Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans T'Vondre Sweat STILL ABSENT, Will Levis Throwing Strikes & Seattle Seahawks Joint Practice

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

The Tennessee Titans had their last summer practice of the offseason on Tuesday and we still saw no sign of rookie T'Vondre Sweat who continues to be absent from OTAs. Sweat wasn't alone on Tuesday, but there were still plenty of key players on the field as he should have been. Next, the Titans did have Will Levis who had a good finish to the summer with others making plays as well. Finally, the Titans announced they will have joint practices in August with the Seattle Seahawks and that is great news for the team as Seattle presents a unique challenge. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s TWO HUNDRED BUCKS you can use to bet everything from the Finals MVP to who's going to hit one out of the park! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!   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)

The Tennessee Titans had their last summer practice and Tavondre Sweat was still not out on the field. I'll tell you what has to happen next for the rookie on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. 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. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL

for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. The Tennessee Titans had their last summer practice of the offseason. We got a lot to discuss. Who was there? Who wasn't there? What needs to happen going forward in the summer? Also, will Levis use the opportunity to dice up the defense in 7-on-7.

I'll give you the highlights from practice. And we finally got official word that the Titans will be having joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks. I'll tell you when that's set to happen and why it is a perfect match for the Titans. Before we get into all of it, 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, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, 25 years a Tennessee Titans fanatic, a certified film junkie, breaking down the X's and O's with you guys all year long. I've covered the team for Sports Illustrated, USA Today,

and I've hosted the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world, Locked on Titans, for five years running. So with that being said, let's talk about this last summer practice for the Tennessee Titans. Again, Tavondre Sweat still not out on the field. And that is my number one takeaway here. Last week, Brian Callahan said, yeah, it's a short-term injury.

We might even see him next week. Well, we didn't. He's not out there. And this will be, again, the last summer practice for the Titans. Brian Callahan said on Wednesday they're going to do a team-building activity. But that'll be the last thing they do until training camp starts on July 23rd. So here's the reality. I've expressed my concern for the Devondre Sweat situation over and over.

Brian Callahan and Tracy Rocker, defensive line coach for the Titans, both reiterated that they don't think it's a big deal. He'll be ready for training camp, short-term injury, but he hasn't been on the field in over a month or basically a month since rookie minicamps. So you could say it's a short-term injury all you want, but it's been a month. That doesn't seem very short-term to me. Now, of course, the common response is they're being safe, they're being conservative to

make sure that they don't do any worse damage or get them hurt anymore before we go into training camp. All right, that's fine. But here's what I want to say. Tavadre Sweat better be working harder than he's ever worked in his entire life during these next few weeks leading up to training camp, the next six weeks until the end of July. He better be in impeccable shape. He better know exactly what he needs to do.

He better make up for all of the time He better know exactly what he needs to do. He better make up for all of the time that he has missed since rookie minicamp. And if we have, you know, Tavondre Sweat's not out there at the beginning of training camp. We have Tavondre Sweat struggling with his conditioning at the beginning of training camp.

Like all of you people who say that I made something out of nothing or didn't agree with the concern level or whatever, you better be ready to issue apologies. Because if those things happen, then all of the concern that I've had for the last few weeks is going to be worth it, is going to be valid. Okay, so, Devondre Sweat not out there, alright, fine.

But he better take advantage of the next few weeks here of the summer. And I'll give you my general thought on the whole team. And it also applies to Devondre Sweat here in just a moment. But first, I want to also let you guys know about the other absences because this practice was a pared-down practice for sure. No Jeffrey Simmons. No Traylon Burks. No DeAndre Hopkins.

