Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Training Camp - Weekend Recap: Highlights, Defensive Domination & Roster Moves

Episode Date: August 2, 2021

On today's Locked On Titans PodcastFriday's Practice: Tyler recaps everything you need to know from Friday's Veteran Rest DaySaturday's Practice: Veterans returned and we saw big performances from Ama...ni Hooker and Jackrabbit Jenkins, Tannehill StrugglesWeekend Notes: Titans hire a kicking coach, Injuries/Signings & Kevin Byard give backFollow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSupport 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.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 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, this Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is presented by the Peacock and Williamson podcast. NFL analyst Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson host Locked On's Peacock and Williamson every Monday through Friday.
Starting point is 00:00:33 Brian and Matt give you a national perspective on all of the latest NFL news, so make sure you check out the Peacock and Williamson podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, wherever you get your podcasts. Titans fans, I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable weekend. Since the last time I spoke with you guys on Friday, the Titans have had two training camp practices, and there were a ton of headlines, a ton of standouts, and some disappointing performances as well.
Starting point is 00:01:07 We're going to dive into everything that you need to know and recap the weekend of Tennessee Titans training camp practice. First, we're going to start out taking a look at Friday's practice, where it was mostly a rest day for a lot of the Titans veterans, but still some big-time performances we got to talk about and some disappointments as well. Similarly, then we will transition into a conversation about Saturday's practice and a lot of those veterans returned and we got some big time updates. Some players making big plays and specifically on the defensive side of the ball, some big time standout performances.
Starting point is 00:01:46 Then to cap off today's show, we will dive into some housekeeping items. The Titans have made a lot of changes to the roster over the weekend, mostly due to unfortunate injuries. The Titans also added a new coach and kind of a funny story behind that addition. We will dive into that story. And then finally, I'll let you know why Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard is one of the greatest human beings this organization has ever had. So recapping everything that took place over the weekend for Titans training camp with
Starting point is 00:02:21 you guys on a Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! We are going to kick off this week of the Locked on Titans podcast by recapping everything that took place during Titans training camp over the weekend, starting of course with Friday's practice. But before we get into that, do got to remind you guys, I'm going to be putting out Monday through Friday, daily Tennessee Titans content here on the Locked on Titans podcast, not only during training camp, not only during the preseason, not only during the regular season, but all year long.
Starting point is 00:03:10 Make sure that you never miss an episode by subscribing to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Follow me on social media, on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. Follow the show on Facebook at LockedOnTitansPod. Also, the LockedOnTitans YouTube page is live. Go ahead and subscribe to that now so that you are ready when I start pumping out the video edition of the show. Very excited for that.
Starting point is 00:03:39 But let's dive into Friday's practice. And first and foremost, Friday was a light day for the Titans veterans. We saw a lot of rest days. We saw Taylor LeJuan, Roger Saffold, Ben Jones, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, Josh Reynolds. We saw Jeff Swain, Derrick Henry, Danico Autry, Jeffrey Simmons, Harold Landry, Kevin Byard, and Jackrabbit Jenkins all out on Friday. And that may trigger something in your mind to be like,
Starting point is 00:04:08 oh, well, Friday's practice wasn't very important. Wrong! That's wrong. What an important day for the back end of the roster. The Titans have a ton of competition going on for the back end roster spots at a multitude of different positions. And this allows the younger guys to really get ample reps out there. Think about the Titans' top three wide receivers not practicing.
Starting point is 00:04:31 What kind of rep opportunity that gives to a Chester Rogers, to a Marcus Johnson, to a Cam Batson, a Mason Kinsey, a Nick Westbrook, a Cody Hollister, a Racey McMath. Also allows Des Fitzpatrick to feel that feeling of being the number one wide receiver out there. Similarly, on the defensive line with Danico Autry, Jeffrey Simmons, Harold Landry out, gives those young guys a chance to battle it out, those roster veterans. So I see this as a great thing for the Titans, not only keeping the veterans healthy and keeping them fresh, but also allowing the back end of the roster to really fight it out you know that the guys I just
Starting point is 00:05:10 mentioned are going to make the team what we don't know is who is going to be the back end of the depth chart at those spots so smart for the Titans to get a better look and a more ample look at the lower end of the roster guys but as for the guys who did practice who stood out again a name that we are hearing over and over again at wide receiver a bubble veteran as I would call him Marcus Johnson and I talked about Marcus Johnson he has real NFL experience four years very productive not very productive but for a low end of the depth chart guy at his previous stops, he's been a productive player.
