So a new week brought another brutally hot training-camp practice for the Tennessee Titans. Let’s dive right into these Aug. 17 storylines, shall we:
So maybe don't hit the No. 4 overall draft pick?
The most spectacular play of this Titans practice was also the scariest.
Quarterback Cam Ward – who had a nice practice (we’ll get back to that) – flipped a deep ball that receiver Carnell Tate went airborne to grab. Tate not only caught that pass. He held on after safety Kevin Winston Jr., arrived to hit Tate hard before he landed.
Tate did end up on the sideline, and he was being evaluated after getting “a little bit dizzy,” according to Titans coach Robert Saleh. But it did sound like Tate avoided a concussion.
Anyway, this was the second time this preseason that Winston – intended or not – arrived
to hit a receiver in the process of making a catch in practice. Receiver Elic Ayomanor hurt his shoulder on that play, though he was fine and back at practice the next day.
That’s the balancing act of NFL training-camp practices. Teams understandably want DBs to play aggressively, and Winston does. He flies around with range, and that’s why he’s expected to be a good NFL safety. But at the same time, you never want to see the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft get hit by a teammate while defenseless in mid-air. During a game, Winston probably would've been flagged for a hit like that.
“Unfortunate,” Saleh said. “You want him to have a little bit of control going up there. It is a competitive period. … But you want him to be mindful of where he is on the football field and take care of his teammates, for sure.”
Winston wasn't the only one. Running back Tyjae Spears was knocked to the ground twice by linebacker Cedric Gray in this practice.
OK. But let's remember the big picture here: You need to get you best players to the starting gate.
Injuries are piling up
Outside of Tate's play, injuries have become more of a factor as the Titans get deeper into training camp. Big news of this practice was that backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky departed early with what Saleh said was a bicep injury.
“I think we’re good,” Saleh said of Trubisky, “but again, I’m the eternal optimist.”
The Titans were already down three running backs during this practice, with Tony Pollard, Nick Singleton and Kalel Mullings out with various — not believed to be serious — bumps and bruises. Saleh said he hoped to have at least couple of them back during the next practice (on Aug. 19).
Meanwhile, the Titans just signed running back Dominic Richardson, an undrafted rookie out of Tulsa, to help fill out the room. Richardson got a lot of work during this practice, too, beginning with a catch that linebacker Dominique Hampton appeared to rip out of his hands for a fumble, though the refs called it incomplete. The next pass Richardson caught, he made sure to protect it through contact.
Some momentum for the … offense?
This was the offense’s day on the practice field, and I say that because it hasn’t happened much this training camp. Footballs weren’t on the ground much, with Ward (and Will Levis, too) completing a high percentage of throws.
Some of these passes would’ve been sacks for the defensive front, but the coverage needs to be better than what it has been lately for the Titans’ defense. Ward has stacked two solid practices in Nashville since that shaky preseason opener, though we’ll see how he fares against the Seattle Seahawks in a joint practice later in the week.
About those practice push-ups?
At the end of each Titans practice this preseason, either the offense or defense has been made to do push-ups, usually at Saleh's instruction. It hasn’t been clear, however, how Saleh was evaluating that decision. For instance, the offense appeared in general to get the best of the defense during this latest practice, yet the offense was doing push-ups when the practice ended.
Why?
The Titans have specific team competitions set up near the end of practices, Saleh explained, and the push-ups indicate the winner and loser of that competition. In this practice, that was a 2-minute, end-of-game drill in which the defenses were able to stop the offenses as the clock expired.
“Offense needed a touchdown,” Saleh said, “and they didn’t score in either one of those (units).”
Extra Points
- I wouldn’t have called this an overly scrappy practice, in terms of post-play activity, but reserve safety Tony Adams was kicked out of it for throwing a punch.
- Rookie fifth-rounder Fernando Carmona is becoming one of the surprise stories of this Titans training camp. Carmona hasn’t just pulled in front for the starting right guard spot in his first NFL training camp. He appears to be widening the lead after the first game of the preseason, which – for now, at least – has brought an end to rotating practice reps among different players at the position.
- Kicker Joey Slye’s preseason scare appears to be in the rearview mirror. He followed up last week’s strong showing in the Bay Area with a 9-for-9 practice performance on field goals. Each try moved back a few yards from the previous one, with the final attempt being a 50-yarder than bounced off an upright and beyond the crossbar.
- Rookie defensive lineman Jackie Marshall, who has been recovering from a muscle strain this preseason, appeared to be going full speed during team drills. So that’s good news for him.
Quotable
“The one thing that he’s done that I don’t feel like we saw a year ago is the physicality at which he plays. He’s at a really good weight, so his foot speed is where we want it to be. We felt like he was always strong enough, but you combine the foot speed with the physicality that he’s playing with, and he’s moving people. … He’s tracking to have a really nice year.” – Titans coach Robert Saleh on right tackle JC Latham
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A sensational Carnell Tate catch was scarier for Titans than it should've been | Estes