No Calvin Ridley. No Caleb Farley. no Tony Pollard, no Sebastian Joseph Day, no Chido Owuze, no LeJarius Sneed, no Elijah Molden, no Harold Landry, no Tyler Boyd, no Chigga Conqua, no Marlon Davidson, no Quentin Bohannon, no TK McClendon, no NPF. Some of those guys have been missing time already with injuries like NPF, TK McLennan, even Jess Simmons, who has a short-term injury as well. But there are a ton of names on there who have been involved throughout the entire process. And if you guys remember my everyday or should remember, I have been saying for a few weeks

that I thought the Titans might even cancel these last few practices of the last week of OTAs. That's a common thing for teams to do. Well, smartly, what the Tennessee Titans did here was they didn't cancel practice entirely, but they went to certain veterans. They went to certain guys and said, hey, you've been working hard, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. If you want to be a part of these voluntary practices, you can. If not, feel free to miss them.

That's exactly what happened here. It's pretty obvious. I mean, the Titans didn't announce that, but look at the list. It's clearly said, hey, you guys have been working. You've been at all these OTAs. You've been at mandatory minicamp. If you want to take this next week off,

you want to get started on your vacation early, go ahead and do that. And in lieu of that, what they did was they just had all of the young guys, the guys who were competing for roster spots, the guys who were competing for chances, the low-end guys, and let them have all of the reps at this practice. Now, one thing that I will say is two veteran guys who were there,

well, veterans, they're second-year players, so I guess you could look at it from that standpoint, but guys who are expected to be starters and will make the team, Will Levis and Tajay Spears, they were both out there. The full current starting offensive line, J.C. Latham, Cushenberry,

Peter Skowronski, Sadiq Charles, John Ajuku, they were all there as well. So some of that chemistry stuff, you do like to hear that, but it allowed other guys to step up and make plays and other young guys to get opportunities. I think there's a ton of competition at the wide

receiver position right now. Kyle Phillips, Jaquan Jackson, Treshawn Harrison, these undrafted guys. There's a ton of competition for backup spots on the offensive line. A ton of guys there. On defense, there are so many spots open that guys are working for, especially linebacker, interior D-line, safety.

A ton of spots open there. So the Titans just use the practice to focus on those guys, and it makes a ton of sense for them to do that. So I like the philosophy. You're kind of going halfway of, hey, we're having OTAs, full OTAs. We hope people are there and canceling them entirely. You found a nice middle ground to keep getting work in and keep getting information on these players and working with them,

but not overstressing some of your veteran guys who you know are going to make the team. But I do want to just say this to wrap up my overall thoughts because the summer is here. All right. We're going to have six weeks now before we see the Tennessee Titans back out on the field. It'll be July 24th. Camp starts on the 23rd, but it'll be July 24th

before we see the Tennessee Titans back out on the practice field. Most head coaches, when you hear them talk about this time, they say this six weeks is the most important part of the year for the players because some guys are going to go out, they're going to champagne and campaign. They're going to take their summer vacations. They're not going to work. They're not going to keep their head in their playbook.

They're not going to do everything they can. And when they show back up to training camp, all the progress that they build up throughout the all season work is going to be gone. And they're going to have to build it all the way back up at the beginning of training camp instead of hitting the ground running for training camp and using training camp to refine their skill within their team. It's all about keeping yourself in shape, keeping your head in the game, keeping your momentum going throughout the summer. You can't

lose all of that progress by letting go of the rope and completely going into a summer vacation. That's not how it works for a professional athlete. It's just not going to be what you want. So this summertime, when guys are on their own, when they're not with the team, this might be the most important stretch of the year in terms of preparation for their bodies, for their skill sets, for their scheme.

This is a very important time. So it may seem like summer vacation, but keep in mind that this is very important. I do want to let you guys know though that I'm not taking any kind of summer vacation on you guys. I got a lot of great content planned. Number one, we're going to have roster week where

I break down the entire roster. I grade the entire roster. I'm going to do a talent evaluation of every single player on the roster at this time. Are they an above average starter? Are they an average starter? Are they below average? I'm going to do all of that with visual representations of the roster.

