Vorstellungen » The first official injury reports

for this Sunday’s Titans-Jaguars game were released today along with some comments from Mike Vrabel and Marcus Mariota after practice. Here is the good news and bad news. Good NewsTaylor Lewan returned to practice today as a limited participant http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/taylor-lewan-jersey , meaning he has reached at least Step 4 of the 5-Step return to play protocol for concussions. The final step is for him to be evaluated and cleared by team doctors and an independent neurological consultant and that could happen at any point now. There seems to be optimism that the Titans will have their two-time Pro Bowl left tackle on the field in Jacksonville.The Titans might even get his counterpart on the right side Jack Conklin back this week. He was a limited participant today as well and Vrabel commented on his radio show Tuesday night that Conklin “could be available in some capacity” against the Jaguars. The counts as the most encouraging update yet on his excellent right tackle.Getting Lewan and Conklin back for this game would be huge. The Titans will need all hands on deck on the road against one of the best defenses in the NFL. The big question, however, remains the health of Marcus Mariota. He practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday, splitting reps with Blaine Gabbert as he did at the end of last week. Unlike late last week, Mariota did throw during the portion of practice open to the media while sporting a special glove that had the middle and index finger cut out on his throwing hand to help with his grip. Reports seem to indicate that his throws were better than last week, but still struggled with throws further down field.Mariota said that the trainers had compared the injury to his nerve to a guitar string being strummed and that the tingling in his ring and pinky fingers would subside as the nerve “settled down”. It remains to be seen if he can get to a point where the team feels comfortable with him as the starter by Sunday, but it does at least sound like he’s headed in the right direction.The Titans could also be getting closer to getting safety Kendrick Lewis back from a foot injury as he was a limited participant for the first time since the injury occurred during the second preseason game. Lewis figures to be good veteran depth and a potential special teams contributor when he does return to the lineup.One other bit of good news is the omission of Corey Davis from the injury report. He had been limited during the week with a “hamstring” for the last couple weeks, but must have been a full participant today. That could be related to the fact that the Titans only threw 22 passes on Sunday, including one that was a jet sweep to Taywan Taylor and one that came on special teams, but it could also mean that the hamstring business is finally behind us.Bad NewsDon’t freak out, but Derrick Henry appeared on the injury report with a back injury today and was listed as a limited participant, though reports indicate that Henry seemed to be moving around just fine during the open part of practice. Similar to Corey Davis, this could simply be workload related after Henry was worked heavily against Houston and really had to grind for some tough yards. I wouldn’t panic about this though, I still expect to see No. 22 running over Jalen Ramsey on Sunday.Dennis Kelly did not practice as he remains out with an illness that had him in the hospital late last week. He is home now, but there is a chance that he won’t be available for a second straight week. That could be an issue if Conklin isn’t ready either. I would assume that Kevin Pamphile would get the call at right tackle if that situation came to pass, but Tyler Marz performed admirably there last week while Pamphile was at left tackle so he could be an option as well.Luke Stocker remains on the injury report as he was limited with a calf injury. He was limited during practice last week as well and then turned in an excellent performance against the Texans so I wouldn’t worry too much about this one.Finally http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/wesley-woodyard-jersey , David Fluellen did not practice with a groin injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for a few weeks. The Titans promoted Dalyn Dawkins from the practice squad to serve as their 3rd back in the meantime. Jaguars NewsJacksonville had four players miss practice with injuries and three limited participants:TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (core muscle) - did not practice C Brandon Linder (knee) - did not practiceRB Brandon Wilds (illness) - did not practiceRB T.J. Yeldon (ankle) - did not practiceRB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) - limited participant RG A.J. Cann (triceps) - limited participant RT Jermey Parnell (knee) - limited participant Seferian-Jenkins, Parnell, and Linder all played with their injuries last week against New England so I would expect them all to be available again this week unless a setback occurs during the week (though Seferian-Jenkins did not get a “did not practice” designation last week so that’s new). Fournette didn’t go last Sunday after sitting out of practice all week. His limited participation on Wednesday makes me think it’s pretty likely that he returns to the lineup this week. That would return Yeldon to a backup role, but it sounds like he may not be available anyway. Third down back Corey Grant would theoretically be the next man up if both can’t go, but my guess is we see a mix of Fournette and Grant for this game.Cann being added to the report worsens the Jaguars offensive line injury woes. They lost starting left tackle Cam Robinson for the season with an ACL tear suffered on Sunday and now have 3 of their other 4 OL starters appearing on the injury report. My guess is that these guys all play, but if they’re less than 100% they may struggle with a Titans pass rush that just ate the Texans line for lunch last week.Titans Training Camp Day 2 Notes With the Taylor Lewan contract extension finished, the Titans took to the field at Saint Thomas Sports Park this morning for the second practice of training camp. Here are my notes along with the three stars of practice:3rd Star: Taylor LewanIt’s hard for offensive linemen to stand out in training camp, especially before the pads come on, but Lewan is such a physical presence on the field that its hard to miss him. After signing his big extension this morning he came on to the field and dominated in practice, helping the offense to a much better day. He followed that up by appearing at the post-practice press conference dressed as Boss Hogg. It’s