Starting point is 00:05:47 I think he has a very good chance to make this roster. Also, the defensive side of the ball really took the cake. The two weekend practices for the Titans. Starting on Friday, Breon Borders continues to show out and make plays in one-on-one period and in team period. Amani Hooker really taking advantage of the new starting role. He had his second pick in three days, his second interception in three practices on Friday. And then the defensive line, Kyle Pecco, newly signed,
Starting point is 00:06:17 and Laurel Murchison also had very good days on Friday. Someone who didn't necessarily have a very good day, Ryan Tannehill. Ryan Tannehill has been struggling, and that's something that we'll talk about on Saturday's practice report as well. Now, I have a theory why Ryan Tannehill may be struggling, and I'll talk about that after I tell you guys how he played on Saturday, but I think there could be a very good reason why we've seen Tannehill struggle out of the gate here in training camp. So make sure you're on the lookout for when I talk about that when we talk about Saturday's
Starting point is 00:06:52 practice. Lastly, Daniel Murner, who is a backup center for the Titans, a veteran, he has been really struggling in camp. He's had three bad snaps now that resulted in fumbles, and this has really drawn the ire of Mike Rabel, who on the practice field called it the easiest play in the game, talking about the center quarterback snap. And for the Titans to be sloppy like that and not even be able to execute the beginning of the play, it definitely shines a light on Daniel Murner. Now, I do want to point out,
Starting point is 00:07:27 Ben Jones did have a bad snap himself during the first week of training camp, but Murner having three of those, it's going to put a target on his back because he's a bubble veteran anyway, and the only reason he's getting the reps that he's getting right now is because Titans' undrafted free agent from last year,
Starting point is 00:07:41 offensive lineman Aaron Brewer, is on the NFI list and not practicing. So tough times for Daniel Myrner. We'll talk more about what the Titans have done to try to fix that issue later in the show. And I lied to you when I said that was the last thing. Because one more thing, the Titans have been flipping back and forth with who gets more reps out of the backup quarterbacks, Deshaun Kizer or Logan Woodside. Woodside had more reps on Friday.
Starting point is 00:08:04 Kizer had more reps on Thursday. And Kizer or Logan Woodside. Woodside had more reps on Friday. Kizer had more reps on Thursday. And Kizer struggled reportedly. But Kizer really bounced back on Friday and had a good day. So that quarterback competition continues to rage on. But that's going to do it for Friday's practice report. We are going to get into Saturday's practice report. And talk about the standout performances. Any disappointing performances. to Saturday's practice report and talk about the standout performances, any disappointing
Starting point is 00:08:25 performances. Also talk about why I think Ryan Tannehill may be struggling as well with a lot more Tennessee Titans veterans back on the field on Saturday. So we'll get into that after I do remind you guys about the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. And that's our friends over at betonline.ag. So football season is right around the corner. We have NFL football this week, ladies and gentlemen.
Starting point is 00:08:52 So you want to make sure that you're all set up on BetOnline and ready to place your wagers when Titans season comes around. If you can't wait until football season, baseball season is in full swing. Feel free to go play some bets on some hardball. Either way, make sure you go right now to betonline.ag. Use your laptop. Use your mobile device. Either way, you can sign up for free and use the promo code LOCKEDON.
Starting point is 00:09:19 That's one word, LOCKEDON. And when you do put on your first deposit, you'll receive a 50% welcome bonus. That's free money to get started placing wagers for this NFL season. So head on over to betonline.ag. Once again, use that promo code locked on. Bet online, your online sportsbook experts. We are going to continue this Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast, recapping everything that took place over the weekend at Titans training camp. In our first segment, we talked about Friday's practice.
Starting point is 00:10:06 Well, now let's move forward and talk about what happened on Saturday. So, of course, on Friday, talked about all the veterans on rest days. We saw those veterans return on Saturday for a very competitive practice, which the biggest headline coming out of Saturday is the practice was dominated by the Titans defense. Specifically, the Titans defensive backs who have been playing very, very well early on in training camp. Number one, got to talk about Jack Rabbit Jenkins who had two interceptions on Ryan Tannehill on Saturday.
