Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Veterans Return to Practice, Tannehill Sharp & Offensive/Defensive Roster Locks

Episode Date: August 26, 2020

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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 Built Bar. Go to BuiltBar.com and use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get $10 off your next order. The Titans veterans and key players return to practice on Tuesday. And one Titan in particular looked extremely sharp. So I'm going to give you all of my biggest takeaways from practice and talk about which Titan just absolutely cut up the other side of the ball today.

So really exciting news ahead. And then, as I teased earlier in the week, what I want to do is talk about the locks on the Titans roster. So we have done our predictions on who is actually going to make the final 53-man roster. But what I want to do now, after a few weeks of camp, is take a look at who at this moment in time is a moral lock to be on that final roster. So we are going to talk about who is not on the bubble today, and that should kind of clear things up as later in the week we rehash our entire roster prediction. So going to give you guys the locks at each position on offense and defense on the Titans

roster in my mind today. So really excited to get into all of that with you guys, and I'm really excited to continue to bring you Monday through Friday content on the Titans throughout the rest of the season. So make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, whatever platform you do stream, and follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans for additional content, including my TicTacTitan film breakdown. So really excited to jump into all of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's Titans practice

and dive into a couple of roster locks here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. The Titans coaching staff took a unique approach to Monday's practice, sitting out 21 of the Titans' most important players, including a majority of the starters and some key young guys as well. But Tuesday's practice brought the return of those players and with that return came some pretty impressive performances starting at the quarterback position. Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was very sharp throughout the day completing passes and showing an incredible connection hanging over from the 2019 season with A.J. Brown, but one of the more interesting

developments has been Tannehill's connection with wide receiver Corey Davis. Since his return from the physically unable to perform list, Corey Davis and Ryan Tannehill connected throughout the day for some pretty impressive results. Also, Tannehill has been in lockstep with tight end Johnnie Smith, and this could be the result of their offseason work together in South Florida earlier in the year. But Tannehill wasn't the only quarterback that was impressive throughout the day. The much maligned Logan Woodside had a very impressive day that included five straight completions at one point in time during team period. Also, an impressive performance on the defensive side of the ball

came from linebacker Jayon Brown. Jayon made numerous pass breakups during team period and also had some pretty impressive run stops as well. Another impressive performance on the day was from undrafted free agent kicker Tucker McCann. McCann started off camp being clearly the understudy to Greg Joseph. But throughout the last few practices, Joseph has faltered a bit and McCann has capitalized on the opportunity.

McCann went 5-6 at Tuesday's practice and his only miss being a 58-yarder. And Greg Joseph had three misses at practice on Tuesday, including a 49-yarder, a 56-yarder, and Greg Joseph had three misses at practice on Tuesday, including a 49-yarder, a 56-yarder, and a 58-yarder. So for training camp at this time, Greg Joseph is 31 of 37 on his kicks, and Tucker McCann is 32 of 36. This is bad news for Greg Joseph because early in training camp, McCann displayed much more leg strength, but Tucker McCann was not as accurate as Greg Joseph. If Tucker McCann is displaying the accuracy, better accuracy than Greg Joseph, while simultaneously having more leg

strength, that would seem to give him a clear advantage over the incumbent in Greg Joseph. So that will be something to watch going forward as we get closer to the regular season. As Titans special teams coordinator Craig Alkerman said, the race is still currently neck and neck. Some other random tidbits from Titans practice on Tuesday. Starting right guard Nate Davis, who was a participant in Monday's practice before leaving a little bit early and getting the rest that much of the other starters were getting.

Davis actually vomited during practice. It didn't appear that it was anything that was going to linger. He went ahead, got it out of the system, and then continued practicing, but clearly the Tennessee Heat got to Nate Davis today. Also of interest was Mike Vrabel's one-on-one coaching with rookie right tackle Isaiah Wilson. Throughout practice, you could see Vrabel in multiple instances hold Isaiah back from the next drill and work with him directly after the completion of a drill, including a particular drill where Isaiah Wilson threw tight end Michael Pruitt to the ground. It didn't seem to be in any nefarious way, and Michael Pruitt and Isaiah Wilson didn't

seem to have any lingering animosity afterwards, but Mike Vrabel did pull Wilson aside and have a pretty extended conversation with him before Wilson moved on and joined the rest of the offensive line group. So some interesting tidbits there from practice. Looking at some of the absences from Titans practice. To start off, there was a scare early when Titans star running back Derrick Henry appeared to injure his foot, but he was able to come back and continue to complete the rest of practice.

