Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Practice Report: Burks' Issues Explained & Offensive Line Answers

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

The Tennessee Titans completed their last OTA of the year that will be open to the media. The most interesting moments of the day, however, came before practice began. It was a day of truth for the Titans as we got answers to some of the biggest offseason questions. First, Treylon Burks has gotten off to a slow start, we finally got a real reason why. Next, the offensive line is starting to take shape as the Titans offensive line coach gives some details. Finally, more recap from Titans practice with standouts, injuries and absences.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport 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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, on today's show, we are going to recap Tennessee Titans practice. We got the final Titans organized team activity open to the media in this phase, breaking it all down for you today. We got some answers at today's practice. What is going on with Traylon Burks? We finally got some clarity there. Who is fighting for which spots on the offensive line? Titans

offensive line coach gave away a little bit more detail than I think he meant to. And we're going to go over standouts, two injuries at practice, and who was and wasn't at practice today. So a full recap of Tennessee Titans practice 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. Titans fans, we are breaking down the last OTA open to the media for the Tennessee Titans before they move forward in the offseason to minicamp.

Today was a day for truth. At Titans practice, a little bit of an Easter egg for you guys. Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at TicTacTitans if you caught that one. But we got some answers and I'm excited to go over them on this practice recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And today's episode is brought to you by Blue Nile. Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from BlueNile.com and Locked on Titans listeners get $50 off purchases of 500 or more.

This podcast exclusive includes engagement rings. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout at bluenile.com. I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel.

Subscribe, smash the notification bell, and throw a thumbs up on the video if you Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe. Smash the notification bell. And throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now. But talking about Tennessee Titans practice on Tuesday. We finally got some answers about Traylon Burks. And it's been speculation. There have been rumors. Is it purely conditioning? Is it allergies and being in a new area?

Is it potentially asthma? We got a little bit of a clue early on when Traylon Burks was using the inhaler. And I have to point out here as well that I was not on this at first. Didn't know for certain if he had asthma. Didn't really want to make that claim early on. But maybe it should have been a little bit more obvious, of course, so I'll take that blame. But moving forward, it's good to finally get some answers,

and Rob Moore, the Titans wide receiver coach, came out and actually confirmed that Traylon Burks has asthma, and that's been part of his early you know, early struggles in practice. Came out and just said, quote, the kids got asthma. He called it unfortunate. Rob Moore, Titans wide receiver coach, called it unfortunate. Some of the, I guess, negative media coverage of Traylon Burks said, quote, that's unfortunate.

Some of the things that happened were out of his control. So it's confirmation there. And it's, you know, I guess my big takeaway is there's not really, okay, he has asthma. What do we, there are plenty of NFL players who play with asthma. Plenty of people were hitting me up on Twitter, talking about the fact that they've had asthma in different ways. And I don't have asthma. And as I always say, I'm not a doctor. So I don't have any kind of hard hitting analysis on asthma other than plenty of NFL players have played and been fine with asthma.

But my big point here is I think that the Titans do a disservice to some of these guys when they don't divulge some of this information. I'm not saying they need to come out and tell people about it when it's unprompted, but while he's struggling through practices and the media is reporting that he's coming in and out of drills and their speculation rampant within the fan base and within the media,

what's wrong with him, this and that, I guess, ask yourself, would it be better if they came out early and said, yeah, he's got asthma. You know,

he's working back after the pre-draft process and the draft process. We're not worried about his conditioning. No big deal. He's just getting adjusted to the environment, to the area. Saying that early and stopping it. And then we have the conversation we have right now. Okay, he has asthma. There are plenty of NFL players who've been successful and played through and with asthma.

So would it be better for the kid and better for the player for the Titans to come out and just say it? Like, yep, here it is. Boom, boom. Or to wait multiple weeks? Like, what? If they're going to say it today

and Rob Moore is going to say it today and announce it, then why not just say it when the problem arises instead of letting rumors and speculation run rampant? I don't see how letting it fester for multiple weeks and then coming out and telling the truth anyway is better than not just saying it up front.

I don't know. Ask yourselves. In my opinion, I think it's a disservice to the player to do it the way the Titans have done it here, but maybe you feel differently. Let me know down below. But I think also what's important here and is very, very pertinent to the discussion

is whether or not the Tennessee Titans knew that Traylon Burks had asthma when they drafted him. And according to Mike Vrabel on Tuesday, yes, they absolutely did. Mike Vrabel said that they're confident that Traylon Burks will be able to work it all out with the asthma. They also said that they were aware of him having asthma before they drafted him. So all of that checks out. And again, you know, if they just found out, then yeah, I get saying it now.

But if they knew before they even drafted him and then the media started running with all these questions and asking all these questions, why not, if you're going to say it anyway, why not just say it early? I guess that's just the way I view it, questions that I have, or I guess if you want to be really pessimistic and negative, you could say that the Titans maybe are lying about the fact that they knew before and they just found out,

and that's why they're telling people. But I truly do believe Mike Vrabel in this instance that they did know before the draft, and I hope that that is the truth. But do have to throw in this last nugget here. Traylon Burks was unavailable for Tuesday's practice. And when asked about it, Mike Vrabel said, I don't know, he's not available. He wasn't available. So, I mean, it is what it is. He has asthma.

Probably should have been obvious all along. It's on me, quite frankly. But Mike Rabel says they knew about it before, and I guess I just wonder why they took this approach. It's my only question. But moving forward here, we have a lot more to discuss. We got some real answers on the offensive line on Tuesday from Titans offensive line coach Sean Carter.

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Titans fans, we are going to continue this practice recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about Traylon Burks and how it is confirmed, per the coaching staff, that he has asthma. Don't think it's a big deal, but it is curious the way that the Tennessee Titans decided to handle that situation if they had that knowledge prior to the draft and just the way they've kind of let that issue fester for a few weeks before coming

out and telling the truth. Either way, we're moving forward. We got some real truth about the Titans offensive line on Tuesday. Excited to talk about that before we get into it. Want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. I do have an important favor to ask you guys. We put together a survey so we can learn more

about listeners like you and make your favorite Locked On podcast even better. This is your opportunity to tell us what you like and don't like about Locked On podcast. Go to lockedonpodcast.com slash survey right now to get started. It won't take very long and everyone that completes a survey

can qualify for a chance to win one of $1,100 Ticketmaster gift cards. To take our audience survey, can qualify for a chance to win one of $1,100 Ticketmaster gift cards. To take our audience survey, go to lockedonpodcast.com slash survey. Thank you for the help. But moving into the offensive line here. Thought it was very, very interesting. But we had Titans offensive line coach Keith Carter. I think that I said Sean Carter before.

Got Jay-Z on the brain from listening to some hova on the way home. That's actually kind of hilarious, so forgive me for that. But Keith Carter was talking about Dylan Radins. And earlier, we got indications from Mike Vrabel that he's been primarily working at right tackle. Carter confirmed that on Tuesday, saying that he's working mostly at right tackle that he's been primarily working at right tackle. Carter confirmed that on Tuesday, saying that he's working mostly at right tackle and he's making progress.

But he also threw in this extra nugget here. Said the competition at left guard is between Aaron Brewer and Jamarco Jones. Now, number one, I just got to say, Rob Moore coming out and saying that Traylon has asthma and then Keith Carter coming out right here and saying that uh the left guard competition is between Aaron Brewer and Jamarco Jones and Dylan Radins has been playing tackle I mean I wonder what Mike Vrabel thinks about all this information being given out by his position coaches uh very interesting

there but the more important discussion is basically the offensive line is taking shape at this moment in time. You think that with Dylan Radins at right tackle and then Jamarco Jones and Aaron Brewer battling it out at left guard, now we can kind of eliminate Dylan Radins as a starting left guard candidate, although he may play some left guard eventually through the season. With the way the Titans like to rotate people and all that, that's possible. But coming out here, Mike Vrabel saying when Jamarco Jones was signed

that they're going to give him his first opportunities at left guard. Aaron Brewer obviously being a choice to battle it out at left guard as that primary backup on the interior last year. Now we can eliminate Dylan Radins from that. Talk about Nicholas Petit-Ferrer and Dylan Radins battling it out at right tackle, which Radins should have a big leg up there, obviously. But here's what I want to talk about as that begins to take shape. Again, Dylan Radins.