Starting point is 00:10:41 He's been absolutely fantastic. That's three interceptions for him during training camp. Also a guy with three interceptions, Breon Borders, who intercepted Logan Woodside on Saturday. Borders has really impressed the coaching staff and really impressed myself as well. All the reports indicate he is having a bang-up training camp right now, and he needed that to certify and solidify
Starting point is 00:11:05 his roster spot. Also, Imani Hooker, two interceptions in training camp, had an interception on Saturday as well. He has been all over the place. He actually intercepted an underthrown pass by Ryan Tannehill on Saturday. So Tannehill is a guy who's really been struggling, but on the flip side of that, the Titans defensive backs have played very, very well. And speaking of that, Ryan Tannehill has struggled. He underthrew a couple of players. He's just generally been off the first week of training camp.
Starting point is 00:11:37 And I have a little bit of a theory. So I don't know about you guys, but anyone close to me who has gotten the COVID-19 vaccine has said they experienced some flu-like symptoms directly after, in the days after getting the vaccine. So, Ryan Tannehill talked at the beginning of training camp about how he wouldn't have got the vaccine if the NFL didn't basically make it mandatory. I know they didn't make it mandatory, but with the protocols and everything in place, they are, to use Ryan Tannehill's words, forcing the player's hand.
Starting point is 00:12:14 And they are. I agree with that. That is the case. Well, Ryan Tannehill wore a mask early on the sidelines in practice and then told the media that he was in the process of getting his vaccination, that he had taken one shot, he was getting ready to get the second shot. Well, if, like you guys,
Starting point is 00:12:32 you've heard that people around you who got the vaccine struggled for a few days after, well, is it possible that Ryan Tannehill is struggling with his health and his body directly after receiving the vaccine. That seems to be a very common experience,
Starting point is 00:12:49 is that people feel sick and it's hard on your body the first few days after. Well, maybe while getting the vaccine, trying to play in 100 degree heat and be a professional athlete and lead your team, Tannehill is just feeling the effects of that. I don't know that to be true. I can't be certain. It's just a theory that I have, but I think it could explain why Tannehill has been struggling.
Starting point is 00:13:10 Also, Julio Jones hasn't been out there. Josh Reynolds hasn't been out there. We saw an interception by Ryan Tannehill where a guy slipped down on the ground. We saw another one where Janoris Jenkins completely cut in front of Fred Brown. Well, Jackrabbit Jenkins is going to be a starting cornerback this year. Fred Brown is not going to make the team. So Ryan Tannehill is throwing to the low end of the depth chart, guys, going against first team DBs while trying to bounce back from getting the COVID-19 vaccine. So I am not freaking out about Ryan Tannehill.
Starting point is 00:13:45 No one's really talked about that as a possibility, but I think it's just a theory, but I think there's a possibility that Ryan is just struggling from getting the COVID-19 vaccine, which a lot of people around me and a lot of people who you have probably talked to struggled with early on as well. So I wanted to at least get that theory out there and let people relax a little bit about
Starting point is 00:14:08 Ryan Tannehill's performance. Also want to mention there was some fights. Fight! World star on Saturday. Guys are getting chippy. You know, we're getting close to the beginning of the season. Pads will be on today on Monday. First padded practice for the Titans.
Starting point is 00:14:23 Guys are ready to compete against somebody else. Guys are ready to hit somebody in the mouth. Football is a physical game, and the Titans have been playing without pads, limited in the physicality as best they can so guys don't get hurt. But we saw the offensive line and the defensive line start to get physical, physical. Jeffrey Simmons, T.E.R. Tartt, Danico Autry, and on the offensive line, David Questenberry, Nate Davis. Starting to get a little chippy out there. No blows, no punches thrown, no physical fist fights, anything like that.
Starting point is 00:14:56 But some chippiness and some peacemakers had to come in there and ensure that it didn't blow over. But that aggression, that intensity intensity I personally like to see that we want no fighting I'm not okay with fighting your teammates in training camp but a little dust up here and there is uh good for the competitive spirit you could say I'm not gonna lie to you guys I never like to reference my football career when I talk on the show because give me a break um high school football no equivalent whatsoever to nfl football but i will say i was a guy who liked to get in a little bit of an altercation here and there and
Starting point is 00:15:31 and uh say a few things out on the field so i definitely can't uh turn my nose up at uh at professional athletes doing out there in the 100 degree heat in the middle of training camp so uh wanted to make sure i reported that. Also, my boy Deshaun Kaiser bounced back weekend at a very solid performance on Saturday. Pretty good performance on Friday. Love to see that. Obviously, I'm rooting for
Starting point is 00:15:56 Kaiser to get that backup quarterback spot. Racey McMath and Elijah Molden continue to be the sweethearts of Titans training camp. Racey McMath mossing defensive backs, going up and making big-time catches over top of people. Elijah Molden getting in people's faces, knocking the ball away, winning in one-on-ones. Love both of those rookies for their tenacity and their preparedness.