Missing a third straight practice is rookie running back Darrington Evans, also safety Dane Cruikshank. Missing for a second straight practice was cornerback Christian Fulton. And then missing their first practice is running back centerized Perry, cornerback Kareem Orr, and then Cameron Batson, the wide receiver, left practice early on Monday with an injury and was not seen on Tuesday. Oh, and of course, it's also worth mentioning that Vic Beasley, still not practicing, still on the non-football injury list. Curious whether he's going to be ready for the regular season, if we're

going to find out what this injury really is once week one comes around, and he has to be on the injury report. So, I've exhausted all my energy talking about Vic Beasley. But, hey, just wanted to make sure that you guys are up to date on what he's doing or, better yet, what he's not doing, and that's helping the Titans football team and practicing out on the field. So just got to make sure that you guys are in the know of what the current status of what could be one of John Robinson's biggest misses at least early on so far.

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Talked about the numbers there. And I kind of want to rehash part of that conversation. I'm going to do another roster prediction throughout the rest of the week on Thursday and Friday's show on offense and on defense. But before we get into those roster predictions, I kind of want to set the stage for you guys. Talking about who is an actual lock to make this roster. Who do I think has no chance of being cut? How many players are locks for the roster in my opinion?

And how many open spots does that actually leave for the bubble guys that we talk about in Thursday and Friday shows? So that's my plan for the rest of the week. Give you guys the biggest takeaways from Titans practice and then have a conversation about the roster with about two weeks away from cut down day. So let's dive into the Titans offense and talk about who is a lock to make this roster in my opinion. And clearly my opinion on the roster locks have been challenged before so go on Twitter find me at tic-tac-titans let me know if you disagree with any of my roster locks or if you

think someone's a lock that I didn't mention so let's dive right in and we will start with the quarterback position and I'm going to start in a place that you may not expect. I want to start by looking at the backups here, the battle between Logan Woodside and Trevor Simeon. So I know, I know that I have been very high on getting someone like Trevor Simeon, Trevor Simeon specifically, in the building to be the backup quarterback for the Titans. But he's had ups and downs throughout practice that have been reported just like Logan Woodside. So at this time, I don't see that it's any lock that Trevor Simeon is on this roster, no matter how much I advocated for him joining the team.

So I'm a big fan of Trevor Simeon. I do think that he's the right choice at backup quarterback for this team. But I am in no way ready to call him a roster lock or anything like that. So, with that being said, at the quarterback position, realistically, there is only one lock for this roster, and that is Ryan Tannehill. So that's an obvious one, the most obvious one, right out of the gate. I can't call Woodside or Simeon a lock in any way at this moment in time.

Now, I do think, obviously, one of them is going to be on the roster, so there will be two locked quarterback positions. The other may be asked to go to the practice squad. I actually don't think Trevor Simeon can be on the practice squad based on his experience. So, Logan Woodside could end up on the practice squad with Trevor Simeon actually on the roster, and all three in general would be kept with the organization.

But in terms of the actual 53-man roster or the active 48-man roster on game day, right now the only lock at the quarterback position is Ryan Tannehill. Moving to the running back position, let's make this obvious. Just like with Ryan Tannehill, the king, Derrick Henry, is going to be on this football team. No shocker, no spoiler alert needed there. Obviously, the third round rookie running back, Darrington Evans, is a lock on this roster as well. There's no way that the Titans are going to cut him barring some off the field issue. Obviously, anything off the field that takes place like a Darius Geist situation or maybe even a Deshaun Jackson situation anything like that

that's a disastrous either criminal situation or PR situation could totally change any of this obviously but with nothing like that in play Darrington Evans is obviously a lock on this roster and while I am very high on centerized Perry and what he can give the Titans as a runner and specifically on special teams. I'm not willing to call him a lock at this time whatsoever. That would be foolish, but here is maybe one of the more controversial or dicey locks that I have in my prediction. I think Kari Blossom game is a lock to make this roster. And the reason for that is his versatility. And the reports coming out of Monday's practice talked about Kari Blossom game getting a ton of carries as just a running back, not a fullback in the Titans offense.

