Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans OTA Recap: Kevin Byard, Kristian Fulton No Shows & Elijah Molden Position Change

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

The Tennessee Titans kicked off OTAs this weekend and Tuesday's practice was open to the media. There were plenty of big names in attendance, but two names who were not there stole the show: Kevin Byard and Kristian Fulton. How we should view these two absences is totally different though. Also, tidbits on Elijah Molden's position change, Treylon Burks and the quarterbacks!Follow 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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard was a no-show at Titans OTAs on Tuesday. Is this something that we should be concerned about? I'll tell you why it's not time to panic about Byard yet. And we'll go over more from Titans practice on Tuesday 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 Titans podcast.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. We have some real Tennessee Titans football to discuss on today's show. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, ready to dive into all of it with you guys. Number one, Kevin Byard is a no-show at Titans practice. I'll tell you why it's not time to panic just yet. And then we'll talk about other Tennessee Titans who didn't show up, including Christian Fulton, which is something that we should be concerned about, and I'll explain why.

And we'll hit some rapid-fire notes on practice, talking about all three quarterbacks, talking about Tajay Spears, talking about Traylon Burks, and Elijah Molden may be making a position change. Very excited to dive into all of my notes from Titans practice on Tuesday. Before we get into it, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on YouTube and your favorite podcast app and always for free.

Make sure that you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, hit that notification bell. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you're watching as well. I really do appreciate all the support and shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. We got a lot to talk

about from today's OTAs and the OTAs so far. Not going to be able to cover it all in one show, so make sure that you tune in throughout the week as I continue to break down what we saw from Tuesday's practice. But number one, we got to start with Kevin Byard. And Kevin Byard was not present at OTAs. He wasn't there at Monday's practice.

He wasn't there at Tuesday's practice. And as I kind of teased at the beginning of the show, it is not time to panic. There's no need to freak out about Kevin Byard not being at practice. And basically, we got that exact, exact answer from multiple people when asked about Kevin Byard's absence on Tuesday. Number one, Shane Bowen, Titans defensive coordinator, he was asked about Kevin Byard not being at OTAs, and he made a good point about the impact that it could have, but at the end of the day, you know, he's just simply, as we should be, not worried about Kevin Byard.

Bowen said this, quote, It's a business. We all understand that. Everybody has a different way about having a train in the offseason. It's no secret some guys do things differently. Some guys are here. Some guys aren't. It's not just Kevin. He's a big part of what we do. I will say, I think for the young guys, they miss him. I have zero doubt that Kevin Byard is going to be ready to go when he gets here. So Bowen points out an interesting point. It's not just that Kevin Byard needs to be ready for the season and in condition and in shape. It's Kevin Byard's leadership and how the way he goes about his business can impact the young players. Now,

and how the way he goes about his business can impact the young players. Now, Jeffrey Simmons got on the mic and talked about Kevin Byard not being there, and he kind of seemed less concerned about things than maybe Bowen acted like in terms of how it'll impact the young players. Jeffrey Simmons talked about how Kevin Byard is still in the group chats with the young players. Mike Vrabel even talked about how Kevin Byard is still in Zoom meetings and still involved in the install of the defense. So it's not like Kevin Byard is distancing himself from the team entirely.

And Simmons even went on to say this, quote, it's not just about what everyone sees. KB is a leader and he's been involved behind the scenes. I know how much he means to this team with his leadership and his play I'm sure he'll be here for mandatory minicamp so you heard the quotes from Bowen and you're like yeah maybe Byard not being there is bad

for the younger guys but then you get Simmons quotes kind of quelling that concern like hey he's still involved he's still in the meetings. He's still there. He'll be back for mandatory minicamp, all that. That makes you feel a lot better. And look, I don't think that Jeffrey Simmons would go out and say, I'm sure he'll be here for mandatory minicamp if he wasn't.