Starting point is 00:16:17 They're ready to go. Also, on the flip side, Christian Fulton just continuing to struggle. He had to be egged on a little bit by his coaches to be more aggressive after losing a battle in team period on Saturday. Hoping that he's able to kind of turn things around from a rough start to training camp for a guy the Titans are expecting a lot of. Also want to mention, we've talked about punt return duties and that battle. We had three names that were going at it originally.
Starting point is 00:16:45 Cam Batson, Chester Rogers, Mason Kinsey. We've talked about punt return duties and that battle. We had three names that were going at it originally. Cam Batson, Chester Rogers, Mason Kinsey. But now on Saturday, we had Darrington Evans, who is probably going to be the kick returner on kickoffs for the Titans, and running back Brian Hill out there catching punts. Earlier in the offseason during minicamp, Josh Reynolds was out there, but unfortunately, Reynolds was still injured over the weekend and speaking of those injuries there were some guys who did not participate on Saturday they weren't coming off a rest day they're guys who are who are banged up right now Josh Reynolds
Starting point is 00:17:16 obviously being one of those Paul Adams who's an offensive tackle who's been around the organization for a year and a half now. He was actually placed on IR. We'll talk more about that in the next segment. Jeff Swaim, tight end. Derek Roberson, Briley Moore, the tight end. These are names who experienced injuries on Saturday or were injured going into Saturday's practice and weren't out there. We're going to talk much more about the roster and some housekeeping things and unfortunately
Starting point is 00:17:41 some injuries in the next segment when we also talk about a coaching addition that the Titans made and quite frankly it's a really funny story but before we get into that do want to tell you guys about Bilt Bar the best tasting protein bars ever go to Bilt.com right now you can choose from a bunch of different flavors that Bilt Bar has out there some Some of my favorites are the cookies and cream and the salted caramel. They have their original flavors always on the site. They always rotate in some occasionally limited time flavors as well. The bar is absolutely delicious, covered in 100% chocolate, and I'm not on a diet or anything like that, and I like eating
Starting point is 00:18:23 the Bilt Bars just because they taste good, but they're healthy for you as well. Low calorie, low sugar, high protein, high fiber and what's really cool is Bilt Bar is the official protein bar of the United States track and field team. So make sure that you eat like an Olympian. Go to Bilt.com right now. Use promo code LOCKED15. That's LOCKED15. And you'll get 15% off on your order. Once again, use promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. We started out this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast recapping everything that took place during Friday's training camp practice and then transitioned into a conversation about everything that took place during Saturday's training camp practice. There was no practice on Sunday, so now let's dive into some housekeeping items.
Starting point is 00:19:30 The Titans hired a coach over the weekend. They signed some players. They waived some players. Also want to tell you about one of the greatest Tennessee Titans, not only on the field, but off the field as well. But before we get into that, do want to remind you guys that betting on the NFL and betting on the Titans does not have to be a guessing game if you check out the new Locked on Bets podcast
Starting point is 00:19:53 hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. You get daily picks, blowout specials, wrong team favorite picks, and Lee Sterling's lock of the day. Follow the Locked on Bets podcast brought to you by betonline.ag wherever you get your podcasts. But let's get into these housekeeping items. I want to talk, number one, about the coach that the Titans hired. There is a little bit of a funny story here.
Starting point is 00:20:18 As I mentioned earlier, in 2019, the Titans had some struggles with the kicking game. They went through five different kickers. Well, in 2020, a couple of those kickers, namely Ryan Suckup, had a bounce back year. And there was someone on Twitter who pointed out something specific. And it was James Wilhoy. And he
Starting point is 00:20:38 had this to say basically that the Titans don't have a kicking coach. They don't have one coach on the staff that is dedicated to working with the kickers. The other two teams for the other two players that left the Titans and had good years in 2020, those teams did have kicking coaches. So basically, James Wilhoy pointed out maybe a flaw in the Titans staff structure. Well, some background on James Wilhoy.
