Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Kyle Philips to IR, Titans Claim Kindle Vildor & Cade York Added to Practice Squad

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans placed wide receiver Kyle Phillips on injured reserve on Wednesday. He may very well be cursed. We're going to talk about that and more on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. 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.

Starting point is 00:00:50 Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook of Locked On. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get 200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on to get started. The Kyle Phillips injury finally puts him on IR. According to reports, I think he might be cursed. We're going to talk about that also. The Tennessee Titans make a waiver claim and add defensive back Kendall Vildor. We'll talk about that along with some other roster moves. And the Tennessee Titans make a waiver claim and add defensive back Kendall Vildor. We'll talk about that along with some other roster moves.

Starting point is 00:01:27 And the Tennessee Titans set their practice squad, including adding former Browns draft pick Cade York. So we're going to talk about all of that. Before we do, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast 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 subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there.

Starting point is 00:01:57 I got a great show for you guys tomorrow. We are going to have a fantasy expert on the show to break down some of the Tennessee Titans fantasy options this year. Talk a little bit of the entire NFL as well. So make sure that you guys tune in for that. And then next week is game week, baby. And I got a lot of content planned for you guys. So again, make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But with that being said, Kyle Phillips was reported by Jordan Schultz and Adam Schefter

Starting point is 00:02:29 that he would be going on injured reserve. Okay. And like I said, I think there's a chance here that Kyle Phillips is cursed. Let me just say this. We all remember the Giants game from Kyle Phillips last year, right? Week one, Kyle Phillips looks like the second coming of Cooper Cup. He has six catches for 66 yards. Wait, did I say that correctly?

Starting point is 00:02:58 Six catches for 66 yards. Again, for those watching on YouTube, I got the holy water out here, okay? I got the holy water. I think there's a chance that you look at that and Kyle Phillips is cursed. Now, all jokes aside, all jokes aside, Kyle Phillips just simply can't stay healthy here.

Starting point is 00:03:20 And it's unfortunate because his skill set is something that the Tennessee Titans desperately need. They need a guy who can beat man coverage consistently. Teams love playing man coverage, tight press man coverage, and bringing pressure against the Titans. Because for far too long, outside of a guy like A.J. Brown, the Titans didn't have anybody who could consistently beat man coverage. And they certainly didn't have two people who could do it, which is a requirement, I think, in nowadays NFL. You have to have two players on the field that can consistently win against man coverage because your top option is going to get double covered.

Starting point is 00:03:54 You have to have someone else you can go to. So Kyle Phillips' skill set is vital because along with Traylon Burks, DeAndre Hopkins, and Phillips, now you have three guys, and if you add in Chigaconquo and you add in Tajay Spears, you might have five guys who can consistently beat man coverage and boy that would create some explosive opportunities for the Titans. But Phillips has an MCL issue in his knee from that punt return attempt that he had against the Minnesota Vikings where he got smacked. Should have probably just called fair catch on that one, but did not and then ended up getting hurt. And you look back to last year,

Starting point is 00:04:28 we talked about that week one performance from Kyle Phillips. He had six catches in that game. He had two more the rest of the year. He played in four games total. And now he's going to miss at least four games to start the season being on injured reserve. And again, we have talked about this all week on the Locked on Titans podcast. If you're an everydayer, you would have been prepared days in advance

Starting point is 00:04:52 for what was going to happen with Kyle Phillips here. What the Titans did was they kept seven wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster. And then they put Kyle Phillips on IR after the roster was already set so that Kyle Phillips could come back after four games. And if he was placed on IR before the 53 men was said he'd be out the entire season. So this was an expectation for all of us listening to the show. And it finally happened.