I just don't think that Simmons would have put that out there if he wasn't confident that Bayard would be back for mandatory minicamp. But the last thing, the last thing that I want to go over here, just to triple down, do not worry about Kevin Bayard right now, is what Mike Vrabel had to say. Mike Vrabel said he saw Kevin Bayard at a golf course over the weekend. He looked good. He's been in conversation with him. good. He's been in conversation with him. And he said he knows Bayard will be in attendance

when the time comes. He's not worried about Kevin Bayard. Okay? So Mike Vrabel really expressed that he wasn't concerned about Kevin Bayard him being back with the team. But I get it. If you're worried about the offseason rumors, Kevin Byard being asked to take a pay cut and saying no, rumors of a Kevin Byard trade or a release, all of that stuff in the offseason

has led people to maybe be a little bit concerned. But I'm here to tell you, based on what we see here, there should be no reason to be about concerned about Kevin Byard just yet but I will say this just to cap things off you if Kevin Byard is not in attendance

for mandatory minicamp in June then we can start to have some conversations about concern level then that would be a little bit of a then we can start to have some conversations about concern level. Then that would be a little bit of a, what is going on here? OTAs are voluntary. Kevin Byard is a model of consistency and professionalism.

I'm not worried or panicked or concerned about Kevin Byard, but again, again, if for some reason, Canadian Titan, shout out, nice to see you in the comments, if for some reason Kevin Byard is not at mandatory minicamp, then you have my permission to freak out just a little bit. It reminds me of Bane. Then you have my permission to die.

Then you have my permission to be concerned. But right now, Simmons isn't concerned. Vrabel isn't concerned. But you know who Vrabel does seem concerned about? Christian Fulton. Because Vrabel said all of that to say he wasn't concerned about Kevin Byard's absence. But when he was asked about whether Christian Fulton was at OTAs,

his response turned cold. And all he said was, nope. So we're going to talk about Christian Fulton in just a second. At the end of the show, I'm going to do a rapid fire on some tidbits on all the quarterbacks. Elijah Molden changing positions, something that we have talked about a little bit on the show. It looks like it may be coming to fruition. So we're going to do tidbits on OTAs, talk about Christian Fulton, and some other guys who weren't at practice as well. Before we get into all of that, though,

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But somebody who I wouldn't say freak out in terms of their availability for this season. Thank you, Robert. I see your comment. Thank you, Robert. I wouldn't worry about his availability for this season, but if you're somebody who wants to keep Christian Fulton long-term, you should definitely be worried about the way Mike Vrabel handled his absence

in today's press conference. I'm going to get into all of that. Before I do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long, always for free on all apps, including YouTube, whatever your favorite podcast app is. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast there. So make sure you stay locked into the Locked on Titans podcast there. So make sure you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast

where it's your team every day. So we got to talk about Christian Fulton. Earlier this offseason, I pointed out Christian Fulton as a potential trade candidate for the Titans, somebody they should consider trading away for future draft capital. Help kind of restock the shelves with all the draft picks the Titans have lost in next year's draft.

A lot of you guys push back on that saying, you know, he's a good cornerback. Why would the Titans get rid of him when they don't have a lot of cornerbacks? Blah, blah, blah, this and that. And I get it. I get it, guys. I understand.

When Fulton is healthy, he has the potential to be a pretty good cornerback. He's had flashes of really good play. I can think of exact examples where he literally shut down Michael Pittman. Now, Michael Pittman isn't, you know, AJ Brown, Tyreek Hill, those type of wide receivers, but Michael Pittman's still a good wide receiver. So I never thought of Christian Fulton as a lockdown number one cornerback, like a Jalen Ramsey or something like that. But he could be a really solid number one corner in a defense that is all about the collective spirit of the defense,

not just, hey, we got great players out there and we're looking to win one-on-one matchups and beat you. The Titans try to play together. Okay? So Christian Fulton could be the number one cornerback for the Titans within their defense that is driven by pass rush, but him being like a lockdown cornerback,

like I just gave you an example, like Jalen Ramsey in his prime or Darrell Revis or something like that, that just wasn't going to happen. But the reality here is Christian Fulton has played in 30 games out of a possible 50 in his career. 30 games out of 50. He's not reliable to be on the field. And even when he's healthy, his play can be inconsistent.

He can have a week where he shuts down Michael Pittman and then he could get beat deep for a couple of plays the next week. So with that, it's already unlikely that Fulton was going to get brought back by the Titans. He's going into his last year of his contract. It's unlikely that Fulton was going to get brought back by the Titans. He's going into his last year of his contract. It's unlikely that Fulton was going to be brought back anyway. But you add in Mike Vrabel calling Fulton out individually, him and David Long called him out for their management of their issues.

Mike Vrabel basically blamed Christian Fulton and David Long for getting injured. Blamed them for it. David Long didn't like that. He went to Miami. And when he was asked about it in Miami, he was like, I don't know where that came from. I'm a guy who's all in for football. So do you think that Fulton took that comment and was happy about it? No. I bet Christian Fulton is just as pissed off about Mike Frabel's comment, blaming him for his injuries, as David Long was. Now you add in this.

Christian Fulton, not at OTAs. He's training in Miami doing yoga and Pilates with a basketball trainer who worked with LeBron and D. Wade. And again, I'm going to reference the Kevin Byard conversation. Mike Vrabel gave a whole paragraph on why he's not worried about Kevin Byard. But then he was asked if Christian Fulton was at OTAs, and he went, nope. And that's all he said.

You can tell by the response from Mike Vrabel that he's okay with Kevin Byard not being there, but he is not happy about Christian Fulton not being there. So, as I said earlier this offseason, I still believe the Titans need to consider trading Christian Fulton. One, I don't think the Titans are going to make the Super Bowl this year anyways. I think they're not going to make the playoffs. So if you're telling me, man, they can't get rid of Fulton,

he's one of their best corners. I mean, what difference is that going to make in the long run? I mean, give Trey Avery the snaps. Let's see. Because it's obvious that Christian Fulton is not going to be back with the team. And it's obvious that Mike Vrabel is not a big fan of Christian Fulton.

Now look, there is a conversation to be had of I think Christian Fulton will have a contract that's worthy of a compensatory pick. But the Titans may be big spenders in free agency next year with their cap space. So if they sign enough players, they're not going to get a comp pick anyways. So trading Fulton and getting a pick might be the best way to actually get something for him when he leaves. So I'm just saying it may not make sense on paper,

but when you look at the long-term future of the Titans, trading Christian Fulton, I think, makes the most sense. And obviously, he's in Mike Vrabel's doghouse, and obviously, he doesn't care to get out of it. So, I think Christian Fulton's absence is a way bigger deal than Kevin Byard's. But as for some other guys who are not at OTAs on Tuesday, Caleb Farley, I think that's an injury thing, though.

They're bringing him back slowly from the back surgery. Monty Rice, not sure if that's voluntary absence or if that's injury. Harold Landry, obviously injury-related. They're coming back from the ACL. They don't want to push him too soon. Dylan Radin, same thing. ACL tear in week 15. Don't want to push him too soon. Trevon Wesko,

not there. Not certain what's up with that, whether that's injury or voluntary. Danico Autry, if I'm the Titans, I'm not playing Danico Autry at any point in time until we get into the season anyway. Maybe you can get some reps and joint practices and maybe the last preseason game, but Danico Autry at any point in time until we get into the season anyway. Maybe he can get some reps and joint practices and maybe the last preseason game, but Danico Autry is 33. He doesn't need to practice,

and they need to keep him as healthy as possible. Sam Okweanonu, I would imagine that Sam Okweanonu missing is injury-related because he is not a player who should feel comfortable missing any workout, voluntary or not. So those are the players who weren't out there. Most of them seem like probably injury related rather than just like Kevin Byard voluntarily not coming because you're doing your own program.

But, I mean, Derrick Henry was there. Jeffrey Simmons is there. Ryan Tannehill is there. There's really no excuse for Christian Fulton to not be there. He's not Kevin Byard. So, it's obvious there's a major disconnect between Fulton and the team. And that's why I say the best solution to that is probably a trade for Christian Fulton. You know, and maybe that's something that would make more sense in the season

when teams start having injuries and they need another. You can never have too many good cornerbacks. So maybe it would make sense for a team during the season, maybe their cornerbacks got injured, they have some depth issues there and they want to make a Super Bowl run. Trade Fulton to one of those teams. Get yourself a third, fourth, fifth round pick, and then move forward. Because it's just obvious Fulton's not going to be with the Titans long term.

So they need to get some value out of him, if they can, before he moves to another team and they get nothing because they sign a bunch of guys next offseason anyways. So, something to watch. That is an absence that does have some, some, I don't want to say juice, but some pop to it. That's something we got to watch. But what I want

to do is I want to transition into some rapid fire notes. Talk about the quarterbacks. Talk about Elijah Molden switching positions. Something we talked about last week. Every dayers will remember. We talked about this when we talked about safety. So very excited to dive into that and some quick hits on OTAs in just a moment. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's breakdown and recap of Titans OTAs. We talked about Kevin Byard's absence. We talked about Christian Fulton's absence.

Now, I want to move into some quick hitters about practice, some tidbits about individual players, certain positions. We're going to talk quarterback. We're going to talk Tajay Spears, Traylon Burks, all of that. So before we get into it, got to remind you guys, take a drink of water. This is our daily hydration break, Titans fans. Go ahead, take your drink of water. Stay hydrated.

We're getting into the warm months. Looking out for you guys. Got your Titans content and your health advice. Just take a drink of water. All right. So now that we're all good with that, got to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long on YouTube, your favorite podcast app, always for free. I'm never going to charge you guys for the podcast,

but in return, if you could, throw a thumbs up on the video right now. It would mean a great deal, help support the channel. I would appreciate it quite a bit. But number one, let's talk about the quarterbacks. So Ryan Tannehill, all indications, very sharp. He completed his first eight passes during practice. He did have one underthrow to Racey McMath later in practice that was just a bad pass and it fell to the ground. But, I mean, you can't hit them all right. But overall, Ryan Tannehill looking very sharp. He had a great pass over the middle to Chigaconquo during team period.

So good to see that connection is still rolling. No pun intended. As for Malik Willis, Chikokonkwo said Malik looks more confident. He's announcing the plays in the hole with more confidence. He said that he looks much more accurate in his passes. Now that could be a teammate hyping up a teammate, but what I do want to say about Malik is

Mike Vrabel said that his task to Malik Willis was to have a better demeanor this year. He talked about you got to be a leader when you get into the huddle. Chica Conquo talked about him being more confident in the huddle this year, calling the plays and stuff.

That is what Mike Vrabel talked about. He wanted to see better demeanor from Malik Willis, more energy from Malik Willis, more confidence from Malik Willis. He wants him to be a leader. If you're going to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, you have to be a leader. And look, guys, Malik Willis did some press availability after practice.

And as I said with his press conferences last year after the games that he started he just doesn't have a professional athlete's demeanor in my opinion I could see why Mike Vrabel wanted more from Malik Willis in that department he just he just doesn't exude confidence and he doesn't exude confidence,

and he doesn't exude competitiveness. He just seems like a guy who's just happy to be there. And look, I'm a guy who leans more negative than positive when it comes to my reaction to things. Much more of a negative Nancy than a positive Pauly. If you're an everydayer for the show, you know that, all right? And this is just personality types, more than anything to do with football. But if you're somebody who is so, so positive that you don't properly acknowledge the issues, like I'm a person, I'm a Kobe Bryant kid. I grew up watching Kobe Bryant.

He was my idol. He was my favorite player. Kobe Bryant took every negative slight that he ever heard about himself and turned it into motivation. And he was just driven to outwork any other player. Now, does every player on the Titans need to have the same work ethic of Kobe Bryant? No. Obviously, that's not going to

happen. But my point here is that there has to be a happy medium. I'm not asking Malik Willis to be angry, driven, upset, focusing on the negatives all the time. But I don't believe that as a professional athlete, and especially a starting quarterback in the NFL, you can't be as nonchalant as Malik Willis. You can't be so laid back as Malik Willis. He's just same thing. Well, I'm just as happy as if we win or if we lose.

Oh, I can't draw the Texans off sides with a hard count because I'm laughing, because it's funny. He just doesn't take things as serious as you need to to be a professional athlete. Now, as I've said, I think Malik Willis is a really good person, like outside of professional sports. I think you have to be a specific type of person.

You have to have certain qualities to survive in professional sports, I think you have to be a specific type of person. You have to have certain qualities to survive in professional sports that you don't necessarily need to be just a regular everyday person. Malik Willis just doesn't have the drive, the competitive competitiveness, the, Oh, I'm going to go get it. He just doesn't have that. He's happy. Go lucky. Amar. I like that. And look, I think that positive attitude, that positive outlook on life, that, hey, nothing's that big of a deal. I'm happy to wake up today. I'm happy to be breathing. That positive outlook is absolutely fantastic for regular life. I just don't think you can be that completely and be a high level professional

athlete. That's just my opinion of the matter. And Malik doesn't have it. He's not driven enough. He's not competitive enough. I'm sorry. But as for him on the field, he looked

accurate. He did have one throw that was behind Josh Wiley but Malik looked a little better all I would tell you is rolling to his left and throwing passes still looks ugly it still looks really ugly so look man

the new quarterback rule which we're going to dive into in the coming days might be a lifesaver for Malik Willis and give him one more year to stick on the roster. But it also might not. It also might not. So we'll see. He's got a better chance than ever before.