I get the idea of cross-training. You want guys who are versatile. You want guys who can play multiple spots on the offensive line. The Titans put a premium on versatility. So I get that you'd like Dylan Radins to be able to be a backup tackle, to be able to be a backup guard, to play left side, to play right side, all that. I get the idea of the utility of that. left side to play right side, all that. I get the idea of the utility of that.

But Dylan Radins himself today said that it's nice to focus on one position. It feels good to get the focus on one position. Keith Carter, his position coach, said that he thinks Dylan just thinks a little too much. He's a cerebral player, but he's got to learn to just play and not think. Well, maybe it would be simpler for him and easier for him to just play if he was focused on just one position, having so many different responsibilities on his mind, having to change positions every day in practice, play left guard for a couple practices, play right tackle for a couple practices, play right tackle for a couple practices, play left tackle, play left, and move it all around. Maybe that's why it hasn't simplified for him yet.

Because he's had too much on his plate and you've been moving around too much. Let the guy focus on being a good tackle. Just focus on being a good tackle. And if, and if, he isn't a good tackle. And if, and if, he isn't a good tackle, then, then move him to guard and try to squeeze as much juice as you possibly can

out of the asset. So, I think that, you know, Dylan Radin's slow come up. He was inactive early in the year. I think he had some really good moments. Of course, we look at that game against San Francisco, going against Bosa. I mean, what a performance there.

Although it wasn't incredibly clean for the situation, it was a great performance. So there's potential there. So if we're saying his own position coach is saying that he's maybe a bit too cerebral, he thinks a bit too much out there, he needs to just play and play fast and instinctual. Then simplify things for him and let the guy play one position in the position

that got him where he's at. If you don't think he can do it, then put him at guard and see what you can get out of him there. But let the guy play one position. And even Dylan Radins himself says it's nice to focus on one position. I think you're going to see the best of Dylan Radins. You just let the man play tackle. Let him play tackle.

And if he fails, then move to the next step. But don't clutter his plate too much, which based on some of these comments, it seems that it's okay to infer that maybe that's what stunted his growth a little bit last year. Maybe he would have been a better option for the Titans quicker last year if things had been simplified and he had just focused on playing tackle. But not only that, of course, we got the Jones-Brewer battle, and I just want to throw in my two cents there.

One thing that really stands out to me, I guess, is the difference in size. Jamarco Jones is just a much larger human being, about 20 pounds and about 2 1⁄2, 3 inches. While Aaron Brewer knows the system better and understands how to play center, probably right guard and left guard in the Titans system, Jamarco Jones is coming in, and they're saying they're giving him his first opportunities at left guard.

So for me, I think initially, I would rather have Jamarco Jones starting at left guard as the bigger bodied guy, a more physical, tougher. I don't want to say tougher because that's not what, but just, I guess he's able to push people around with more physicality out on the field because of that size difference in advantage. Plus again, Aaron Brewer can play center in the Titans system because he's been here longer.

He can play left guard. He can play right guard. So I think that Aaron Brewer, because of his position, versatility, and his knowledge of the system and his more years of experience in the system, I think he would be better as the Titans' number six offensive lineman in their primary backup on the interior because he's comfortable playing multiple positions due to the experience. So for me, the bigger bodied guy and a more specialized guy at left guard

and Jamarco Jones with Aaron Brewer's versatility. And I guess his just being familiar with the Titan system already. I think he would be better served as the utility man there. Nicholas Petit Ferrer is the number one backup tackle for Taylor LeJuan or Dylan Radins. And I think we're shaping up to see what the Titans offensive line group could look like going into the season. But with that being said, we're going to move forward to just more practice recap.

I'm going to talk standouts. The Titans passing game rebounded in a big way. The last open OTA that we saw the Titans secondary really dominated. So the Titans passing game bounces back. We'll talk about that. Some guys who stood out. Also, some injuries. Unfortunately, there were a couple of injuries at practice on Tuesday. I'll talk about those. And we got to talk about availability. Who was at practice? Who wasn't

there? Who's in the yellow non-contact jersey? Who didn't participate in any drills but was seen at the facility? I'm going to break all of that down for you guys. But before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys about the number one protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. With Built Bar, you get the best of both worlds. You get all the health benefits that you want with a protein bar. They're going to be low calorie. They're going to be low sugar.

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Going to go over some practice standouts. Going to go over some injuries that took place, unfortunately. Talk about availability. Guys who were there, guys who weren't there. Non-contact injury. Yellow jersey guys. I'm going to go over all of that as well. We started off talking about Traylon Burks.

He has asthma. Don't know why the Titans withheld that information for multiple weeks and kind of put his feet to the fire in the media when they could have just squashed it early. But that's the path they chose. Now we know. And things make a little bit more sense. He can play through that.

I'm not that worried about asthma. There are plenty of NFL players who have played through asthma and played well. Also, the offensive line, we know that Jamarco Jones and Aaron Brewer are now in a competition for left guard. We know Dylan Radins is essentially only working at right tackle. Dylan Radins said himself it's a good thing that he gets to focus on one position. And it feels good, according to Dylan Radin's at practice.

Let's get into some more practice recap here, though. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Standouts from practice. The Titans passing game had a very good day. Like I said earlier, the last OTA that was open to media, we saw that the Titans secondary had a very good day, forced a couple turnovers, had a lot of pass breakups, but the Titans passing game responded a really good day for Ryan Tannehill.

He had deep hits to Josh Malone, Chika Konkwo, Des Fitzpatrick. Des caught a touchdown as well. Chika Konkwo, Des Fitzpatrick. Des caught a touchdown as well. Austin Hooper got a touchdown in the red zone. That chemistry continues to just build and build and build. I think Austin Hooper is going to be huge for the Titans. Very excited. Not next week as we cover Titans' mandatory minicamp,

but the week after, we're going to have a full week, five days of top fives, top five X factorsFactors as players, top five breakout candidates, top five disappointments expected, a bunch of different top fives that I'm going to be going through all week. I'm really excited for that. It's going to be a lot of fun. But Austin Hooper is going to be in that discussion as an X-Factor player for the Titans, and you love all the reports of how him and Tannehill have been playing in practice.

Dontrell Hilliard also had a really nice day, and all reports do indicate that Dontrell Hilliard has been taking advantage of his opportunities with Derrick Henry, not at voluntary OTAs. So, you love to hear that. I think Dontrell Hilliard is one of these vets that we are not talking about enough. And as a matter of fact, on tomorrow's show, I'm going to be doing two vets on the offensive side of the ball and two vets on the defensive side of the ball

that are simply not being talked about enough. And maybe their contributions are being underrated. So, make sure that you guys tune in for that about 6 o'clock Eastern time on YouTube. But Dontrell Hilliard, Austin Hooper, really good days. Logan Woodside, I got to do it. Any of you guys have been listening to this show for quite some time know that I am not the biggest Logan Woodside supporter. No secret about that.

But he had a good day. Had touchdown passes to Mason Kinsey and Kyle Phillips, I do believe from the notes here. So a good day for the second team passing game as well. Logan Woodside looking sharp. And Logan Woodside is a guy, we talk about Ryan Tannehill, you know, with Malik Willis on board. But Logan Woodside, I mean, if Malik Willis plays well enough,

Logan Woodside's out of there. The Titans prefer to keep two quarterbacks on the roster. They never keep three. So especially in the John Robinson era, which is what I'm talking about. So Logan Woodside is another guy. Fight for his life. Fight for my life.

So, hey, looking sharp out there. Got to give him his credit. But those are kind of the standouts from practice. Do have to talk about some injuries. Unfortunately, there were some injuries for the Titans. These are kind of the first reported injuries. We've got, you know, Traylon Burks having some conditioning issues with the asthma. But as for real injuries, I think Aaron Brewer got an injury as well

because he was practicing in some of the previous OTAs. But he was in riding the bikes and in the facility and not practicing today. So something to watch there. That's funny. Megan says, Woodside, what have you done with Tyler? I mean, it's fair. It's fair.

I got to give him his props. He had a good practice. He had a good practice, according to reports. But for the injuries, Caleb Shudick, the kicker out of Iowa who's been really good in OTAs, made his first four kicks, attempted a

47-yard kick, and got hurt. Injured his right leg. That's all we know right now. He left practice, didn't come back. So that's unfortunate. Another guy fighting for his NFL life. If he could just hang on to an NFL roster, beat out Randy Bullock, it could prolong his NFL career for a couple of years just to have that happen

and even to play well in the preseason for the Titans. Being an undrafted free agent kicker, I mean, he could be cut tomorrow because the Titans simply don't have time to wait on him and Titans just sign another undrafted free agent kicker or veteran to come in and compete with Randy Bullock. So very unfortunate for Caleb. It doesn't remind me completely, but Sam Ficken was awesome last year in the preseason.

Gets hurt right before the beginning of the year. Next thing you know, Randy Bullock's in. So just crazy how that happens. You feel bad for Shuttuck, but this is the one that we really need to be worried about. It's Tommy Hudson, tight end, who if the Titans keep four tight ends because they dedicate the offense back to playing multiple tight ends,

which I think they will do, the Titans may very well keep four tight ends. And Tommy Hudson was probably the favorite to get that fourth spot if they had it. And unfortunately got hurt. Some reported that it might be a hamstring issue. He had to be carted off the field. Now, that sounds a lot worse than it is.

They're going to cart everybody off the field with any kind of legit injury in practice, in OTAs. Why would you make a guy walk to the locker room with a bum hamstring even if he could? Doesn't make any sense. So it's not like in the games where he's trying to you know prove that he's good to go and he can keep playing and it's a mental thing it's practice dude lay down we'll come pick you up no big deal so that sounds worse than it actually is but those two injuries and hopefully you know that's all we see Mike Vrabel said last week that they're probably not going to use all of the OTAs that they're expected to have.

Well, the only one left before mandatory minicamp next week on the 14th is Thursday's OTA. So Mike Vrabel, if he stays true to what he said last week, will probably cancel that, which is perfectly fine. Let these guys take a break. Get ready for mandatory minicamp next week, which I'm so excited for. I'm going to be having coverage with you guys as much as possible next week. Very

excited for mandatory minicamp, but those are the injuries. As for availability, guys who were not in attendance, Derek Henry, no change there. Zach Cunningham, no change there. Bud Dupree, no change there, but worth noting, Ryan Crowe's outside linebacker coach for the Titans

did say that Bud Dupree is in a great spot mentally and physically this offseason, way ahead of where he was last year when he was recovering from the ACL tear. So good update on Bud Dupree. No surprise that the multi-year veteran and big contract guy isn't at voluntary OTAs. Same with Derrick Henry and Zach Cunningham and Harold Landry. Nate Davis is one where I'm like,

would be nice for the offensive line to get as much continuity as possible, but whatever, I get it. Contract year, Nate Davis just trying to be his best. Danico Autry, not a concern there. Jeffrey Simmons, most certainly not a concern there. Jeffrey Simmons is good to go. I remember Mike Vrabel earlier in the OTA process

even said that he's had contact with all these guys and he's not concerned that these guys are going to come in out of shape or not in their best ability. So no worries there. But that's it for practice today. Well, let me say this. Other than that, yellow jerseys, Christian

Fulton, Caleb Farley, Robert Woods, Ray C. McMath, yellow jersey is non-contact. So they're out there practicing, but they're just not making contact with any other players

or anything like that. Caution. Yellow. Caution. Makes some sense. And then seen, but did not participate, Elijah Molden,

Monty Rice, and Aaron Brewer. So there you go. A full practice report for you guys from Tuesday. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow. Again, we're going to talk about some veterans who I think are not being talked

about enough early on before rookie minicamp. Very excited to dive into that. Daniel, how are you feeling about the season though? I'm feeling like the Titans should be a playoff team and should compete for another division championship. That's what I'll say for now. 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. you