Starting point is 00:21:06 He's not just some random guy on Twitter. He was actually the kicker for the University of Tennessee from 2003 to 2006. And his tweet has come full circle because the Titans hired him as their kicking coach. How hilarious is that? And I got to tell you guys, part of my soul, in the back of my head, this kind of seems like a Mike Vrabel troll job. Like Mike Vrabel is going to hire this guy who criticized the Titans for not having a kicking coach.
Starting point is 00:21:36 If the Titans kickers don't kick better and respond, then the Titans can fire the guy and be like, see what the hell do you know? I know that you want to think that Mike Rabel wants it to work out positively the kickers get better Will Hoyt is a good coach all that but I don't know it's just too on the nose be something to monitor going forward what happens with that coaching staff position but either way bring this up it leads us into our next topic. The kickers absolutely
Starting point is 00:22:05 struggled during the weekend. You look at two different kickers that the Titans have had so far. Blake Heibel from Ohio State and Tucker McCann, who was an undrafted free agent out of Missouri. You look at them so far. McCann was 4 of 6 on Saturday. Heibel was 5 of 6 on Saturday. McCann's 12 of 16 throughout the first four days. Heibel was 12 of 15 throughout the first four days. Neither of them have been kicking very well and the Titans are looking to make some changes. Number one, they picked up kicker from the New York Jets in 2020, Sam Ficken. Ficken has kicked four seasons in the NFL. He is 35 of 48 overall but struggles with the deep kicks. He's only 12 of 22 from 40 yards out or more. He's 49 of 56 on his career extra points. Now last year for the Jets he was 13 of 15 but there is a reason that he was waived by
Starting point is 00:23:03 the Jets as well and allowed to be picked up by the Titans. Not only Ficken, but the Titans are bringing in another kicker, Lerim Hajrulahu. I'm trying. I'm trying. He's from Kosovo, 31 years old. He hit a 59-yarder in the Spring League, which was a spring football league minor league football the league obviously didn't pan out as no minor league football systems ever do but he was one of the best kickers in the spring league he was just an all-star in the Canadian football league as well so Haj Ruluhu is going to come in and try out for the Titans on Wednesday clearly the Titans are looking to make some changes,
Starting point is 00:23:45 but I have to be honest, it brings a tear to my eye because neither of these names are Steven Gostkowski. Instead of hiring the right kicker, you hired a kicking coach. Can't say I agree with that, and it makes me sad that neither of these names are Gostkowski. I'm still holding out hope he will be the Titans kicker. But let's move forward. The Titans made another acquisition here when they picked up a former Tennessee Titan in
Starting point is 00:24:12 tight end Luke Stocker. Stocker's played 130 games in his career, 19 of those games with the Titans spanning 2017 and 2018. He is your prototypical role-playing blocking tight end. And you may be asking yourself, don't the Titans already have that in Jeff Swaim? Well, that's part of the problem. Swaim got hurt at some point in time during training camp.
Starting point is 00:24:35 He wasn't out there on Friday, wasn't out there on Saturday either. So the Titans are trying to deal with that. Not just that, but unfortunately, the Titans did get their first significant injury of training camp, and it came from undrafted free agent tight end Briley Moore out of Kansas State, a guy who I've been very high on since he was signed by the Titans. I thought as an athletic tight end who has the body and the build to be able to block as well,
Starting point is 00:25:00 he had a great chance to get on. Unfortunately, news did come out on Sunday night that Briley Moore has torn his ACL. He'll go on IR for the Titans. So Luke Stocker's addition. Luke Stocker was actually out on the field for the Titans on Saturday. He was ready to go. With Swain being hurt, Briley Moore going down, I would look for Luke Stocker to not only join the team but make this roster as well.