And I think it's really important for his spot on the roster that he shows versatility outside of just being your regular blocking fullback. He showed his ability to catch passes last year, which I think is incredibly important at the fullback position in this sort of offense. And here's why his versatility as a running back is so important, because the Titans have a versatile player like Michael Pruitt, who could play tight end and played fullback for the team before Blossom Games showed up. So if Blossom Games doesn't display his versatility on special teams and as a runner of the ball,

then I think there's a good chance that Jeff Swaim could get the third tight end role. And then Pruitt could be kept on as a fourth tight end that doubles as a fullback. Now I think the Titans offense was better with Blossom Games at fullback and when they let Pruitt just focus on being a secondary blocking tight end. So I think Blossomgame's versatility as a runner and as a fullback will lead him to being a lock on this roster. I really like what Kari brings to the table and that would allow the Titans to carry one less running back because they have someone like Blossomgame who can be counted on to run the ball effectively if something goes bad with the regular running backs during the game.

Moving into the wide receiver position, I think there are four locks here. The fourth lock is apparently controversial, something that I've ranted about before, so I won't go into that anymore, but I think A.J. Brown, Adam Humphreys, Corey Davis, and Kalief Raymond are absolute locks to make this roster. There are guys who are going to be battling for that fifth or sixth wide receiver position.

I think it's possible the Titans only keep five wide receivers this year if they don't seem or if they don't value any of those other wide receivers as a special teams option outside of a returner. So you look at the defensive backs on the team. You look at the linebackers on the team. You look at the Titans keeping maybe an extra offensive lineman, an extra tight end, places like that. I think the wide receiver position could be one of the positions that sees a decrease

in the roster amount that they take up in lieu of some other positions that can give you a little more on special teams. And with that, there may only be one other wide receiver position up for grabs on this roster but I think four of those roster positions at wide receiver are locks with AJ, Corey, Hump, and Khalif. So we will move to the tight end spot. There's only two locks in my opinion here. Jonu Smith and Anthony Ferkser. Like I said Pruitt they could not see him as vital this year because they have an inline blocking tight end, like a Swaim, on the roster. And then they have someone who can play fullback like Kari Blossom

game, which kind of takes away both roles that Michael Pruitt held last year. But if the Titans want to keep four tight ends this year and keep a Swaim, then Pruitt could definitely be in. But at this moment in time, I only think it's fair to say that there are two locks in Ferkser and Janu, and right now Pruitt is not a lock for this roster. Then moving on to the offensive line at the tackle position, I actually think it's a lock that the Titans keep for tackles this year, and remember, we heard from Mike Vrabel yesterday talk about roster construction and talk about the fact that they might be able to keep an extra offensive lineman eight offensive linemen as compared to the typical seven because of that

extra game day active spot going from 46 to 48 and then of course the allowances that the NFL has made for a roster movement for all NFL teams so because of that I think the Titans keep four tackles Taylor LeJuan, Dennis Kelly, the two starters, the high-end rookie in Isaiah Wilson, and then Ty Sambrello, who can play a little bit of guard and tackle. So I think that's the eighth offensive lineman that the Titans will take the luxury of having on the roster. That'll be Ty Sambrello at tackle. And then on the interior, we have starting guards Nate Davis and Roger Saffold starting center Ben Jones and then I think on the interior the backup interior offensive lineman will be

Jameel Douglas obviously started games for the Titans last year he will be the backup center the primary backup guard and then the Titans will have Ty Sembrello as a backup guard as well I think that'll complete the eight so that does it for the offensive side of the ball, who I think are roster locks. Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Darrington Evans, Kari Blossomgame, A.J. Brown, Adam Humphreys, Corey Davis, Kalief Raymond, Jonu Smith, Anthony Ferkser, Taylor LeJuan, Dennis Kelly, Isaiah Wilson, Ty Sambrello, Nate Davis, Roger Saffold, Ben Jones, and Jameel Douglas. We'll talk about the defensive locks next.

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defensive line and there are only four locks and I'm not 100% comfortable with the four locks that I have although I think they are the locks I surely wish the Titans had a little bit more on the defensive line that I felt comfortable about so let's dive right into the names here. Obviously the two starting interior defensive linemen. Daquan Jones. Jeffrey Simmons. And then the third starting defensive lineman in the Titans base defense. Jack Crawford. They are locks.

And then of course in my opinion. The rookie Larell Murchison. There's no way the Titans are going to draft him. In the mid rounds in the draft. And then cut him. Unless once again there's some sort of off-the-field issue. So really excited for Murchison's development, but can't really ask him to contribute too early on. So that's why I wish the Titans had a little bit more at the defensive line. But those are my four locks for the interior.

