NASHVILLE – Titans Coach Brian Callahan spoke to reporters on Tuesday, the day before training camp is scheduled to kick off at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park.
Here's a look at ten hot topics from today's presser:
-Tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and receiver Colton Dowell are starting training camp on the team's Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, Callahan said. Dowell starts on Reserve-PUP, while Petit-Frere starts on Active-PUP, which "will be a couple of days as we start," Callahan said. Petit-Frere's shoulder has healed, but he's still working his way back from a knee "clean-up" procedure, Callahan said. "Other than that," Callahan said, "everyone else is cleared and healthy and ready to roll."
-No injury designation was placed on Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse to start training camp. Callahan said Stonehouse has felt really good the last couple of weeks, and the next step for him is mentally getting back into practices and facing pressure. Callahan said he had a long conversation with Stonehouse and he's ready to get back to work in the last phase of his rehabilitation.
-Callahan said defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat, who missed time during the offseason, "looks good" and is ready to go. "I don't expect any issues as we get started," Callahan said of Sweat. "He should be dressed and practicing and ready to play football."
-Callahan discussed recently signed safety Jamal Adams for the first time. "There's a lot of reasons," Callahan said on why he was signed. "The biggest one is there's a mentality Jamal brings when he plays. He fits the system that (DC) Dennard (Wilson) needs, and we needed some pieces at safety. He's really versatile and can do a lot of different things. He's played some big nickel packages, and he's played some dime linebacker. We're exploring those roles for him as camp gets going. … We're excited to have him on board."
-Callahan didn't rule out making roster additions at other positions, and said that could be determined in the coming weeks.
-Callahan said quarterback Will Levis is "in a really good place" and "I'm excited about what he's going to play like." Callahan said Levis worked a lot this offseason and he looks good. He was happy with the offseason work he led away from the facility, and also setting the tone on offense in on-field work.
-Callahan said quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Malik Willis will compete for the No.2 job behind Levis. "It will be pretty split, even," Callahan said. "Obviously at some point, you have to make a decision. And a lot of that will be how they play – they're going to get plenty of opportunities to play in games and that goes a long way in the evaluation process. Also, the performance in practice every day, the consistency. They'll both have equal opportunity to establish themselves as the back-up quarterback."
-Callahan said the team has real position battles on the right side of the offensive line – at guard and tackle – and the competition could go the length of training camp. "You probably won't hear who is going to start there until opening game, to be honest," Callahan said. "Those will be open jobs, that's a competition. The competition raises the level of performance."
-Callahan said he expects the team's starters to play in all three preseason games, but he didn't reveal just how much. "Our team needs to play football together – we have a lot of new faces, new people here," Callahan said. "Our starters will play, and they'll play enough, is probably the best way to put it. … We'll see what that looks like lengthwise."
-Callahan said he's not concerned about naming a "starter" at running back, with Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard in the mix. "The fun part for me is: How are we going to deploy those guys?," Callahan said. "Maybe they both play at the same time, maybe one gets hot and you let him run, maybe we just rotate back and forth. I don't know what that's going to look like yet. But they are both going to play quite a bit of football for us, and I don't view either one of them as a starter or a back-up. They are both starting players to me."
