Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Arden Key SUSPENDED, Jeffrey Simmons STARTS BRAWL & Will Levis Bounces Back

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

The Tennessee Titans put the pads on for the first time this training camp on Tuesday and there were MAJOR fireworks on and off the field. The biggest news, Titans edge rusher Arden Key is expected to be suspended for six games. Already thin at edge, the Titans will now NEED to go into free agency and get some help. Names like Carl Lawson and Yannick Ngakoue could be fits. Next, Jeffery Simmons was not in a good mood on Tuesday. Simmons started a brawl that disrupted practice and had an incident with a local media member after practice. Finally, Will Levis struggled in the "third-down" periods at Saturday's practice, but bounced back for a good day in those situations on Tuesday.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

It was a wild Tuesday for the Tennessee Titans. We got a brawl at practice, a fight with the media, and Arden Key was suspended for six games. I'll break down all the crazy news and tell you why the Titans must sign a free agent edge rusher on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. It was a crazy, insane, wild Tuesday for the Tennessee Titans. Arden Key was suspended for six games. I'll tell you who the Titans need to call and who they need to sign. Also, Jeffrey Simmons went nuts. He started a brawl at practice, was fighting with the media. I'll go over all of the notes on defense. And Will Levis had a major bounce back in third down period.

So much to talk about on today's show. What a crazy day for Titans fans all around the world. I'll dive into it. Before I do, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked On Titans podcast. It's the number one

Titans podcast in the world for a reason. So make sure that you stick with me here every single day. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. Throw a thumbs up on the video. Show's always free. All I ask for in return

is the press of a button. But with all that being said, an insane day. Obviously, the Arden Key suspension is the biggest lasting news. It's something that will impact this team into the season. We know that, but I mean,

come on. Jeffrey Simmons started a brawl in practice with J.C. Latham and some other offensive players. He got into it with one of the Nashville radio show hosts after practice and threw some terms around as well. I mean, Caleb Farley was out there making plays, Traylon Burks. I mean, Brian Callahan's ripping the team for fighting. It was just truly one of the most insane days.

And not to mention, it was the first day of pads. The first padded practice. Absolutely insane. But again, the biggest news of the day was the report from Paul Kaharski that Arden Key is set to be suspended for six games. And it's crazy because just yesterday we got the news that Danico Autry would be suspended for six games for the Houston Texans. A lot of Titans fans were using that as an opportunity to make some jokes.

All right. But the joke was on the Titans fans because the very next day we get the news about Arden Key. And look, I've talked about this throughout the offseason. The Titans edge rush position is simply not good enough. And I think that is one of the big reasons that the Titans wanted to go with a defensive scheme that was super blitz heavy. That's why they're getting Kenneth Murray and James Williams

and Otis Reese time so that they can blitz down the middle. That's why they're getting Jamal Adams so he can be somebody who's blitzing off the edge, and they can run all these crazy pressures. Also, if you want to see some more about those pressures, I did a film breakdown from Saturday's practice on Malik Willis, but we saw some cool stuff on offense and defense as well. So go to the Tic Tac Titans film channel on YouTube

and check those highlights and that breakdown out. You'll see more than just Malik Willis there, but that's why the Titans wanted to go with such a pressure-heavy defense is because they knew they can't just line up with four guys, four down linemen this year and get pressure. It's not going to be like it was in years past. The Titans

have Harold Landry at the top of the depth chart at edge rusher. Now that Arden Key is out for six games, and if I didn't mention it before, it's a PED suspension. So, performance-enhancing drugs. Whatever it is, he's out for six games. And if I didn't mention it before, it's a PED suspension. So performance enhancing drugs, whatever it is, he's out for six games. Okay. So you have Harold Landry at the top of the depth chart. No question about it. Harold Landry is the top edge rusher. We knew that all along, but I have been talking about the battle for edge too. Who is going to be that other starter?

