The first real sign of trouble before the 2024 Titans season was how much the offense struggled in joint practice against the Seattle Seahawks defense. The first definitive sign of distress for the 2025 Titans season was the way the middle-of-the-road Atlanta Falcons bullied the Titans over the course of back-to-back joint practices.
So now that the 2026 Titans are done with three joint practices against San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, what do we know about this team, really?
Let's try our best to answer that question. Here's five things I know about the Titans from watching three weeks of joint practices.
1. Cam Ward is best when he's in rhythm
Ward's best moments throughout training camp have been the easiest ones. The quick-release plays, the timing plays and the one-read plays have been pretty
automatic. The ball, more often than not, goes where it feels like it's supposed to go. For a guy who's reputation has always been about how good he is at improvising, he's looked awfully strong within structure.
2. Titans' offense still has a way to go, though
All that said, Ward's timing when plays break down hasn't been as impressive as it was at the end of the 2025 season. Those fractional seconds that are the difference between a miracle play and a forgettable incompletion have been falling on the side of forgettable incompletion. As Ward puts it, the Titans understand that offense is easiest when efficiency on first and second down is emphasized and third-and-longs are prevented. That said, it's been hard to see many situations where the Titans look like they have answers in the event of efficiency breaking down on early snaps.
3. The premium on physicality is real, and being embraced
Robert Saleh believes in toughness and physicality above all else. That's evident, and not just in the trenches. The backs, receivers and DBs are talking more about physicality than they ever have. And the play style reflects that. Whether this leads to overwhelming success in the win column can be debated. But there's no question that these Titans are going to play with an edge.
4. We were wrong about what the Titans' issues at DB were
Coming out of minicamp, one of the prevailing narratives about the Titans was that the lack of depth in the secondary would be a glaring issue. So far... not so much. Joshua Williams and Micah Robinson seem to be capable enough options as depth pieces at cornerback and the group of Tony Adams, Kendell Brooks, Erick Hallett and Jerrick Reed II at safety makes that room one of the Titans' deepest. And yet, concern about the secondary abounds. The Titans haven't lost faith in players like Cor'Dale Flott and Amani Hooker, for whatever it's worth. But the top-end starters have proven to be more of a problem that anticipated, even while depth has proven to be a pleasant surprise.
5. The Titans aren't overmatched, but they aren't overwhelming
No, there wasn't a moment in these joint practices that felt as disqualifying as the struggles in 2024 or 2025. The defense was a mess against San Francisco, but has rebounded pretty successfully. The offense has looked clean more often than it looked messy. If these joint practices were scored like regular season games, the ones against Seattle and Chicago probably would've been one-possession contests. Doing that against two teams coming off deep playoff runs is no small feat for a team that hasn't played a meaningful December game since their first-round pick was in high school.
But there also weren't many moments that made it feel like the Titans have the difference-makers who can turn a close loss into a close win on their own. Ward put together an impressive drive to end the two-minute session against Chicago that hinted in that direction. Jeffery Simmons is still a menace from the interior defensive line, but that hasn't led to too many practice reps being wrecked by his presence alone. Carnell Tate disappeared for two joint practices before showing up in a big way in the third. Based on what the joint practices looked like, it's tough to count on anyone being a super dependable game-changer when the game needs to be changed.
That's progress compared to the last two years, but close losses are still losses.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What we know about the Tennessee Titans that we didn't before joint practices