Jeff, Daquan, Jack, and Larell Murchison. Moving to the linebacker group, let's do the outside linebackers first. This is, again, where things are a tad bit concerning. We've heard some encouraging reports about some of the young guys on the back end of the Titans roster outside linebacker, like a Wyatt Ray, who's really been impressing, and I keep hearing his name pop up. Also, somebody like a Derek Roberson has been flashing at times in camp.

So I have faith in some of maybe the younger guys developing, but the Titans don't have a lot that they can rely on at outside linebacker right now. In my opinion, the only locks to make the roster are Harold Landry, Kamalei Correa, and Vic Beasley, unfortunately, which increases the amount that the Titans really need Jadavion Clowney. It's just a reality here. I'm not very comfortable with what they have at the edge group, and those three names are the only locks that we can rely on. I think that's a dangerous way to go into such an important 2020 season. Inside linebacker again. Only three locks.

And you know what? On the fly, four locks at inside linebacker. Jayon Brown, Rashawn Evans, second year player David Long. And I'm going to pencil in Nick DeZubnar as a lock here. I think what he does on special teams is incredibly important. I think he's going to take that Darren Bates role for the Titans. I'm going to count Nick Dezubnar as a lock for a special teams value as well. Moving into the secondary of the Titans defense at cornerback, this is the position where I had the most locks. And one of them is a little bit of a shot in the dark.

But at some point, I just trust my evaluation. I trust what I'm hearing about this player. So the locks at the cornerback position, the Titans big three that they're going to have on the field the most, Adoree Jackson, Malcolm Butler, rookie Christian Fulton. And then the Titans brought in veteran Jonathan Joseph to steady the ship and be a secondary coach in there. I don't think that there's any way that that veteran gets cut. Jonathan Joseph is going to be on the team. And then finally, like Nick DeZubnar, I think this player is so excellent in special teams that he's a lock for the roster. And that is cornerback

Chris Milton. Milton came over to the Titans early in the season after being waived by the Colts. He's not much of a cornerback realistically, but his value on special teams cannot be overstated. So I think Milton is a lock for this team. And I think that the increased roster numbers this year actually put a premium on his services and the lack of special teams reps that players are going to get

in the all season you gotta count on certain special teams players who you've seen do it before and we've seen Chris Milton do it at a high level before so to me Chris Milton is a lock as well and then at the safety position I only have three three locks on this. And I know that a lot of people will be expecting four locks, but I only have three here. And I'm changing this on the fly, guys. I can't leave my boy Crookshank out of here. Four locks at safety. Kenny Vaccaro, Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker, and then Dane Crookshank.

Those are the only locks in my opinion. Now, I will say the recently signed Walt Aiken from the Dolphins, I think he has a really good opportunity to make this roster because he's not just a special teams ace. He also has played plenty of snaps actually playing safety for the Dolphins. So keep an eye out on Walt Aikens. But at this time, he's just joining the team, hasn't even been out to practice.

I can't make him a lock at this moment in time until I get a little bit more of a visual on Aikens to see what he can do. Then the special teams group, there are going to be three locks here, but at this time, I can only give you two. That's punter Brett Kern, long snapper Bo Brinkley. give you two. That's punter Brett Kern, long snapper Bo Brinkley. One of the kickers, Tucker McCann or Greg Joseph, is going to be a lock on this team. One of the spots is locked down for a kicker. I just don't know which kicker it is. So since I don't know that, I can't possibly call one of them a lock to you guys. But the position itself will have a roster spot for certain. So

where does that leave us in terms of the amount of players, in my opinion, that are locked onto the roster, and how many spots will be available for the bubble guys? 41 players I have as locks on the Titans roster, so that leaves 12 positions available for the rest of the 40 guys that are out there. It's going to be very difficult for the Titans to cut down. One thing I can say is the practice squad was expanded this year from 10 all the way to 16. So a lot of these guys, although they may not make the 53-man roster, they're ultimately going to stay with the organization on the practice squad.

So that's something to monitor as well. But that is going to do it for today's show. Those are my roster locks as I see things getting closer and closer to cut day. Throughout the next two days, the back half of our show, I will be rehashing my roster prediction. So of course, you're going to hear these names. But where things get really interesting is what will the other 12 names be that make the final roster? And then out of the rest of the 30 guys, 27 guys that are there, who do I think are prime

candidates for the Titans practice squad? So we are going to be talking about that in the next two episodes of the Locked on Titans podcast later this week. I couldn't be more excited to get into that with you guys. And continue breaking down the biggest takeaways from each Titans practice. We are getting closer and closer to Monday night against the Denver Broncos. But that is going to do it for this Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans podcast. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland,

and this was Locked on Titans.