The two main contenders, of course, you had Arden Key, but I have continued to say, even when Arden Key was signed last year, Arden Key is best as a tertiary rusher. He is a third rusher. He is a rotational pass rusher. Arden Key is not physical enough in the run game or consistent enough to be an every-down starter. So that was a concern for me when I was looking at the edge position, especially against the run.

And you look at Rashad Weaver going into his fourth year with the team, he just simply hasn't become the player that we hoped he could be after having five and a half sacks in his second year. He had none last year, and he looks slimmed down this year, but it's just hard to, at this point, count on Rashad Weaver becoming a starting-level player. So there was an obvious hole for the Titans at edge rusher. And then you look at the depth. All you have is the two undrafted free agents from last year, Thomas Rush and Caleb Murphy. You have the undrafted free agent for this year and Khalid Duke. And then

the other two guys that really had our attention were Jalen Harrell, the Titans seventh round pick out of Michigan this year. He's been impressive early on in camp. And then Shane Ray. Remember we talked about Shane Ray drafted in the first round in 2015, flunked out of the NFL pretty much, hasn't played a game since 2018. Got a tryout with the Titans earlier this off season and they finally bring it in. According to all reports, Shane Ray has been showing out in practice as well and having really good moments. So Shane Ray could be a guy that stepped up into that gap, but the Titans needed an edge rusher when they had Arden Key.

So now that they lose out on Arden Key for six games, they're going to need a free agent edge rusher even more than I thought they already did, and that's where we go into the names that make sense. The number one name on my list is Carl Lawson. Carl Lawson had an excellent season for the Bengals a couple of years ago, got a pretty decent free agent deal with the Jets and then got hit with a ton of injuries. He seems healthy now. He's out tweeting on Twitter. Looks like he wants to play. Hasn't said anything about the Titans specifically, but I think Carl Lawson with his connection to Brian Callahan through the Cincinnati time could make a lot of sense for the Titans

as a physical edge who's going to be cheap, who could have some high-end upside still available if he stays healthy. To me, it's a very similar conversation as the Jamal Adams conversation. And now you have a major need there, just like the Titans had at safety when they went and got Jamal Adams. So I thought the Titans had a need there already, and Carl Lawson is the best free agent edge rusher that makes sense.

But there are other guys on the market as well. Emmanuel Ogba could make some sense as a bigger, physical edge rusher. A guy who also makes sense is another Lawson in Shaq Lawson. Not Carl Lawson, Shaq Lawson. Now again Lawson, Shaq Lawson. Now again, these are older players who have their own downfalls.

Nobody's a perfect fit, just like Jamal Adams. He has his own risks involved. But on a low-end deal, getting one of these guys in makes a ton of sense. And Brian Callahan made it seem like the team was open to something like that after practice. The last thing that I want to mention here is Yannick Ngakwe. And look, in previous conversations that we've had about the edge rusher position, I have not been interested in signing Yannick Ngakwe. He doesn't play well against the run. He's kind of a selfish pass rusher. That's why he's a guy who puts up a lot of sacks, but has a hard time sticking with a team

because he's a malcontent in the locker room. Doesn't really give you a lot of effort against the run. He is just chasing sacks. All right. Well, to be honest with you, that's not much different than Arden Key. So I was like, why would they go out and get Yannick Ngakwe when they already have Arden Key who's similar to that and they need a physical early down run stopper. All right. Well, now Arden Key is out for six games. So you might as well go out and get a guy like Yannick Ngakwe since his skill set overlaps with Arden Key, but Arden Key is out. So now it does make sense to go out and get a guy like Yannick Ngakwe. And it looks like the Titans are taking risks on personality. So if anybody can get Yannick Ngakwe to play his best, it's probably Denard Wilson.

So those are the names I'm interested in free agent-wise. Emmanuel Ogba, Carl Lawson, Yannick Ngakwe, maybe Shaq Lawson, but a six-game PED suspension for Arden Key, that's a big hit to the Titans' depth at edge where they didn't really have a depth anyway. So we'll talk about the defense. Jeffrey Simmons going crazy at practice on Tuesday. And then Will Levis had a bounce back as well.