I'm going to talk about AFC South. We're going to have AFC South week where we go through and look at what the competitors have done. How the Titans rank at certain positions against the other AFC South teams. Excited for that. We're going to have a top five week where I just do a ton of different top fives,

like top five X factors for the year, top five cut candidates for the Titans, my top five best players on the Tennessee Titans. I'm going to get you guys involved in that as well. We're going to have positional previews before training camp comes and go through every single player at every position. I got a lot of content planned,

so make sure that you stick with me here on the Locked on Titans podcast. But now, let's talk about Will Levis dicing up the defense in the last day of summer practice. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you

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We talked about the people that were missing, what the philosophy of the summer needs to be for some of these players. But now I do want to dive into the details of Tuesday's practice and what actually took place. I do want to give a shout-out to Ron Davenport, Jim Wyatt, for some of their information, some of their reporting on practice. A lot of these anecdotes come from those two guys do a great job.

TD, especially my guy, Teron Davenport. Appreciate you, man. But with that being said, all indications, I think shout out to Ben Arthur as well for some good info, but it was a spirited and fun practice is what reports are. A lot of energy, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of enthusiasm, even though a lot of the starters weren't necessarily in practice. And with a lot of the starters out,

Will Levis diced up the defense. Okay, I mean, a great day for Will Levis. And you could say it should be. Most of the defensive starters are out. And guess what? That's a good point. But Most of the defensive starters are out, and guess what? That's a good point. But most of the offensive starters were out, especially the wide receivers. So Levis is working with backups, against backups, any experience, any reps,

any progress that he makes is always good. But Levis came out on the very first play, the very first play of 7-on-7 red zone, and threw a touchdown strike to Nick Westbrook Akine and Will Levis erupted. Nick Westbrook Akine, who recently had a baby, I guess, according to Jim White was rocking the baby. Will Levis grabbed the ball and punted it into the lake. I mean, that's energy.

That's enthusiasm. They were fired up. Also want to point out Will Levis did a sweet video segment with the Titans media team playing golf earlier in the week. And boy, can he play some golf, man. Whatever. Anyways, that gets me fired up

as someone who enjoys golf. So love seeing QB1 do those kind of things and be that kind of competitor. But Levis went three for five in the first red zone session. Went three for five in the second one. But NWI had a drop, so he should have been 4 for 5. Let me

just say this. Every single practice, every single practice that I can remember covering over the last few weeks, NWI has dropped a pass. Literally every single practice. There's

and Nick Westbrook-Akene had a drop. Like, man. Man, for a guy that's fighting for a roster spot, who I single practice. And Nick Westbrook-Akene had a drop. Like, man, man. For a guy that's fighting for a roster spot, who I think makes the roster, but God, man, it's just every practice we hear about a big drop from NWI. Every single one. It's unbelievable to me.

But I could see it. I don't think he's a guy who is going to do well catching those fastballs from Will Levis. He just doesn't have smooth athleticism. I mean, of course, compared to me, podcast guy, whatever, you know. Obviously, he's a much more smooth athlete than I'll ever dream of being. But compared to his NFL peers, he's just not a smooth athlete, doesn't have the softest hands,

and you could see that that's something that's come up a ton. You know, it's just come up a ton. But he did catch two touchdown passes on the day. NWI, Nick Westbrook-Akene did, so you give him his credit. Words do. Kyle Phillips caught a touchdown pass as well. Someone who, again, stocked down in these all-season practices for Kyle Phillips. He's kind of been pushed to the side for other more spicy options.

Treshawn Harrison caught a touchdown pass on the day. And Mason Rudolph also had some success. I'm telling you guys. I said it when he was signed. A lot of people hated it. But I love Mason Rudolph as the backup quarterback. He's 8-4 in his career. He's actually gone out there and looked like a decent quarterback.

