashville.

Note: we’ve also included the fullback position in this article because fullbacks need love too.

Titans decline to tender FB Khari Blasingame

The move makes Blasingame an unrestricted free agent.

The Tennessee Titans appear set to part ways with fullback Khari Blasingame after reportedly declining to tender him on Tuesday, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Of course, it’s possible Tennessee could bring Blasingame back for cheaper than the tender price ($2.4 million), but chances are that won’t happen.

That’s because Blasingame was surpassed on the depth chart last season by 2021 undrafted free agent, fullback Tory Carter, who performed well in the role.

As president of the Geoff Swaim fan club (I’m vice president) and Titans Wire contributor Tyler Rowland laid out in a film breakdown of Carter, Tennessee’s offense was able to do more in the run game with him than Blasingame thanks to the former’s speed and physicality.

Blasingame is the second pending Titans free agent the team has declined to tender, with the other being right tackle David Quessenberry.

After two days of the legal tampering period, the start of the new league year falls on March 16 at 4 p.m. ET, when pending free agents officially hit the open market and can sign on the dotted line with teams.

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Tennessee Titans film study: Why Tory Carter’s absence matters

What the Titans will be missing with FB Tory Carter out for the divisional round.

The Tennessee Titans take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday but won’t see the return of a key member of their rushing attack, fullback Tory Carter.

Obviously, Derrick Henry’s return is the big news, as he’s the final piece this team needed to get back in order to make a Super Bowl run, but on Tuesday the Titans didn’t activate Carter off IR, which at least somewhat hurts the team’s rushing attack.

Carter was an undrafted free agent fullback out of LSU. As expected from a fullback in modern college football, Carter wasn’t impressive from a production standpoint during his four years in Louisiana.

But ask any one who watched him play and they will tell you the kind of player he was — physical, tough, ferocious. Carter played his role as a fullback, but also was a valuable member on special teams.

All of that has translated to the Titans.

Carter has only played in eight games so far for the Titans. It took him some time to work his way past Khari Blasingame as the top fullback, and he suffered an ankle injury in Week 14 that led to his current IR stint.

It may be easy to underestimate the impact a UDFA fullback can have, but if you look closely, you can see his value. The Titans’ coaching staff can definitely see it as well.

Not only is Carter the best fullback on the team, but his speed and physicality allows the Titans to do more things in the run game than they typically would.

Carter’s impact is perfectly illustrated by a tweet from No Flags Films; the tweet shows the statistical representation of that impact.

The Titans run outside zone and toss pitches at an eight percent higher rate when Carter is on the field (31 percent vs. 22 percent), and the Titans’ yards per attempt on those plays doubles with Carter out there (5.4 vs. 2.7).

I get asked a lot about Blasingame when I bring up Carter’s impact, and the answer I always go with is simple: Carter is just better.

He is more explosive and more physical. You can see it on the tape and the coaches told us they see it too by going with Carter over Blasingame throughout the year when Carter was healthy.

So, as we do each week, let’s step into the film room and see exactly what the Titans will be missing with Carter sidelined for the divisional round.

Tennessee Titans designate Tory Carter to return from IR among 2 moves

The Titans made a pair of roster moves on Monday.

The Tennessee Titans made a pair of moves on Monday, one of which paves the way to provide a boost to their rushing attack for the playoff matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.

The Titans announced they designated fullback Tory Carter to return from Injured Reserve. Carter suffered an ankle injury in the Week 14 win over Jacksonville and hasn’t seen the field since.

The move opens up the 21-day window for Carter to return to practice and be activated off the list. He won’t count towards the 53-man roster until that happens.

It has been a successful rookie season for Carter. After being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021, he worked his way up the depth chart, surpassing fellow fullback, Khari Blasingame.

As No Flags Film on Twitter points out, the numbers show that Carter has been a plus as a lead blocker for Tennessee.

In addition to the move with Carter, the Titans also removed running back Jordan Wilkins from the practice squad COVID-19 list.

Tennessee will host Cincinnati at Nissan Stadium in the Divisional Round on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. CST.

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Titans downgrade Rashaan Evans to out, make 3 roster moves

Evans was added to the injury report on Friday with an ankle issue.

The Tennessee Titans will be without one of their starting linebackers in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts, as Rashaan Evans has been downgraded to out for Sunday’s contest.

Evans was a new addition to the injury report on Friday with an ankle issue and did not practice.

Aside from starter David Long, the Titans have four other linebackers on their roster currently in Nick Dzubnar, Joe Jones, Avery Williamson and Monty Rice. Jayon Brown has not been activated off IR yet.

Williamson, who was signed by the Titans a little over two weeks ago, figures to get at least the majority of snaps from that group.

Tennessee made three roster moves on Saturday, including signing fullback Tory Carter to the active roster, which comes on the heels of fellow fullback Khari Blasingame being ruled out.

The Titans have also elevated running back Dontrell Hilliard and defensive lineman Eli Ankou from the practice squad. Both will revert back after the game.

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Titans elevate Tory Carter, Amani Bledsoe from practice squad for Week 4

This is the second straight game in which the Titans have elevated Carter.

The Tennessee Titans made a pair of moves on the practice squad with just one day remaining until their Week 4 matchup against the New York Jets.

Tennessee announced it has elevated fullback Tory Carter and defensive lineman Amani Bledsoe from the practice squad for Sunday’s contest. Both players will revert back to the practice squad after the game.

For Carter, this is the second straight week in which he has been elevated. He was a surprise active in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, replacing fellow fullback Khari Blasingame, who was a healthy scratch.

The 2021 undrafted free agent signing ended up playing just three snaps, but did pave the way for one of the Derrick Henry’s better runs of the contest. If he plays over Blasingame again this week, it’ll be safe to say that the LSU product has officially jumped him on the depth chart.

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Bledsoe is a familiar name to Nashville. He was a 2019 undrafted free agent signing of the Titans, but didn’t see the field in his rookie campaign. He spent 2020 with the Cincinnati Bengals, suiting up in 14 contests (four starts). We’ll see if he gets the nod with fellow defensive lineman Larrell Murchison out.

The Titans will release their inactives an hour and a half before kickoff, which is scheduled to be at noon CT.

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Which team makes the most sense for former LSU FB Tory Carter?

Looking into a potential landing spot for ex-LSU fullback Tory Carter.

While a fullback isn’t as common as it used to be in the past, the NFL is could start to see a comeback at this position, and the Tigers have a true fullback in Tory Carter.

Although he didn’t produce the most impressive numbers during LSU’s pro day last week, there’s no question as to the impact he makes as a physical blocker for the offensive line.

Since LSU doesn’t regularly use anyone at the fullback position, Carter played many games with the tight ends and was consistently used as a special teams player to disrupt kick return blocking schemes.

He is best when he can get his nose to a defender as he can be a forceful presence when contact is drawn, and he can also offer more passing options for the quarterback with his experience at the tight end position.

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Some believe Carter should up his foot speed in order to find a promising home on an NFL team. During pro day, Carter ran a 4.75 in the 40-yard dash and a 4.29 in the 20-yard shuttle.

So where could we potentially expect to Carter fit in well? It looks like the San Francisco 49ers could be a good fit, where Kyle Shanahan is over the offense.

This largely comes down to the fact Shanahan regularly uses a fullback within the scheme.

It’s likely Carter will enter the league as an undrafted free agent, and will have to prove himself during training camp to stay with a team. It will be interesting to see how things shake out for Carter as he prepares to take his career to the next level.

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Looking into each LSU player who would have been at the 2021 NFL Combine

Eight former LSU players would have been at the 2021 NFL Combine if there had been one.

There won’t be an NFL Combine this year in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

But if there had been one, it would have included eight LSU players.

Without a combine, Pro Day means that much more for college football players across the country.

LSU’s Pro Day is scheduled for March 31 in the indoor practice facility. SEC Network, ESPN and NFL Network will be in attendance.

Here’s a look at the names of each player who would have appeared in the 2021 NFL Combine, along with their individual 2020 and career stat lines.