Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Cam Ward LAST TEST Before Broncos, Xavier Restrepo LONGSHOT & LB2 Final Battle

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

The Tennessee Titans play their final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday and it will be Cam Ward's last test before taking on the Broncos in Week 1. With that, Ward needs to continue to improve and it would be nice to see more tangible success while he is on the field. If not for Ward's sake, for the offense's. Staying on offense, there are a few spots still up for grabs at wide receiver, offensive tackle and guard. Watching these final battles play out will make the game very interesting throughout. That includes on defense where the linebacker 2 battle between Cedric Gray and James Williams continues to unfold. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.BetterhelpThis episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Talk it out, with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/lockedon.  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)

Cam Ward's final test before the regular season comes on Friday night against the Vikings. And while I'll have my eye on Cam, it's the rest of the offense that I'm going to be watching. I'll explain on today's edition of Locked on Titans. 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. On today's show, we're going to preview the Tennessee Titans final preseason game of the year against the Minnesota Vikings.

We've got to talk about what we want to see from Cam Ward and more specifically Tennessee Titans' offense in this game. But also, we're going to go over some final position battles on the offense, on the defense, as well before we dive into all of it. I do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans, your first listen, each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribe, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through

Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. I'm going to be going live after the game on Friday night to break it all down. We got roster cuts next Tuesday. I'm going to do my last 53-man roster prediction. Before that, we'll be here to break down all the cuts, what the roster looks like. It could get really crazy for the Titans with all their waiver claims. So make sure that you stay locked in here with me on the Locked on Titans podcast and make sure that you don't miss any of the critical information that you will need over the next few days slash week. But with that being said, do want to dive into our discussion here on this final preseason game. Now, some teams are

going to use the final preseason game as a way to just sit all of their starters. They've seen what they need to see and everything's fine. I think the Tennessee Titans need to go the opposite way of that. Titans need to play a bunch of their starters, and we need to see a full version of this football team. I think Big Jeff earlier in the week said that he wanted to play in this game. I would expect Cam Ward to play in this game. I think a guy like Kevin Zeitler, a guy like J.C. Latham, a guy like Calvin Ridley. If they're truly healthy and just managing soreness because it's the preseason, then all of those guys need to play.

I will continue to say that the Titans are not the Eagles. The Titans are not the Chiefs. The Titans are not, you know, teams that have a ton of continuity and have played together and don't have a swath of young players that need to step up and play major roles. So when you're in the situation that the Titans are coming off a 3 and 14 season with a super young roster with a rookie starting at quarterback ready to go week one, I think the Titans need to take this opportunity to get a little confidence, to get a little momentum going towards the beginning of the regular season

because again, it's over now. Like training camp is over. Training camp's last final practice was Wednesday. Okay, this is the final preseason game. There are no more joint practices. There are no more heavy intense training camp practices. After this game, the Titans are going to be cutting down their roster throughout the week. They're going to be making changes to the roster and getting guys in and getting people acclimated and getting people comfortable in their new situations.

And then after next week, it's literally game week and they need to practice and prepare like they're about to play in the game, against the Broncos because they are. So like, time is gone, and I don't feel confident with where the Titans are at on offense right now. We saw them last week, and I talked about how Cam Ward played better

than what people thought based on what the offense did. But the offense didn't. The offense was bad. We saw drops from wide receivers. We saw bad routes as well. We saw a false start from J.C. Latham. We saw a holding penalty. And that goes back to the week before that,

the Titans were able to overcome those things because Cam Ward is so talented and he was able to complete passes but the Titans got into first and 20 the Titans got into third and six the Titans got in the third and nine they had a holding penalty on a screen pass by Calvin Ridley

like the Titans have not played clean good offense all preseason so like why would they be excused from this opportunity so for me we can talk about Cam Ward and what I want but at the end of the day it's about the entire offense

as a whole getting some momentum And here's one thing to keep in mind. So I talk to my guy Luke Braun, the brain, who is also one of my co-hosts on Locked on NFL, but he does Locked-on Vikings, is completely tapped in to everything Vikings. And he's saying that the Vikings are probably going to play, you know, maybe not even some of their backups. They're going to play all low second-string, third-string guys the entire time. The Vikings are a team that doesn't want to play any other starters.