Starting point is 00:05:17 Obviously, it hurts not having that skill set, but who steps up in the meantime? You're going to see a lot more Chris Moore, which is something that honestly I've been talking about for a little while now. I expected to see more of Chris Moore as the third wide receiver. He's a bigger bodied guy, an experienced guy. He had over 500 yards last year, so it's not like he's a guy who can't produce in the NFL, so you're going to see more Chris Moore, but again, you're going to see more of Colton Dowell as well. When I talked about Colton Dowell making this roster, the rookie seventh round pick, one of the things I talked about is something that he said in his interview

Starting point is 00:05:50 just last week, or earlier this week it might have been. He said, I know how to play all three positions at wide receiver. So Colton Dowell has the knowledge and the ability to play in the slot a little bit as well. And of course, DeAndre Hopkins, who has experience in Tim Kelly's offense, can play in the slot. And I think that the Titans will use Chigakonkwo in the slot a little bit this year as well. So those are the guys who I would look to see step up. I honestly think that while this is a skill set loss for the Titans, somebody who could

Starting point is 00:06:21 punt return and that pure slot guy, I really don't think this is going to cost the Tennessee Titans any wins though at the end of the day. So I don't think this is like the worst thing that happened. Losing Burks would have obviously been a way bigger detriment to the Titans. But again, at the end of the day, to me, it's like Kyle Phillips is cursed. We talked about the guys who could step up at wide receiver. At punt return, you're going to see a guy like Kiaris Jackson who made the roster have a shot. The Titans may elevate a guy like Mason Kinsey who made the practice squad. We'll talk about practice squad at the end of the show, but Mason Kinsey could get elevated early on to help deal with some of those duties. Tajay Spears may be a guy. He practiced on punt return a little bit

Starting point is 00:07:06 during the preseason. Maybe that's something that he would be willing to do in there as well. So there are a lot of options for the Titans to replace Kyle Phillips, but will they be able to do as well as Kyle Phillips could do in those certain roles? Probably not,

Starting point is 00:07:18 but I really don't think it's that big of a detriment to the Titans, more or less. I just feel offer for Kyle Phillips, and again, six catches, 66 yards. And then he's been hurt ever since. We have anybody out there who can perform an exorcism. All jokes aside, all jokes aside, we're moving forward. We got to talk about two additions the Titans made on Wednesday from other teams.

Starting point is 00:07:43 Two additions the Titans made on Wednesday from other teams. The Titans claimed Kendall Vildor, and they also are going to be adding Cade York to their practice squad. So we're going to talk about all of that in just a moment. Before we get into it, I do want to remind you guys that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Get ready for the NFL season with incredible offers from FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get 200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Plus, all customers who bet $5 will get $100

Starting point is 00:08:21 off NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube or YouTube TV. Now is the best time to join FanDuel. The app is easy to use. You could be on everything from the spreads to player props to the money line. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won't want to miss. FanDuel, the official partner of the NFL season with an offer you won't want to miss. FanDuel, the official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about Kyle Phillips going to IR. Now, I want to dive into the additions that the Titans made on Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:09:18 We got a full slate of practice squad players, plus the Titans took two guys who were on teams before this. Going to dive into all that before I do. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:09:41 Also, throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. With that being said, tomorrow's show, got a fantasy football extravaganza coming your way. Got a special guest lined up. Hopefully we're able to get that coordinated in time. But a lot of great content coming for you guys,

Starting point is 00:10:00 not only tomorrow, but next week as the Titans head towards the kickoff of the regular season. But the Titans made two additions from other teams. They claimed Kendall Vildor, the cornerback formerly of the Chicago Bears. They used a waiver claim on him to add him to the roster. Also, the Titans are going to be signing former Browns kicker Cade York to the practice squad. So we're going to talk about that. Before we dive into Cade York, I want to talk about Kendall Vildor. So Vildor, again, is a cornerback.

Starting point is 00:10:34 He was drafted in the fifth round out of Georgia Southern in 2020. He's been with the Chicago Bears his entire career. He's played in 44 games. He's made 11 starts. has 97 career tackles, 10 passes defended, and one interception. Not only can he play cornerback, but he's played 255 career special team snaps as well. Now, when we dive into what he actually does schematically for the Titans, he is going to be an outside cornerback. He's going to be somebody who plays near the boundary.