Starting point is 00:25:23 More additions. the team but make this roster as well. More additions on the offensive line. Two centers were added to this team. Number one, Spencer Pooley and number two, Patrick Morris and the reason for that is we know undrafted free agent from 2020, Aaron Brewer is on the NFI list. He's not playing right now. Well, I mentioned Daniel Murner, the vet, really struggling with his snaps during camp. Also, we saw offensive lineman Brandon Kemp go on the IR. So the Titans have Murner really struggling
Starting point is 00:25:57 to snap the ball at center. They have Brewer and Kemp now that aren't out on the field. In return, the Titans bring in Pulley and Morris. Now, Spencer Pulley has a real chance to make this roster. He was an undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Vanderbilt, so there's some local ties there, but he's played in 49 games in his career, 26 starts. In 2017, he started all 16 games, so a guy with some real experience. And then Patrick Morris,
Starting point is 00:26:21 All 16 games. So a guy with some real experience. And then Patrick Morris, a lot less experience, more of a project guy. He was an undrafted free agent from 2019. He's played in three games in his career. Two seasons, 2019 and 2020 with the Denver Broncos. I would expect Spencer Pulley to be able to push out Daniel Myrner for that number two center role at least until Brewer gets back almost immediately quite frankly if he can just have some good snaps you can't deal with the
Starting point is 00:26:50 center not snapping the ball correctly and struggling from that avenue moving forward to the defensive side of the ball some good news for you guys outside linebacker Bud Dupree was activated off the COVID-19 list. So what we can surmise from that, if he was unvaccinated, he would have a minimum of 10 days. He came back way before 10 days. If you're vaccinated and you test positive, all you have to do is have two negative tests separated by 24 hours,
Starting point is 00:27:19 and then you're good to go. The timeline really lines up there. Bud Dupree's a vaccinated guy got tested positive got some negative tests so he's off the covid list he's still on pup it doesn't mean he's going to be out there practicing but that's one list that he's off of down to just the one that we need to get him off of to get him back on the field the flip side of that is derrick roberson outside linebacker was hurt during the weekend he did did not finish practice on Saturday. It is something of a concern. I've been talking about how the edge rusher position is still an area of concern. I
Starting point is 00:27:52 don't think the Titans have done enough to fix their problems there, and Roberson being hurt just amplifies that issue even more. It's a good thing the Titans got their hands on John Simon last week. The last thing that I want to tell you about is Kevin Byard. Kevin Byard is not only one of the greatest Tennessee Titans on the field, but absolutely one of the greatest Tennessee Titans of all time off the field. Him and his wife, Clark Byard, made a sizable donation to renovate basically an orphanage area. Children who have been abused, children who have been put up for adoption.
Starting point is 00:28:29 There's a little bit of a wait time sometimes between leaving your previous situation and then joining your new foster family. And that can be a very traumatic time for these children being displaced like that. It hurts my heart to talk about, quite frankly. And I'm struggling with not getting emotional about it. So very difficult times for those children.
Starting point is 00:28:53 And what Kevin Bayard has done is he has spent the money through the Bayard Fund and Foundation to renovate the facilities at the child services department there in Nashville. They have changed it into the Kevin Byard and Clark Byard safety room. And Kevin Byard's a safety in the NFL. I love things like that. But Kevin Byard putting his money where his mouth is, taking care of the community, being more than just a football player. He even said that God has blessed his family in many ways and he would be wrong to not give those blessings back. So Kevin Byard dumping money into helping unfortunate children who are
Starting point is 00:29:37 struggling, going through one of the worst experiences you can go through as a child. And Kevin Byard is doing all he can to try to make that experience better renovating the rooms there and hopefully improving or giving some solace to some kids who are going through some of the most difficult things that you'll ever have to go through in life being a child feeling helpless and having Kevin Byard actually do something to try to help these people it means a lot to me again Kevin Byard is the only jersey of the Tennessee Titans that I own. And every single day, he makes me proud to own his jersey. So it's bigger than football with Kevin Byard. And that's why he'll always be one of my favorite Tennessee Titans for the rest of time. But that is going to do it before the tears start streaming down, man. The older I get,
Starting point is 00:30:23 the more emotionally fragile I get. It kills me, any story like that. Man, I watched one of the players, David Blau, a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. His wife was running in the Olympics. Watched a video of him cheering her on at the team facility because he can't be there in Tokyo. Woo! Man, all that stuff really gets to me. But Kevin Byard, a true champion off the field.
Starting point is 00:30:46 But that's going to do it for me today, folks. That is your entire weekend recap for Titans training camp. The pads go on today, and it is time to hit. Oh, I'm so hyped, so ready. If I wouldn't absolutely lose my life, I'd like to throw on the pads and go out there too. But I got hit one time by a real NFL player, and that would be the end of the Locked on Titans podcast.
Starting point is 00:31:09 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

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.