But yeah, Malik's just attitude is good for regular life, but I don't think it's very suitable for a professional athlete. And on the field, he was all right. The operational things he did a little bit better. Some good throws, some bad throws. Not really much more to report other than that. As for Will Levis, looked smooth. He did fumble his first snap of team period.

He played in the rookie period at the end of practice. But he hit a couple passes to Mason Kinsey. Did have a couple of inaccurate passes as well. So, kind of an up and down day for both Malik Willis and Will Levis. Kind of an up and down day for both of them. But all I would say is personality wise, you could see why Mike Vrabel wanted Will Levis and why maybe Mike Vrabel isn't a big fan of Malik Wills.

Like you could just tell with their personalities. Moving forward to other players outside of the quarterback spot. Traylon Burks, slimmer, faster, more in shape. Made three catches during practice during team period. Had one where he went over top of Roger McCreary and made the play. Telling you guys, get hype about Traylon Burks. Boy, I see a thousand yard season in the near future. Andre Dillard lined up at left tackle in team period with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.

Now, I only saw one example of it. It was one picture that showed Andre Dillard at left tackle. So that isn't a, you know, an end-all be-all stamp it. That's what's happening. But worth noting that with Ryan Tannehill in the backfield and shotgun,

it was Andre Dillard at left tackle, which I think is ultimately what the starting lineup will give us. Tajay Spears caught the ball well out of the backfield. He had an over-the-shoulder catch, which is something that some scouts were concerned about coming into the draft, whether he could do that. He had a spinning catch over the middle of the field. Tajay Spears got more work.

Derrick Henry didn't participate in team session. So Tajay Spears is going to get a ton of work. He looks like he can fill that need. And he's going to be used at kick returner, punt returner. Very excited about what Tajay Spears can do. He looks the part early on. And then finally, Elijah Molden.

We talked about this. My everydayers remember we talked about this, I think, last week. The Titans safety group right now, outside of Imani Hooker and Kevin Byard, is disgusting. So, if Elijah Molden was able to play some safety, that would be huge for the Titans

depth. That would be huge for him as a third safety. Remember I said I always change Elijah Molden was able to play some safety, that would be huge for the Titans depth. That would be huge for him as a third safety. Remember I said I always change Elijah Molden to safety and Madden. Well, everybody says this ain't Madden all the time. Well, maybe this is Madden. Elijah Molden getting moved to safety. Mike Vrabel talked about expanding his role other than just an early down nickel cornerback. He can play sub package linebacker.

He can play a deep safety with injuries. He can play a deep safety with injuries. He can be the third safety in dime packages on defense if he can transition to safety. And with Roger McCreary playing in the slot, Sean Murphy Bunting have an experience in the slot. I'm pretty high on one of the Titans undrafted free agents, Steven Jones from Appalachian State, who's a slot player. I think the Titans can find a slot player to replace Elijah Molden,

and he will be more helpful to them at safety. So Molden practiced exclusively at safety during OTAs on Tuesday. They're not saying that he is permanently converting to safety. And hold on. Am I seeing somebody comparing Malik Willis to Joe Montana in the chat? Guys, I can't take you guys serious with that stuff. Let's not compare Malik Willis to Joe Montana, the second best quarterback to ever live.

Okay, let's just not do that. Um, but anyways, Elijah Molden playing safety, I think will be huge for the Titans. It's better for their depth. They may not have a ton at cornerback, but I think it's easy to replace Elijah Molden as an early down nickel only corner. He'll give more value to them at safety. He's setting up to be the personal protector. Yeah, he meant Joe Montaigne. That's right. That's who he meant. I'll give him a break. It wasn't Montaigne. It was Montaigne. But I just think this is a great move for Molden. I think it's a great move for the Titans. And very excited to see how he does at safety. I reposted a clip from the Steelers game

that had Elijah Molden playing some safety. So you guys can check that out on my Twitter account at Tic Tac Titans. But that's going to do it for me today. Titans fans excited to continue the conversations. We're going to talk about Derrick Henry. We got to talk about Chica Conquo and the tight end group. I mean, there is so much to discuss coming out of this week of practice. Can't wait to get into all of it with you guys as we go through the rest of the week. But that's going to do it for me today, folks.

As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.