hard to have a better day than that.2nd Star: Jayon BrownJayon Brown continues to flash. Again, today was no pads, but Brown is among the most noticeable defenders, flying all over the field. He had one of the best defensive plays of the game when he stepped in front of a Mariota pass and got the interception. Despite all the moving parts at inside linebacker — more on that in a minute — Brown appears to have a role locked down. He was outstanding today.1st Star: Corey DavisTHE star of the day was clearly Corey Davis though. I counted at least 4 touchdowns combined between 7-on-7’s and full team periods. He got behind Adoree Jackson on a deep post and made the grab for what would have been a long touchdown. He also beat Malcolm Butler a couple times for touchdowns, including one acrobatic catch where he fought back across Butler to make a leaping catch in the end zone. Butler vs. Davis is quickly turning in to one of the best matchups of Titans camp with Butler winning day one and Davis taking day two. These guys look extremely competitive and should make each other better over the next several weeks. Davis looked like a true superstar today.Offense NotesOverall, this was a much better day for the offense. The passing game, in particular http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/dennis-kelly-jersey , was much better with Taywan Taylor and Delanie Walker also adding long touchdowns in team periods in addition to Corey Davis’ highlight grabs. Marcus Mariota looked sharper today. What is really standing out with Mariota through two practices is his accuracy down the field. Last season, he had a bunch of near misses when looking for the deep ball. The last couple days he’s been lethal over the top with several perfectly placed balls.It was a rough day for Darius Jennings who dropped a couple easy throws.Nick Williams got some reps as the first team slot wide receiver today after Michael Campanaro got most of them on day one. Williams is a very sudden route runner, but he also had a bad drop on an accurate ball.Akrum Wadley had a couple nice moments in practice. He is extremely quick and a strong route runner out of the backfield. I think he’s going to have a real chance to stick on the roster.David Fluellen had a bad moment when Tye Smith punched the ball out for a fumble during a team period. Among the UDFA receivers, Jordan Veasy and Deontay Burnett really stand out. Veasy is huge and thick and he uses that big body well to shield off defenders and give the quarterbacks a big target. Burnett is a smooth route runner with great hands. I thought both looked pretty good today and am interested to see these guys work in preseason.Blaine Gabbert has an absolute cannon of an arm. Watching him throw the ball, you can absolutely see why teams fell in love with him during the 2011 draft process. He had a nice day today, throwing some accurate balls over the middle. There is no battle for QB2.Schematically, the Titans showed a lot of classic Shanahan concepts. I saw some 4-outs, yankee concepts, and pivot routes today. One thing that stands out compared to the last offense is just how many route combos result in receivers catching the ball moving in to space. One continuation from Thursday’s practice was the usage of Corey Davis in the slot. He lined up there quite a bit today and did some really good work there. In fact, Davis was in the slot far more than Taywan Taylor, who stayed outside most of the day again today.I mentioned Jonnu Smith yesterday and his increased role, and I also think that Luke Stocker appears to be in line for some snaps on offense in heavy sets. I watched the offensive line during some individual drills and the focus is certainly on outside zone techniques, as expected. Offensive line coach Keith Carter has been impressive to me. He is very clear about what he’s looking for in each drill and how it applies to the field. Defense NotesThe biggest news of the day on defense was a possible injury to Brian Orakpo. He went to the ground as the result of a hard Luke Stocker slice block during a team period and came off. After talking to some trainers for a minute he slammed his helmet down and ran to the locker room. No official word on what the injury was, but I’ve seen speculation that it was his shoulder. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. He didn’t look to be in too much pain when he ran off. Harold Landry stepped in to the first team defense when Orakpo went down. He got matched up with Taylor Lewan and the $80 million dollar man taught the rook a thing or two. Landry had a good day from what I saw in run defense, doing a nice job setting the edge and squeezing the back side on zone runs away from him. Landry got faked out by a Mariota pump fake on a bootleg to his side. The quarterback pumped and then darted inside and ended up in the end zone.Rashaan Evans also got some work with the first team today. He and Will Compton rotated at the spot next to Wesley Woodyard as that appears to be a contested position. Jayon Brown received some praise from Vrabel after practice, with his coach saying that “he’s really starting to play with some good instincts”. He flies all over the field.Wesley Woodyard’s good play from last season continues as he is frequently seen shooting gaps in to the backfield to get to backs. He’s playing at a really high level right now.Inside linebacker Nick DeLuca has been moved to the offensive side of the ball http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/kenny-vaccaro-jersey , as he’s going to be working with the tight ends moving forward. The inside linebacker group is far too deep, and Vrabel said that he thinks DeLuca will have a better chance to help the team at tight end.Right now, the primary 2nd team safeties are Kendrick Lewis and Demontre Hurst, with Dane Cruikshank rotating in after that. Matt Dickerson, a UDFA defensive end from UCLA, flashed a little bit to me. He worked up with the 2nd team defensive line today and is very quick for his size at 6’-5” and 292 pounds. Odds and EndsBen Jones, Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, and Corey Davis received offseason awards. Vrabel said that they got “a bunch of stuff, good stuff, whatever we can give them legally through the CBA, we gave’em”. He said the work those guys put in was above and beyond all offseason. After a pass interference penalty during 1-on-1’s the defensive backs had to do some up-downs. Mike Vrabel was with this group at the time and did the up-downs with the DBs. I thought that was pretty cool and now I think he’s the next Bill Belichick (kidding). We had a fake field goal sighting today!FIRE UP THE COREY DAVIS HYPE TRAIN! CHOO CHOOOOOO!!!