Starting point is 00:11:09 He has played the majority, the vast majority of snaps in his career on the boundary at cornerback. So look for him to be an outside option and primarily be a special teams guy. Now, I was thinking early in the day when we got the news that Kendall Vildor was going to be claimed by the Titans. Okay. Well, if the Titans are claiming someone, that means they have to add that player to their 53 man roster, which means somebody on the initial Titans 53 man roster had to be cut. Well, I was like, okay, Kyle Phillips is probably going to get placed on IR.

Starting point is 00:11:43 We hadn't had any confirmation or reports of that yet, but I'm telling you guys, like my everydayers would know, I've been on this all week. Kyle Phillips is going to be moved to IR. After you saw him in the knee brace in the locker room, it was pretty obvious what was going to happen. So I was thinking, okay, you add Kendall Vildor, you put Kyle Phillips on IR, that keeps the roster at 53.

Starting point is 00:12:05 But no, that's not what happened. What the Titans did was they claimed Kendall Vildor and then they waived Corey Levin, the offensive lineman. So now you're like, okay, if you added Vildor and you waived Corey Levin, but you didn't place Kyle Phillips on IR, then what's going on? You know what I mean? How do we reconcile what the Titans are doing with their roster here? Well, here's my expectation. So although Kendall Vildor didn't get placed, or Kendall Vildor was claimed, and Kyle Phillips didn't get placed on IR,

Starting point is 00:12:52 what I think will happen is, Corey Levin was waived, Kyle Phillips will get placed on IR on Thursday. It's already been reported by multiple sources. The Titans just didn't formally process the transaction on Wednesday. So Kyle Phillips will be placed on IR on Thursday. And then the Titans could bring Corey Levin back to the roster. Corey Levin is a veteran.

Starting point is 00:13:17 He doesn't go through waivers. He doesn't have the ability to be claimed. He's a guy who gets released and can immediately sign with whoever he wants. So what the Titans probably did was, and I don't know why the Titans didn't want to process the Kyle Phillips IR designation on Wednesday. I don't know if maybe there's a roster rule where they have to wait until Thursday to do that. I don't think there is to my knowledge, but either way. So the Titans may be putting Kyle Phillips on IR on Thursday and then just adding Corey Levin back in Phillips' spot even though they released Levin to create a spot for Vildor, who they claimed. So it's all confusing roster mechanics.

Starting point is 00:13:53 But either way, I think Kyle Phillips gets placed on IR on Thursday and then Corey Levin gets brought back. If not, I would look for it to maybe be a fourth tight end. Maybe the Titans add another edge rusher or defensive line presence, something like that. That's what I would be for it to maybe be a fourth tight end. Maybe the Titans add another edge rusher or defensive line present, something like that. That's what I would be looking for. But that's kind of the order of operations that I think the Titans are going through right now to keep the roster at 53.

Starting point is 00:14:14 Outside of that, Cade York was signed, or at least the reports are that Cade York is going to be signed. But that's going to go to the practice squad. And I think that's a smart move. So yesterday, a lot of you guys disagreed with me on my take on Nick Folk. You thought it was worth it to send the seventh round pick, this and that. And that's fine. What happened on Wednesday with the Titans bringing in Cade York to the practice squad makes me feel a whole lot better about the Nick Folk situation because Cade York is everything that Nick Folk isn't. Nick Folk is conservative, consistent, and old. Cade York is erratic, young, and super talented.

Starting point is 00:15:02 Cade York was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round last year in 2022. Last year, he struggled, though. He only went 24 for 32 on his field goals, went 10 for 15 from 40 yards plus, 35 of 37 on his extra points, but he had a touchback rate of 61%. Cade York's only 22 years old. He was excellent at LSU. He has a ton of leg. He has a ton of potential from his college days. And let me just say this, Cade York would not be the first

Starting point is 00:15:36 player to do poorly with the Browns and then leave and have better days. So I like the prospect of having Cade York on the practice squad. You can develop him. You can see how he plays in practice. He can gain his confidence back in. Let me throw this in with Cade York that I think is incredibly interesting. Cade York could have gone back to the Browns. They wanted him on their practice squad, and he said, no, I want to go to Tennessee. So Cade York was desperate for a change of environment. And I think that lets you into his mindset of what he's looking for.

