NASHVILLE – The Titans took the field on Monday for their 14th practice of training camp.
But this time, things were a little different – the practice was at Nissan Stadium, in front of fans.
Here's a look at what stood out:
-A crowd of 6,925 fans turned out to watch practice, and the team gave away prizes throughout. One Titans fans, in fact, collected $500 for catching a pass thrown into the crowd by Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
-After practice, Titans Coach Mike Vrabel addressed the crowd, and then Vrabel and players tossed autographed mini-footballs into the stands. Vrabel apologized on behalf of the team for them not being able to sign autographs in person. Vrabel explained COVID rules kept them from being able to do so.
-The best play of the day was a Tannehill bomb to receiver Josh Reynolds roughly 50 yards downfield. Reynolds, who said last Monday he's been dealing with an Achilles injury, said after the session he's feeling better each day. On the play, Reynolds beat cornerback Kristian Fulton down the middle of the field, and made a diving catch. Earlier Reynolds let a pass go off his hands for an incompletion, and after the session Vrabel said he liked how he responded.
-The biggest ovation of the night came when receiver Julio Jones came out of the tunnel, and was shown on the Nissan Stadium video board. Jones, decked out in a No.2 jersey, didn't practice, but he got a nice round of applause as he waved to fans.
-Tight end Anthony Firkser got open in the middle of the field on a ball thrown by Tannehill, with linebacker Jayon Brown on him. Firkser made several catches in practice, including one on the next play.
-Titans safety Kevin Byard earned his second interception of camp – and the 17th for the defense – on a Tannehill pass in the middle of the field. It looked like defensive lineman Larrell Murchison tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage, and Byard closed on the ball in a hurry.
-Receiver Chester Rogers made an explosive play when he caught a 40-plus yard pass from Tannehill in a two-minute period, with Byard in coverage. Rogers later had another nice catch.
-Receiver Cameron Batson, who had a touchdown in the preseason opener, caught back-to-back passes from quarterback Logan Woodside in a two-minute period. Later, Woodside hit Reynolds, and then Batson again.
-Receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine later got into the action with a nice sideline grab, and he had at least three catches in the practice.
-Sam Ficken continues to do some pretty good kicking. In order, Ficken made kicks of 44, 30, 31, 33, 41, 45, 53 and 33 yards in the session. His only miss of the night was a 38-yarder. On the night it added up to 8-of-9 for Ficken, who is now 32-of-35 since joining the team after being waived by the Jets.
-Kicker Tucker McCann, injured in the preseason opener, didn't practice on Monday night. Vrabel said McCann is working hard to get healthy, but said he's not sure if he'll be able to kick in joint practices with the Buccaneers this week.
-In addition to Jones and McCann, safety Matthias Farley, safety Dane Cruikshank, running back Darrynton Evans, safety Brady Breeze, center Ben Jones, guard Nate Davis, tackle Kendall Lamm, tight end Geoff Swaim and defensive lineman Denico Autry did not practice.
-Safety Tedric Thompson went down with an injury and had to be carted off.
-Linebacker Rashaan Evans showed up quickly in run defense on a handoff to running back Jeremy McNichols, stopping him in his tracks.
-Murchison deflected not one, but two of Tannehill's passes at the line of scrimmage.
-Cornerback Chris Jones made a nice break-up on a pass from quarterback Matt Barkley intended for receiver Dez Fitzpatrick.
-The Titans leave Nashville on Tuesday for Tampa, where they'll have joint practices with the Buccaneers on Wednesday and Thursday before preseason game No.2 on Saturday.
Next practice: Wednesday in Tampa vs. the Buccaneers.