Now, I think they are making a mistake as well because J.J. McCarthy needs the reps. but Kevin O'Connell is one of the best quarterback gurus in the entire NFL. He's what people thought Brian Callahan was. Kevin O'Connell is the real version of what we hope Brian Callahan was, okay? And Kevin O'Connell, it's hard to argue with how he wants to develop his quarterback being in my position. You know what I mean? So I think that McCarthy should play, but I understand if Kevin O'Connell, one of the elite quarterback coaches in the entire NFL doesn't think that's the right move.

Who am I to say no? But at the end of the day, with that being the case, with the Vikings having most of their backups in, their third string in for the entire game, this is an opportunity for the Titans' offense to get some confidence. The Titans' offense to have some success. Because guess what? We could talk about Cam Ward playing better than people thought last week. But at the end of the day, his offense in three drives scored zero points. They had one first down.

three drives against Atlanta's backups and the Titans had one first down and zero points that's not an offense that's ready to go to Denver and play the best defense in the NFL in week one that's not ready so I want to see them get some momentum

I want to see them build some momentum towards the regular season like hey we absolutely and look I know that if they play super well then people can be oh it's against the Vikings third string? I don't care. I don't care if they played against the high school team and played well. This Tennessee Titans offense, I mean, why would we take anything for granted? You know what I mean?

Like, this team was awful last year. The offense has been awful for the Tennessee Titans for years and years and years. And we think that Cam will come in and fix that and at least make an exciting. And I'm hoping for that as well. But at the end of the day, this offense has proved nothing. and there's no reason to believe that Brian Callahan knows what he's doing. So I want to see the Tennessee Titans offense go out there and beat up on some third stringers.

They should be able to do that, right? If the Titans' offense goes out there and they play two drives and they don't get a first down and they don't score any points against Minnesota's third string defense, I'm going to come on the show and be concerned. And you guys are going to tell me, it's just preseason, this dude always overreacting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, I don't know, man.

if it rained every day for the last five days and then it starts trickling on day six I'm probably going to bring my umbrella with me like I guess some people just like to completely cut last season oh it's a new season oh like I see people in my comments on my show yesterday saying the Titans need 10 wins 9 wins you guys are out of your mind

like the Titans aren't getting close to 9 wins 10 wins if you think Brian Callahan's only keeping his job if the Titans win 9 or 10, go ahead and pack his bags and buy him a plane ticket. Get them a bus. They are not winning nine games. Like, this team would be incredibly blessed and lucky. The heavens would have to come down for them to win six. And you guys are talking about 9 and 10 wins.

So, like, I don't care if it's Minnesota's third stringers. The Titans need to go out there and do something against them to prove that they can be better than, because I think the Titans' first stringers, offense probably is pretty close in talent to some third string defenses in the NFL. Like I don't, I think that some team's third string defenses could beat the Titans. If they had their starting offense and their third string defense could still beat the Titans in a regular season game. So I don't care who Minnesota plays.

The Titans offense needs to have some success and any success that they can have, I think is positive momentum towards Denver. So with that in mind though, the real battles that we need to pay attention to are happening in the depth positions on offense and on defense as well. We'll talk about what you need to keep your eye on as these roster spots start to close down. Today's episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. It's the best time of the year, NFL kickoff is almost here, and that means fantasy football season is back in full swing in this year. Yahoo Fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before.

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Now at yahoofantasy.com slash locked on NFL. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast, previewing the Titans final preseason game almost at first. Don't want to go back in time for the preseason, that's for sure. But final preseason game of the year, again, it's against the Minnesota Vikings, finally a home preseason game for the Tennessee Titans. We talked about the expectations for Cam Ward and the starters on offense who I think need to play and need to play well, quite honestly.

now I want to talk about some of the depth battles on the roster because at the end of the day this final preseason game is going to be mostly about the depth and who wins these kind of last battles I want to remind you of what Brian Callahan said earlier this week he said most of the roster is concrete already there are some open spots he mentioned wide receiver running back swing tackle cornerback and stuff like that I think there are some others in here that we need to discuss as well but keep that in the back of your mind of Brian Callahan said that you know there's only four or five

maybe six roster spots that are actually up for grabs right now at certain spots so starting on offense obviously we need to start with Xavier Restrepo Restrepo not looking good right now not looking like a lock if the Titans make some move if they were to trade out of Van Jefferson

which I don't think is going to happen but I guess you never know what could happen if something like that happens then Restrepo may have a chance but we heard from John Fossil Bones Fossel and I mentioned this yesterday but we heard from Bones Fossil at his press conference on Wednesday and he literally said like

I'm not confident in Chim D.K. is the punt returner. Well that means that they have to go with James Prochet. They have no other returner that they can trust at that point. They would have to go with James Prochay and we did the roster math of the three vets with Ridley, Lockett, Jefferson, I.O. Manor, D.K., Oliver, who's a locked, to make the team at this point.

And then if you add pro shay, that's seven wide receivers. And at the end of the day, the Titans are not going to keep eight wide receivers. Which means Xavier Restrepo is cooked. This is his last chance. And here's the thing, what I'm looking for is they have to give Xavier Restrepo return opportunities in this game. The only way that he can make the roster

is if he can return. Because he's not going to be good on coverage units at his size and speed. You want the total opposite of Xavier Restrepo You don't want small and slow You want big and fast for special teams Like a Collelle Mullings, you know what I mean 6 foot 2, 220 pounds, fast

Like that's the kind of guys you want playing special teams So it's gonna be tough for Restrepo no matter what The only special teams value that he could contribute would be as a returner And they haven't really given him opportunities to do that in games Maybe in practices, of course he's taking opportunities but not in games

So if they want to give Xavier a real chance to make the roster. And what's so disappointing to me is if you watch my film breakdown this week of the rookie weapons on the TikTok Titans channel, Xavier Restrepo was doing what Xavier Restrepo does. Getting open, understanding where to sit down in the zone, making people miss after the catch,

just doing exactly what he's always done. And I've said it throughout the week. I'm going to say it again. I'll say it next week as well. I'm not going to have Xavier Restrepo making this football team. I thought he would be a lock to make it. I think it's a massive mistake to keep a guy like James Prochet,

Oliver. These dudes are not going to be in the NFL in a couple of years. You're going to keep them over Xavier Restrepo. The odds of this coming back to bite the Titans is just so high that I'm like, I don't care if he's not a great returner right away. I don't care if he can go down and tackle someone on special teams. He can get open and move the chains and have a connection with your franchise quarterback. That to me is far more important than any special team's value, especially when you look at what it can mean going forward. Like it's just incredibly short-sighted, in my opinion, to operate this way. But this is what the Tennessee Titans are going to do

because Brian Callahan's coaching for his job. So he doesn't care what's best for the Titans in two years. Brian Callahan has to win right now to keep his job. So of course, when it comes to that stuff, he's going to favor someone who can help him right now over someone who can help Cam two years from now. But what do I really care about as a Titans fan? Cam Ward two years from now.

When the Titans might actually be a contender for something. You know what I mean? So, with that in mind, obviously, all eyes on Xavier Restrepo, but at Tide End, I think Tide End is an interesting one. The Titans probably already have their mind made up on this, but right now all we know is Gunner Helm and Chica Conquo we're going to make the football team. After that, will it be Josh Wiley,

who has more of a skill set like Gunner Helm? Will it be Thomas O'Doye, who is more of your traditional only blocking Tide End, not going to give you anything in the receiving game? will it be David Martin Robinson Who gives you a little bit of both He's a little bit bigger than Chigaconkwa was a blocker But he also has some of that You know, explosiveness and his receiving skill set

The problem is I don't think David Martin Robinson Is that good of a blocker either Especially from the preseason tape that we've seen of him He's not that great of a blocker either So it's really just about what skill set The Titans want to keep with that third tight end I thought at times it would be possible The Titans would keep four tight ends

Like they would you know pick two of those guys but I feel less confident about that now. I think the Titans do only keep three tight ends and that makes it more interesting because again, Wiley is kind of a hybrid. Odaquoia is the pure blocker. DMR is more of a Chigacanquo type. It would make more sense to go with the pure blocker

for diversity of skill set, right? Which is Thomas Odequay. But Thomas Odequay is basically useless as a pass catcher. And I don't know that he's that good as a blocker to justify that anyway. So I'm having a really tough time with deciding who I want that third tight end to be and watching this preseason game play out against the Vikings,

it might be kind of that that final thing to look at and be like, oh, this guy was significantly better. I don't see how, you know, they don't keep him. So it really does matter for these depth positions. And speaking of depth positions, we go to the offensive line. And a lot of the offensive line, I think, is set in stone.

Quite honestly, I think at least seven people on the offensive line are set. You have your starting five. You have Corey Levin who is Lloyd Cushingberry's direct backup and then Jackson Slater, the Titan 6th round pick. I think Slater has been very impressive and run blocking during the preseason and I don't think there's any way the Titans can let him go. He would absolutely get picked up on waivers by another team

especially with offensive line being in such a tough position to find depth that. So it comes down to me how many will the Titans keep? Is it going to be 8? Is it going to be 9? I think it's going to be 9. I think there's with Levin and Jackson Slater there's one more interior offensive lineman

there's one more offensive tackle and Brian Callahan even said swing tackle which is their number three tackle behind the starters that's what a swing tackle is he is the backup to both of your tackles the swing tackle spot is open and that's going to be between Ali Udo

Jalen Duncan John Ojuku and Brendan Crenshaw Dixon and I personally right now, based on what we've seen when J.C. Latham was out at right tackle in practice this week, Ali Udo played at right tackle. We heard how good Jalen Duncan was and he was second on the depth chart,

but when the Titans go to their second string offensive line, it's Ali Udo who's starting at left tackle and Jono Juku, who's starting at right tackle. That's in the preseason game. so if in practice Ali Udo is filling in for J.C. Latham and then in the preseason games Ali Udo is the starting or is the backup left tackle

and then John Ojuu is the backup right tackle how is Jalen Duncan getting misconstrued as some guy who's played super well clearly the coaching staff does not agree with that so for me I think Ali Udo is who wins it and I'll confirm that after the game and when we do my 53-man roster predictions but

I have a hard time including Jalen Duncan or John Ajuku in this because I talked about this a couple of weeks ago it's just time to move on to new people Ajuku's been around for a few years he's no good Duncan's been around for a few years he's not any good

so I'm not saying that Brendan Crenshaw Dixon the undrafted free agent offensive tackle from the Florida Gators I'm not saying he's going to be good but I'm saying at least we don't know at least we're not certain can we try something else maybe he could be good

we know Duncan and Ajuku are not good enough we know that so I think it's going to be Ali Udo but that competition between for the backup swing tackle spot we know is open and I think Brendan Crenshaw Dixon actually has just as good if not better of a shot

to win that spot as Duncan and Ojuku So, the interior offensive line, for me, like we said, we know that Corey Levin and Jackson Slater are going to make the team. They're both interior offensive linemen, so they can't have two more guys on the interior. I think Andrew Rupsich has been really, really, really good this preseason. He's been playing with the starters at right guard

when Kevin Zitler has been out. So, Blake Hans has been my favorite to win this number one backup guard job, but Hans was out for a couple of weeks with an injury, and Rupsich has played well. Rupcich has been with the team for a while. I know Blake Hans has tackle, guard, versatility, which may ultimately push him over the finish line, and he has history with Bill Callahan as well.

But right now, I think Andrew Rupich, which would win that spot. But watching that position battle in this game, I think it's something that you've got to keep your eye on. But with that in mind, let's talk about the defense. Today's episode is brought to you by Better Help. These days, it feels like there's advice for everything. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes.

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5 million people and finding the right therapist for you is critical and it's easy to do that with BetterHelp. So talk it out with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash locked on. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. Titans fans. Let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down the Titans' final preseason matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. We talked about Cam Ward, the starters, what my expectations are there and why it's important. talked about the battles to pay attention to on offense, but now we've got to talk about the battles on defense

where a starting position is actually up for grabs. Before I dive into it, I do want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first listen for your second listen. Check out Locked on Fantasy Football. You have host Vinnie Iyer, Michelle Majuk, the Data Queen, getting you ready for your fantasy draft to become the most informed manager so you can take home your trophy in your league this season. Find Lockdown Fantasy Football on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

the linebacker won battle, still not decided. It was James Williams at first, he had a pretty good lead. Cedric Gray has battled back, and I would say that Cedric Gray has the lead right now. Brian Callahan still didn't confirm who won that battle. I would imagine we get that news next week after this game is complete. But, you know, watching Cedric Gray move around, Cedric Gray looks a little more urgent, a little quicker out there, but James Williams is a little bit bigger, a little more physical.

I would be interesting to see where the Titans ultimately land on this. Just got to watch them play. But watching them play all offseason. And I'll be honest with you. I know, I know. Negative Nancy Ty, but like, everyone's like, oh, linebackers now with strength. Like, it's crazy, but look,

we don't know that Cedric Gray or James Williams, either of them are any good. They're fighting with each other. That doesn't mean that they're good linebackers in the NFL. So, like, calm down on saying that the linebacker group is now this big strength for the Titans. Like, you don't know that. You can't know that. Like, and I don't even see how you could logically conclude that at this time.

So just keep in mind that these guys are battling with each other. But just because one of them wins the battle doesn't mean that they're good. That still has to be proven. But with that in mind, that is the number one thing that you should look at on the defensive side of the ball for sure. and those linebackers have played a lot in the preseason. And I would imagine that they'll play a lot again in this game. But finally, cornerback four, not finally, we go to the secondary, cornerback for Daryl Baker versus Marcus Harris.

Marcus Harris has been pretty impressive. Marcus Harris has had some good plays out there. Now, his best play of the preseason was him getting absolutely roasted on a route and then a bad throw letting him catch up to it and knock it away. But nonetheless, he's got good speed. he looks like he knows what he's doing and that's critical for a rookie and Daryl Baker you know

Darrell Baker played fine last year in place of Legerius Sneed and Chido Baye Ousier but Daryl Baker at the end of the day was a guy the Titans got off the scrap heap from the Indianapolis Colts it's not like Daryl Baker is impeachable

so I would prefer if Marcus Harris got the cornerback four spot because I would rather the Titans draft pick who just got drafted be a better player than a journeyman like Daryl Baker Jr. Now the Titans likely will need both of them to play pretty solid football this year at some point

but you know if I had to choose who I wanted to be better I would take Marcus Harris every day but that's a battle to watch there finally safety five I think is a very interesting battle you're gonna have the top four hooker Woods Winston Diggs there's your top four I think the Titans keep five safeties and it's either gonna be Mike Brown who I've been a big fan of as a depth safety for the last few years

or it's going to be Kendall Brooks. Kendall Brooks number 33. He looks like baby Jamal Adams out there when he's playing. Now, he was in a yellow jersey all week this week, which is no contact for a non-quarterback. So he must be banged up in some way. But hopefully he's able to play and go out there because I've been very impressed by Kendall Brooks.

And although I am a Mike Brown stand, I think that it would still be exciting if Kendall Brooks was able to beat him out and get that spot. I think Brooks has just really popped off the tape when you've watched this preseason. but final preseason game then we move on to the regular season again I'll be live here after the game ends to break down everything that happens and then next week we'll start the week with my 53 man roster prediction

and then cut down day is on Tuesday and I'll be here on Tuesday night to go over the Titans first initial 53 man roster don't get too comfortable with the people who make the 53 because the Titans are going to hit the waivers pretty heavy in my opinion but with that being said that's going to do it for me today folks as always I'm your host Tyler Rowland and And this was Locked on Titans.