So much to break down on today's show. Make sure you stick with me. Before we continue, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. GameTime is the best place to buy tickets, period. And it's summertime. It's time to go out and see some Major League Baseball. Go to an MLB game.

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Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest price. Guaranteed. Titans fans, let's continue today's wild recap of Tuesday's events for the Tennessee Titans. So much going on. Now we got to get into the juicy stuff. Look, we talked about the stuff that actually impacts the team, but now we're going to talk about what happened at practice and again, Jeffrey Simmons

just went crazy, man. Like he was not having it on Tuesday with the pads coming on. So the pads come on, and literally within the first couple of plays, Jeffrey Simmons is getting in a tussle with J.C. Latham. And I said on Twitter, at Tic Tac Titans, and I stay firm to this,

that's a good thing. If you've ever played against a really good player in sports a lot of the time what happens listen so I played I was much better at football but I played basketball and I was classic try hard guard

gritty do everything set screens play defense get in people's faces annoy my opponents get under their skin. I was like a Patrick Beverly, Matt Della Vadova, you know, type guy. All right. I was short. I was

ornery. I was a football player playing basketball. Okay. So whenever we would be in practice or in a game and I would rip the best player on the other team, cause I was pretty good at getting steals. I was pretty quick. Whenever I would do that, all of a sudden the best player on the other team, because I was pretty good at getting steals. I was pretty quick. Whenever I would do that, all of a sudden, the best player on that team would start to get a little extra physical with me, throw an elbow at my face, try to push me, blah, blah, blah. I got to get kicked out of a game in middle school once because he swung on me because I was playing tight defense on him, okay?

So my point of saying all that is if you have experience in team sports, a lot of the time when someone starts getting mad at you and starts trying to fight you, it's because you're getting the best of them. So to me, I took it as a great thing that Jeff Simmons was trying to fight with J.C. Latham and took a swing at J.C. Latham. Because that probably means J.C. Latham is winning his fair share of reps. And that probably means J.C. Latham is holding his own.

So I actually liked hearing that. So a couple of plays later, Jeff Simmons bulls over Peter Skowronski and they both go to the ground. There's more pushing and shoving. Rashad Weaver throws Mason Kinsey to the ground and then there is an all-out

brawl. Both sides, offense, defense coming together. Arden Key and Leroy Watson are literally swinging at each other. Just a crazy fight. Brian Callahan finally breaks it up. Starts ripping the team. Telling them to act right.

All that stuff. So just an insane day to start out padded practice for the Titans. Not only that, but after practice, after practice, Jeff Simmons had choice words for a local Nashville radio host. While that radio host was on the air live, Jeffrey Simmons came up to him and started barking at him about

the stuff he's been saying on social media. The radio host has been saying things about Jeffrey Simmons on social media. I mean, it's stuff I don't really listen to the guy. So I, but he's been calling him a cry baby saying he's overrated. He was, you know, mediocre on a bad defense said he was being sloppy at practice in the tweet today. And Simmons had just had enough. And Simmons went up to him and called him a five-letter word that is also synonymous with a cat. All right?

Not going to say it on this program. It's a family program. But Simmons is just, you know, he's been calling people out on social media. He's been blocking people right and left. I mean, he is clearly fired up. He is clearly on edge right now. And I think that might be what you want if you're a Titans fan. You want your defensive leader to be on edge and to be fired up.

Now, not a lot of people or some people, there's a good amount of people that I saw were trying to hold Jeff accountable, saying that's dumb, it's a stupid way to act, he needs to be better than that, but I mean, it was just crazy to see Simmons going off like that. I got to tell you, sports are entertainment,

and today, Tuesday, was surely entertaining. Now, getting into some of the actual practice highlights here and out of the Jeff Simmons melodrama, Kenneth Murray continues to impress. And we talked about the green dot. Who's going to wear the green dot? Is it going to be Imani Hooker? Is it going to be Jack Gibbons?