Starting point is 00:16:18 He just wants a fresh start. And I think the Titans are a great place to do that. And with Folk being such an older guy with no leg strength Cade York being a younger guy who they can develop on the practice squad who they can call up for kickoff duties if they need to who if he's performing better than Nick Folk they can just bring up and make their kicker if this goes well

Starting point is 00:16:41 Cade York could be the Titans' kicker for a decade. Now, the odds of it going that well are very low, I admit. But this at least gives them a project to work with while they're also having a kicker with very limited upside who's 38 and going to turn 39 soon and Nick Folk.

Starting point is 00:17:00 So, I will back off my criticisms from yesterday and admit that bringing in Cade York does make me feel better about the situation with Nick Folk. So, I will back off my criticisms from yesterday and admit that bringing in Cade York does make me feel better about the situation with Nick Folk. But with that being said, we are going to move forward in today's show and talk about the rest of the practice squad. We got Cade York, and he's going to be added on Thursday. But there are 16 other players that we have to talk about

Starting point is 00:17:22 that the Titans added. Going to dive into all those in just a second. All right, Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Kyle Phillips going to IR. We talked about the Titans claiming Kendall Vildor. Also adding Kate York to do that. They waive Corey Levin to add Vildor with the claim. But we're going to talk about the rest of the practice squad to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:18:05 Before we get into it, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed,

Starting point is 00:18:19 stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Tomorrow, we're going to have a major fantasy football breakdown for the Titans with a special guest. Also, next week, I'm going to start my predictions at the beginning of the week. We're going to talk my updated record prediction for the Titans on Sunday night. We are going to talk my statistical predictions. We are going to talk my awards. Who's going to be the Titans MVP?

Starting point is 00:18:43 Who's going to be the best defensive player? most underrated, all those superlatives. Got a ton of content coming up. And then, of course, on Wednesday, what's next? Wednesday, we're going to start looking at the Saints. Got crossover Thursday with Ross Jackson from Locked on Saints on Thursday. And then every Friday offseason, it's Game Plan Friday. And I tell you how the Tennessee Titans can beat their opponent from a schematic standpoint.

Starting point is 00:19:07 Very excited that the season's right around the corner. Make sure you stay locked in with the Locked on Titans podcast. But I told you about Cade York. He's going to be added to the practice squad on Thursday. He's going to be the 17th player. And you may be wondering, wait a minute, Tyler. Only 16 players are allowed on the practice squad Well, my everyday errs. Let me know down below who you are my everyday errs will know that we've been talking about

Starting point is 00:19:36 Thomas Odukoye and how his International pathway program status allows the Titans a loophole with the roster building process. Thomas Odekoya is an international pathway program player. When he is on the practice squad, that gives the Titans a special exemption where they can have a 17th player on the practice squad. Basically, because Thomas Odekoya is an international prospect, he does not count towards the roster limit on the practice squad. Same thing as in training camp. The Titans could have 91 players instead of the allowed 90 because they had Thomas Odukoye. The Titans are absolutely going to take advantage of that roster loophole, and that's why, in my opinion, I did not have Thomas Odukoye making the initial 53-man roster

Starting point is 00:20:23 because I know that the Titans want to take advantage of that and put him on the practice squad. And that is exactly what they did. So that is why the Titans have 17 players on the practice squad instead of 16. So let's dive in to the Titans practice squad. You have Cade York, kicker. And then on offense, you have Mason Kinsey and Treshawn Harrison, wide receiver. I want to take a quick pit stop and say this. I know that some of you guys like Mason Kinsey a lot. Some of you don't like Mason Kinsey a lot. One thing that you may not know about Mason Kinsey is he can play wide receiver and defensive back.

Starting point is 00:21:00 That's why Mason Kinsey is best on the Titans practice squad. He's more valuable to the Titans on the practice squad They can elevate him on game day so that he can help return punch return kicks play wide receiver if need to But on the practice squad he is responsible playing scout team if any of you guys actually played football Which it's okay if you didn't and don't know this we're not gatekeeping here I'm trying to educate people. If you didn't play football, the starting offense and the starting defense will go against backup players and the backup players will try to act as the team that they're going to play that week. So the Titans play the Saints. That means in practice this week and next week, the Titans practice squad and their

Starting point is 00:21:42 backups are going to pretend to be the Saints. Mason Kinsey can play wide receiver against the starting defense. He can play defensive back against the starting offense. That gives him incredible value to the Titans on the practice squad. So that's why Mason Kinsey makes more sense there. So Kinsey and Treshawn Harrison were the wide receivers. Thomas Odukoye and Kevin Rader were the tight ends that were on practice squad. Talked about Odukoye and his special status just a second ago. On the offensive line, John Ajuku, talented offensive tackle who's been injured for most of training camp.

Starting point is 00:22:18 Andrew Rupsich, who struggled at tackle early in the preseason, but looked a lot better at guard. And then Jordan Roos, the veteran, he's going to be back. I thought he might have a chance to make the roster, but Roos is going to be on the practice squad. He is going to be the number one guy that gets elevated if there's any injuries on the interior offensive line. The Titans didn't keep any running backs, quarterbacks on the practice squad. They have enough of that on the roster, right? Moving forward onto the defense. On the D-line, TK McClendon, Michael Dwanfor, and Kyle Pecco. I thought that Dwanfor and Pecco

Starting point is 00:22:53 would make the active roster. I thought they were the most impressive backup defensive linemen. The Titans decided to go with Naquan Jones and Jaden Peavy, although I thought there would be six with Peavy still making it. Either way, Dumphor and Peko were impressive in the preseason, and they deserve to be with the team still. So I'm excited that the Titans were able to get them on the practice squad. I think that's big for the team. Outside of those two, they have Chance Campbell. Everybody was kind of surprised that Campbell got cut. The Titans were able to get him back on the practice squad, so that's good to see. Sam Okwe and Nonu and Thomas Rush, an outside linebacker, were added back to the practice squad. That makes sense. Okwe and Nonu played with the Titans for six games last year. He knows the

Starting point is 00:23:33 defense. Good to have a guy like that on the practice squad. And then in the defensive backfield, the two slot cornerbacks that we all really liked, Eric Gerrard and Armani Marsh, were added to the Titans practice squad. And then Shaheem Carter, atmani Marsh were added to the Titans practice squad. And then Shaheem Carter at safety was added to the Titans practice squad as well. I thought there was a good chance that Shaheem Carter made the Titans active roster. Instead, they went with the undrafted free agent rookie Matthew Jackson. That's fine with me, but good to have Carter back on the practice squad. Again, a guy who knows the defense, who can chip in with the Titans,

Starting point is 00:24:03 and actually help on scout team, and then come in and come up on the game day roster if needed, and know what he's doing. So, that's the Titans practice squad. Again, I expect Kyle Phillips to officially be placed on injured reserve on Thursday. And then, with that, the Titans could bring back Corey Levin to fill that roster spot. They could bring in a different position, like another tight end, another running back, defensive line depth, something like that. But that remains to be seen. I'll touch on that on tomorrow's episode.

Starting point is 00:24:35 No matter what, if there's big news, I'm always going to pivot to that. But no matter what, we are going to have a couple of segments tomorrow that focus on fantasy football. We're going to talk about the Tennessee Titans fantasy football prospects and then talk a little bit of NFL with a special guest as well. With that being said though, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host

Starting point is 00:24:55 Tyler Rowland and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Kyle Philips to IR, Titans Claim Kindle Vildor & Cade York Added to Practice Squad

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