He started games in prime time in big situations. I think he's a great backup quarterback. He's 8-4 in his career. He's actually gone out there and looked like a decent quarterback. He's started games in prime time in big situations. I think he's a great backup quarterback to have. I love Mason Rudolph as a backup quarterback. He went 4-5. Had some touchdown throws. One to Jaquan Jackson. One to Jabari Small. Had one to

Josh Wiley as well. Josh Wiley continues to show up. So, Mason Rudolph, good session in the red zone. And then we go to the defense because there is someone on defense who deserves a big shout out here and it's Jarvis Brownlee Jr. I'm high on it, guys. I'm high on JBJ. I really do think that he's going to make an impact whether it be as depth as the secondary slot guy

if the Titans go into dime with four cornerbacks. I think he's a matchup guy who's willing to go out there and play press and not be afraid. Had a little bit of an injury a couple of weeks ago where he left early but came right back, so he's battling through adversity. Out there, basically had a pick six on Will Levis. Now, I've seen some reports that say Bryce Oliver fell down

on the play and that made it an easy interception for JBJ, but being in position to take advantage when other people make mistakes, that's part of playing sports. Sometimes things break your way, but you have to be ready. Again, luck is hard work and preparation

meeting at the same time. So, a pick six interception Luck is hard work and preparation meeting at the same time. So a pick six interception for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. A ton of credit there. And then also wanted to throw in this note. We haven't talked a lot about special teams because right now there are just bigger things to conquer

and funner things to talk about at the end of the day. More fun things to talk about. But Kiaris Jackson, Kyle Phillips, Jaquan Jackson, Mason Kinsey, and Eric Garrow were all punt returners.

And again, I said on yesterday's show, I want to see Jaquan Jackson and Traylon Burks as the kickoff return guys. And I would like to see Jaquan Jackson as the punt return guy. So that's my expectation right now. That's what I want to see. But Mason Kinsey, Kyle Phillips,

if these dudes don't find a way to make a big impression and punt return, Kiaris Jackson as well. If they don't find a way, you could put Eric Aroin in there as well. All of them. Like these guys need to win that punt return spot to boost their chances of making the roster because Mason Kinsey and Kiaris Jackson are

already fighting huge uphill battles. Kyle Phillips is right on that bubble and if Jaquan Jackson continues to impress, could push him off. Eric Errol was basically a practice squad guy last year who got more opportunities because of injuries. So he's fighting for his roster life.

So these guys got to make an impression on punt return and on special teams to give themselves a chance, basically. Jaquan Jackson, while we like him, he's a sixth-round pick. There's no guarantee he's going to make the roster either. So he really needs to grab that position by the horns, basically, and make it his. But with that being said, joint practices. We finally got official word on what's going to go on with that.

And I think the Titans picked a perfect team to have joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks. I'm going to tell you why I think it was the perfect team. Before I do that. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I do want to let you know that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and it's now also available on Amazon Fire TV. It's called Locked On Sports Today. Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7.

It's on 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On, like me, Locked On Titans, local expert, blah, blah, blah. But you get coverage of every single league from our national shows like Locked On NFL, Locked On NBA. Find Locked On Sports today. Now available on YouTube and on the free Fire TV channels app. But we talked about the absences

and what these guys need to do during summer. We talked about the practice itself and the details there and what happened. Now I want to talk about this joint practice session the Titans are going to have because it was officially announced that the second week of the preseason, the Titans are going to have joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks leading up to the preseason game that they play against each other again in the second week of the preseason. I think it's August 17th, I do believe is the date. Pretty sure I'm right. I think the Titans first preseason game is August

11th. I think so. It'd be a week from then, August 17th, August 18th, Saturday, I do believe is the date on that. But I love, love the idea of doing joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks. I love that. So, number one, what did Brian Callahan say when he talked about finding a defensive coordinator? He said that he wants guys who have made it difficult on his offense. Well, one of the teams that he mentioned during that time is Baltimore. Well, who was the defensive coordinator of Baltimore last year?