Might it be Cedric Gray? It's Kenneth Murray right now. Brian Callahan gave praise to Kenneth Murray after practice, said he's been lining people up. He's been the play caller. He's been, I think Teron Davenport called him like a traffic cop. Like he's getting everybody lined up. He's being a leader on the defense. Brian Callahan said, you know, physically we got what we expected, but he's done even more since then with the, you know, the mental aspect of the game and learning the defense and again, being a leader on defense. So that's great to hear from Kenneth Murray. Look, I didn't like the Kenneth Murray signing because I think he's a liability in coverage and he just hasn't

lived up to his first round billing. All right. But he did have Brandon Staley as his coach for a long time who clearly was not doing a great job coaching the Chargers. He has first round talent. If the Titans can get the best out of Kenneth Murray, then he's going to prove me wrong. And he's going to be an absolute game changer over the middle of the field. He has the size and the athleticism to do that. So I want to give Kenneth Murray his props here.

He's been getting a ton of praise early on in camp. Not only that, but I got to mention it again. I told you guys I was not going to hide from this if I was wrong. Devondre Sweat dominated in one-on-ones between the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen. Had another pressure against Will Levis that we'll talk about in a little bit. Was making plays in the backfield. Had a few penetrations against run plays against the first team offense

that were huge. Devondre Sweat, been looking good. Teron Davenport from ESPN also mentioned that Tracy Rocker, the Titans defensive line coach, has been putting Tavondre Sweat through every drill twice. Everybody else goes once, and he makes Tavondre Sweat do it twice. So they are on Sweat.

They know they got to be on Sweat to get what they need to get out of him. And they know how important he is to this team. He's literally going to be a starter, not only in the base, but also in the sub package. Like that's how important Tavondre Sweat is to this team. He's literally going to be a starter, not only in the base, but also in the sub package. Like that's how important to Vondre sweat is to this team. So great to hear that he's progressing. I may be incredibly wrong about my evaluation on sweat, but I would much rather him

be a freak and help the Titans win football games. Um, I do got to mention a couple of things in the secondary as well. Uh, Matthew Jackson second year of safety, has been impressive. He had two interceptions on the day, one of Will Levis in 7-on-7, and then one off Mason Rudolph in team drills. Caleb Farley had a one-on-one in the very first wide receiver versus defensive back one-on-one rep padded practice. Caleb Farley locked down DeAndre Hopkins. He had another really good rep against Traylon Burks.

Might have been holding. Traylon Burks had a face mask at 1.2, so I don't know where the penalty lie. There was a flag thrown. Who knows who it was on. But, man, there's nobody you could root harder for than Caleb Farley with everything he's been through. So nice to see him have some good reps,

but I still think he's a ways away from really challenging to make this roster, if I'm honest with you. And then finally, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. I'm going to keep hyping him, folks. I love the pick. I think he's incredible depth for this team, and with Snead being managed and Awuzie being out, I love me some Jarvis Brownlee Jr., folks.

But we got to talk about offense because there's a lot of fireworks. But Will Levis bouncing back in a very important drill. It's kind of been pushed under the rug a little bit. So I'm going to sweep that back up to the surface. Let's talk about how Will Levis played. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, guys, I love sports.

I love them so much. I never want them to stop. But the playoffs end during the summer and we get fewer games. The sports just stop sporting like we want them to. But FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open the app, DreamUpBets, anytime I'm in the mood, like Titans plus four and a half against the Chicago Bears in week one.

I really like that one. So this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone, every day, all summer long. So head over to FanDuel.com and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, recapping just an insane Tuesday at Tennessee Titans practice.

Just literally insane. An insane day for Titans fans all around. The Arden Key suspension, talked about who the Titans need to sign a free agency now, and why it's such a big loss. Big Jeff going off, not only on his teammates, but also on the media.

Some good performances from the defense. Make no mistake, the defense won the day again. All right? And we'll talk about why. But now I want to talk about Will Levis. Because Will Levis struggled in the third down offense period at Saturday's open practice. Okay?

It was a struggle from the offense all around. A lot of it happened to do with the pressure that was on Will Levis during that from the offensive line. But a major bounce back performance from Will Levis in Tuesday's practice in the third down drill. So the Titans did it again. Third down drill, situational drill, just like they did on Saturday.

Will Levis goes nine for ten. All right. Hits Calvin Ridley for a first down. Tyler Boyd for a first down. Mason Kinsey over the middle for a first down. DeAndre Hopkins for a first down. Hits NWI for a big play. Hits Burks for a big play to cap things off at the end.

Will Levis had a great end to the practice in the same drill that was a struggle early on on Saturday. Now in 7-on-7 at start practice, Levis threw an interception to Matthew Jackson. He was only 5-for-8 according to Jim White from TennesseeTitans.com. So it was a struggle early, but Levis really bounced back in that third down period, which again, that's where the team struggled on Saturday.

So you like to see that. But overall, it was a win for the defense on the day. And a lot of it had to do with the offensive line. And according to multiple reports, it's that right side of the offensive line that is just struggling. John Ajuku at right tackle and Sadiq Charles at right guard.

Nicholas Petit-Ferrer, oh, by the way, Harold Landry was back. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is going to be back on Friday. And I firmly believe, firmly believe that he needs to be immediately put in as the starter. I'm not saying

that's going to make things immediately better. I'm not saying that NPF is some great player, but I do think that he's better than John Ajuku. I absolutely do. So I think NPF needs to get out there at right tackle. And let me say this. Okay?

Let me say this. I've continued to say, I've continued to say, and will continue to say, Dylan Radins is one of the best five offensive linemen on this team. And it's insane to me that he's not going to start. Like, maybe he beats out Sadiq Charles eventually. I don't know.

But to me, Dylan Raid, if the Titans continue to struggle on the right side, even when NPF comes back, they gotta give Raidens a chance to play right tackle. Dylan Raidens is one of the five best offensive linemen on this team. It is crazy to me that he

can't crack this lineup. That he isn't going to get a chance to play. It does not make any sense to me. Especially with these early reports. So, again, like I told you yesterday, I'm not panicking about this offensive line. I want to see Nicholas Petit-Ferrer in there at right tackle and see how they gel that way.

But if we go past the first couple of preseason games and the right side of the offensive line is still a major problem, you got to give Dylan Radins a shot out there. You got to. Like, you just got to. Yeah, you wanted to work him at guard. Yeah, that would be best. But he's probably the best right tackle on the roster.

He may be better as a guard, but he's probably the best right tackle on the roster. He may be better as a guard, but he's probably the best right tackle on the roster. So, just wanted to throw that out there. The last thing, I want to finish on a positive. Josh Wiley continues to get praise, to get targets, to make plays. I mean, Josh Wiley is ascending right now. Brian Callahan said, quote,

he's coming into his own as a tight end. That's exciting. We've been talking about Wiley for the last month or so. Could he push to be the number one tight end? I talked about on yesterday or the day before show how Wiley is kind of a perfect combination of Nick Vanette and Chig Aconquo. He has mobility and agility as a pass catcher like Chig does, but he's got the body and the size of a Nick Vanette,

which will allow him to be a better blocker. Perfect combo. Okay, so with that being said, though, that is my recap of a wild Tuesday for the Tennessee Titans. They're back out on the practice field on Wednesday morning. It's going to be nuts. And I'm going to be here to break it all down with you guys tomorrow as well.

So make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Check out my Malik Willis film breakdown on the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel. Link to the channel is down below in the comments. That is going to do it for me today, folks. Tighten up in the chat, everybody. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland.

And this was Locked on Titans.