The now head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike McDonald. Alright, so one of the guys that made it most difficult on Brian Callahan is a guy who's going to be seeing his defense in joint practices. Number one, I love that because the Titans are going to get tough looks in that practice. And going up against the toughest possible defenses that you can in the, excuse me, in the oh my god, I'm going to die.

In these joint practices, hopefully it's about as tough for me to speak as it is for the Titans defense to go against Seattle's, or Titans offense to go against Seattle's defense. But going up against one of the more difficult defensive schemes in the entire NFL, in your joint practices, in the preseason, is how you get ready for the NFL season. I hate that iron sharpens iron. It's just been used so much nowadays.

But it is true. You want to go against the best so that when you get into the season, you are prepared for that. So I think that Seattle's defense, under Mike McDonald, who is like, Mike McDonald is like the Sean McVay of defense in the NFL right now. Like he's the Shanahan stopper.

He has great success against all the Shanahan offenses, all that. Like Mike McDonald is the premier defensive whiz kid in the league right now. Okay, so going up against him is going to be great practice for the Titans offense. Not only that, but you have the connection of Mike McDonald and who was on his staff last year, Denard Wilson, Titans defensive coordinator. So there's a connection there. You're going to have mutual respect. The coaching staff should be able to communicate very well. I love that. That's very important. But also start to look at it from a more granular level like the players. The wide receivers for the Seattle Seahawks

are awesome. DK Metcalf, big physical wide receiver. Tyler Lockett, smaller, quicker wide receiver. Jackson Smith and Jigba, crafty slot wide receiver. They give you a little taste of everything. So I think rotating the Titans cornerbacks on all three of those wide receivers can not only give them practice against talented players, but can give them practice against different styles of wide receiver.

I really like the wide receiver core in Seattle. You guys know I love a balanced skill set position group. Love that. So I love what they've done in Seattle there. But I love the idea of the Titans cornerbacks who need to be one of the big strengths. Like the Titans cornerback room has gone from one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best in the NFL.

And they need to perform like that from the get-go because the Titans defensive line and pass rush is not as good as it's been in the NFL. And they need to perform like that from the get-go because the Titans defensive line and pass rush is not as good as it's been in years past. So they need more from the defensive backfield. And speaking of defensive backfield, I did that episode yesterday on free agents. Marcus May signed with the Miami Dolphins at 9 p.m. last night after I put out the show at 6. So sorry that that was a little outdated for the morning crowd, but can't anticipate everything, you know what I mean? But Marcus May, who was my favorite to be the signing,

now off the board, the Titans really need to go get Justin Simmons, man. They really need to find a way to make that happen in the next few weeks. But either way, I love the idea of the cornerbacks going up against the wide receivers to get them ready for the season. Love the idea of the Titans offense going against the Seahawks defensive scheme under Mike McDonald. And honestly, the Seahawks offense is talented across the board. Two really good running backs in Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.

They have a good offensive line when they put together some health with Abraham Lucas on the right, Charles Cross on the left. Like, they have some good talent there in Seattle on the offensive line that should challenge the Titans' defense as well. So, I love that combination, the Titans and the Seahawks getting together for that joint practice. I really think it'll help the Titans. I can't wait for that to happen.

I'm so ready for some football. Again, we're going to take this little break here in the NFL schedule. It's kind of the downtime, the only downtime in the NFL schedule, quite honestly, is this next six weeks. But it's not a downtime here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, roster analysis week, AFC South week, top five week, positional preview series. I got so much stuff coming up. I'm going to have a mailbag to cap off this week. Tomorrow, I'm going to tell you how JC Latham is built different.

According to Bill Callahan, talk about what specific Titans players need to do during this summer break. Mailbag to cap off the week. I got a lot of stuff planned for you guys. And then I'm going to be getting into a ton of film content on the Tic Tac Titans film channel once we get into July as well. So a lot coming your way. Make sure you get subscribed.

Stay subscribed. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans.